biscuitsmama's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.3
- Helpful Votes:67,036
- Reviews Submitted:1148
- First Review:July 13, 2012
- Most Recent Review:December 16, 2020
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Can you save the world from an ancient magic?
Overall rating
3
/
5
53 of 59 found this review helpful
IF YOU LOVE INVISIBLE OR MINISCULE ITEMS IN HOPS THEN THIS IS THE GAME FOR YOU!
PostedJuly 14, 2019
biscuitsmama
fromDid I mention that I really, really disliked the HOPS?
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I’m not going to waste a lot of time writing a long review of this latest Myths of the World game, Under the Surface, because there is not too much to say aside from my review title which should give you a good idea of how I feel. A couple of years ago EIPIX made a change to their HOP scenes, most likely because too many gamers complained about them being too easy. Rather than being creative with hiding the items they instead made them tiny and indistinct so that they became almost invisible. I believe this developer should have taken into account that many HOPA gamers are older and may lack the visual acuity they once had. At least for me, the HOPS were tedious and painful to play in Under the Surface.
Although the game itself is very good I am deducting two points from my game rating because the HOPS are so disappointing. In fact, I ended up playing the alternate Skipping Stones game rather than dealing with the tedious HOPS. The graphics in Under the Surface are very good, and the voiceovers are some of the best I’ve heard in recent HOPA games.
For me the story of the Loch Ness Monster was a big selling point for the game. I have generally enjoyed the Myths of the World series with one of the games being on my list of all-time favorites. Even though I did dislike the HOPS in this game, the Puzzles were fun. Of course, as is common practice now there are more Puzzles than HOPS, which in this case that is a good thing. If you can deal with the tedious HOPS, then I highly recommend this game as one you might enjoy. As always, please try the demo to see if Myths of the World Under the Surface is the game for you. Happy gaming!
Can you help people escape their magical prisons in time?
Overall rating
2
/
5
37 of 46 found this review helpful
GRANDMA JUMPS ON THE PUZZLE LOVERS BANDWAGON
PostedJuly 12, 2019
biscuitsmama
fromI really, really wanted to love this game but far too many puzzles is ridiculous
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
After playing most of this new game in the Unseen Fears series I gave up because Stories Untold is a plodding game that had puzzle after puzzle and few real HOS. The truth is, the Unseen Fears games have never been ones that excited me – well maybe there was one that was a very interesting and entertaining game. Undoubtedly, Stories Untold should have been canned before it ever hit its release date.
The most annoying thing about Stories Untold occurred in the beginning of the game when Nathaniel comes across the boys throwing rocks at the house. Yes, the very first scene should have been my clue to leave this game alone. The voiceover for the young boy was obviously an older person trying to sound like a kid – which is very grating and, unfortunately, the voiceovers didn’t improve at all. Of course, I didn’t listen to my inner voice and just had to buy the game. I guess I kept hoping that Stories Untold would improve because the graphics were beautiful, and those early HO scenes were excellent.
You might ask what happened that caused me to dislike the game? Well, it seems like GrandMa Games jumped on the rah-rah bandwagon for puzzle lovers and inserted far too many puzzles into each scene of the game. I got to the point where I felt the puzzles interfered with what is a weak storyline to begin with and simply made it difficult to follow the action. It seems like developers are using puzzles to either cover up a weak game plot OR using them as gameplay time extenders. I ended up quitting the game simply because I was sick of puzzles and really wanted to have a cohesive story for the game, but I sure couldn’t find it.
GrandMa Games is a favorite game developer and one who has created some excellent games. They have created some of the best series of games, so it is painful to see a game that doesn’t hit the mark come from this wonderful team. Please realize that these are only my feelings about the game and I definitely recommend that you try the demo because Unseen Fears Stories Untold may be a game that you will thoroughly enjoy. Happy gaming!
Can you stop a powerful foe from taking over Paris?
Overall rating
5
/
5
144 of 205 found this review helpful
PARISIAN PURSUIT IS ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THE BEST GAMES EVER FROM EIPIX
PostedJuly 11, 2019
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Welcome back EIPIX! Vermillion Watch Parisian Pursuit is one of the best games you have produced in recent years. I had all but stopped purchasing EIPIX games but when I tried the beta and then the demo for Parisian Pursuit I was hooked.
EIPIX has raised the bar with Vermillion Watch Parisian Pursuit and has gone back to developing games the way that originally put them at the top of the list of game developers. There was a time I purchased every game this team developed but in recent years their games were so boring and so cookie cutter that I don’t believe I have purchased one of their games in maybe the past two years. With Parisian Pursuit things have changed up and for the better. Gone are those teeny-tiny HO items that were no more than dark blobs in the HOS.
Since I enjoy the HOS in games far more than I do the mini games it is important for me that the items are at least distinguishable where I would at least have some hope of spotting them. For me, the HOS in Parisian Pursuit are more akin to those in their earlier games, which made them perfect. Not only are the items easier on the eyes, the scenes themselves are very well-designed and far more creative. The HO scenes in Parisian Pursuit are some of the most creative I have seen in recent games and most definitely more creative than they have been in recent EIPIX games. What wonderful fun I have had playing this game. I’ve spent hours traveling through the streets of Paris and have enjoyed every moment. Parisian Pursuit is what Vermillion Watch is all about and the game was an instant purchase for me.
If you read my reviews, you probably are aware that I am not a huge fan of all the mini games that are now popping up in HOPA games. I prefer far better quality and more HOS than I do mini games. For a change, the mini games in Parisian Pursuit come with far better instructions than in previous games. I could actually figure out what needed to be done when solving the mini games this time around. Some of the mini games or puzzles in Parisian Pursuit are so integrated into the game that they are not obvious and hardly need instructions. I only had a problem with one mini game and think it should have had a skip button because it took me forever to reach the end because I made a mistake early on and had to continually hit the hint button to get to the end. That being said, all in all the mini games were well-crafted and although some were familiar and easy to complete, others did require some good ole gray matter to figure out. And, although not a fan of the mini games these were entertaining and made the game better.
Vermillion Watch Parisian Pursuit is a game that has it all and seems to flow rather than become bogged down with all of the tasks and mini games. The game had that unique factor where one becomes so involved in the storyline and action that you don’t become bored. I simply loved playing this game and found it to be one of the best that EIPIX has produced in years. The game is thoughtful and didn’t seem cobbled together in order to reach publication. IMHO, this is the way all games should be: well told storylines that have continuity and don’t jump from place to place, dialogue that is well written and not riddled with grammatical errors. Parisian Pursuit is reminiscent of the quality games that at one time came from BFG. Definitely the bar has been raised and this game will be hard to beat. As always, please try the demo to see if you will enjoy what I consider to be one of the best EIPIX games ever! Happy gaming!
Can you stop an evil entity from taking over in time?
Overall rating
5
/
5
38 of 50 found this review helpful
DISCOVER WHAT HAPPENED IN HARROWSTEAD
PostedJuly 7, 2019
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Shadowplay Harrowstead Mystery is a terrific game that kept me engaged from the very first scene. If you love games with a creep factor, then Harrowstead Mystery if a game you will surely enjoy. At least once in the game I felt like I was going to jump out of my chair when something unexpected occurred. Surprisingly, I enjoyed this game even though I am generally not a fan of scary or horror games.
In the game you play as Thea, part of a team that is researching and writing a book about the old mining town of Harrowstead that disappeared years ago. It seems that a case of writer’s block has slowed down the project but that is about to change after you receive an urgent call from Riley. With no time to spare you rush to Riley’s location only to find that he has disappeared.
Harrowstead Mystery is a creative game with some well-designed scenes, although many of them seemed familiar and were most likely “harvested” from some of the other Shadowplay games. The graphics were good and the voiceovers left a lot to be desired. At times I found Thea’s voice grating and more than a bit annoying as she seemed to constantly vocalize the obvious. Although there is a custom mode in the game the developer has basically set the lower time limit so we can’t truly customize our skip and hint times.
I thoroughly enjoyed the HOS and the Puzzles in the game. Some of the HOS were very creative and in a couple of instances I didn’t even realize that I was playing a HO scene until the lightbulb flashed in my brain. Those scenes caught me by surprise and had me using the hint button more than once because I found them vague and I wasn’t sure what to do. Although I found those “open” scenes creative, once I figured them out, they were not my favorites in the game.
Overall, this is an enjoyable game that I did purchase because I needed to find the answers to the Harrowstead Mystery and more importantly save my friends and myself from an unthinkable alternative. For me this Shadowplay is a keeper and one that I will play again, but please try the demo to see if it is a game you will like as well. Happy gaming!
I recommend this game!
Accompany Mary Jane and Jack on a swashbuckling hidden object adventure!
Overall rating
1
/
5
78 of 125 found this review helpful
SOMEONE FOUND UNCHARTED TIDES PORT ROYAL WASTING AWAY ON A SHELF SOMEWHERE
PostedJuly 6, 2019
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Uncharted Tides Port Royal is another one of those dime a dozen HOPA games that didn’t quite make it. The game was probably sitting on a shelf somewhere until it was decided that BFG needed a CE game to release and nothing of higher quality was available.
What makes this game so unworthy? Well, the list is far too long to go into detail but when early in the game Mary Ann tells me she needs a mop I spent quite a while searching hither and yon to find one until I read the dialogue and I actually needed a map that had been sitting in my inventory while I searched for a nonexistent mop. Perhaps someone at BFG should have done a better job of editing the voice acting for the game. The HOPS had either glaringly large or, in some cases indistinct items to find, which is a deal breaker for me. The list of things I dislike about this game goes on from there.
There really is no point in writing about everything that I think is wrong with Uncharted Tides Port Royal as it’s basically a waste of my time. Instead, why don’t you try the game for yourself and see what you think. Perhaps you will enjoy it far more than me. Happy gaming or in this case maybe not!
Can you save the Heavenfall campers from a malevolent force in time?
Overall rating
5
/
5
37 of 43 found this review helpful
JUST ANOTHER FUN TIME AT SUMMER CAMP, OR IS IT?
PostedJuly 6, 2019
biscuitsmama
fromWow, I guess Eric was right. It was far too dangerous to summon a Forest Spirit!
Chimeras Wailing Waters, the latest release in the Chimeras series, is surprisingly good. I say surprisingly because I was prepared to dislike the game, but it turned out that as I played the demo, I realized that I was wrapped up in the storyline so only stopped playing long enough to purchase the full game.
Elephant Games is a favorite game developer of mine as they always produce top quality games and Chimeras Wailing Waters is no exception. Although I found the graphics to be a bit cartoonish early in the game, they soon became much better. The one complaint I have is with the custom settings for the game that should allow us to set our own hint and skip times.
The storyline for the game is excellent which makes the game far better than many in the Chimeras series. Sadly, IMHO, no other Chimeras game has come close to Tune of Revenge however, Wailing Waters is still one of the better games in the series.
The HOS in Wailing Waters are excellent for me as I love the style that this developer uses when creating the scenes. The items are well depicted, and the scenes have variety as well as interaction required to find many of the items. The standard list style has always been my favorite for the HOS and Elephant Games has stayed with predominantly using lists for their HOS. There is an equal balance between the HOS and Puzzles, so we are not overwhelmed with finding puzzle after puzzle in order to move forward. The Puzzles are enjoyable and not the type that made me want to rip out my hair as I tried to solve them.
I’m not going to give you the game’s details but will only say that Chimeras Wailing Waters is the perfect game for me and the way I enjoy playing. We all have different things that we expect or want from games so not everyone will agree with what is only my opinion. For me Wailing Waters deserves a five-star rating because I find it enjoyable and a well-designed game. As always, please try the demo to see if Chimeras Wailing Waters is a game that you will enjoy as well. Happy gaming!
I recommend this game!
Can you help three souls escape a deadly amusement park?
Overall rating
5
/
5
53 of 71 found this review helpful
DEAD PARK IS EXACTLY WHAT I’VE BEEN LONGING TO FIND IN A GREAT HOPA GAME
PostedJune 28, 2019
biscuitsmama
fromEagerly looking forward to the next Redemption Cemetery and other games from AMAX
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Redemption Cemetery Dead Park is without a doubt one of the best HOPA games I have played in a very long time. When I found myself absorbed in the game and was shocked when the demo seemed to end so quickly, I knew without a doubt that Dead Park is a game that has everything that has been missing in so many of the cookie cutter, get them out the door and to market as quickly as possible, HOPA games. In the days when ERS (now AMAX) was the premier developer of BFG HOPA games I purchased every game they produced with no question that I was getting top-notch quality and the best there was to be found as far as gameplay, quality graphics with amazing artwork, and inventive storylines. Then when we began to clamor for more and more HOPA games the cookie cutter was born. Without looking at my purchase history I can’t even remember when I last purchased a Redemption Cemetery game. I don’t believe I have purchased the last four or five at least. Dead Park changes all that and is simply put an awesome HOPA game.
The HOPS in Redemption Cemetery are an absolute joy to play. Dead Park has some very, very creative and well-designed HOPS. Yes, there are a few of what some would call junkpiles, but even those were terrific. HOPS like these are what have been missing from so many HOPA games and now I am hoping that maybe more developers will realize that excellent HOPS are what true HOPA game lovers want. In the past year or so HOPA games have had less emphasis on the HOPS that originally attracted gamers to the genre and have relied more heavily on the “P” aspect with far too many puzzles or mini-games that have often been used as a lazy way to cover weak storylines or very short games. Although there are many puzzles and mini games in Dead Park, there is still more of a balance with an emphasis on quality HOPS. As I played, I found myself saying “wow, awesome, and wow” again and again as I would get to play another excellent HOP scene. The puzzles in the game are very good and most are not overly difficult, so I enjoyed each one that popped up as I played through the game. It has always been my belief that it is somehow not right to detail all of the aspects of what to expect in any given game because it is far better and increases the gamers interest if they see those things for themselves, so I won’t spoil your fun by giving you all of the details about the puzzles or HOS. What I will tell you is that Dead Park has absolutely the best HOPS that I have played in years and I doubt that HOP scene lovers will be disappointed when they play the game.
As many of you may know I am not a huge fan of horror or scary games and I really dislike amusement park or carnival themed games in particular. Redemption Cemetery has changed that with Dead Park. When the beta for the game was released, I immediately deleted it “knowing” automatically that it is a game I no interest in playing. When the full game was released and I decided to at least give the demo a try, I was swept away and knew that this was an amazing game. Congratulations to everyone at BFG and AMAX for a stellar game that I hope will set a new trend for future HOPA games. I should more accurately say that I hope future HOPA games will include those things that originally captured gamers interest and what have been missing in HOPA games for the past several years. Redemption Cemetery Dead Park is a stellar game. AMAX team you “hit the ball out of the park” with this one! Happy gaming everyone.
I recommend this game!
Can you stop a deadly magic from destroying the land?
Overall rating
2
/
5
48 of 60 found this review helpful
UGH, FAR TOO MUCH BLUE AND PURPLE FOR ME TO ENJOY THE GAME
PostedJune 28, 2019
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Spirit Legends Solar Eclipse is the second game in the Spirit Legends series from Domini Games. Domini happens to be a developer whose games I generally enjoy but as with the first game in this series, Solar Eclipse fell flat for me. Okay, playing games and our reaction to them is very subjective so not everyone will feel the same about any game so there will be many who like this game but unfortunately, I am not one of them.
When I began playing Solar Eclipse, my senses were overwhelmed by the overuse of blues and purples for the graphics in the game. Domini Games loves their intense, colorful graphics and for the most part so do I but when that color palette relies on blue and purple, it simply becomes a bit too unrealistic and too much for me. Not only did I find the color palette too intense, the voices of the trolls were so irritating that I couldn’t stand to hear them. Speaking of voiceovers, I gave a high-five to the reviewer of the CE who said that the word bestiary was mispronounced. Every time I heard the pronunciation I cringed. Do the editors not know proper grammar and pronunciation? It is my hope that if there is ever another Spirit Legends game that the editing team will certainly go to Google and look up how the word is correctly pronounced.
Since Domini Games is a favorite developer who always goes the extra mile by certainly giving us value for the cost of their games, I generally purchase them without bothering with the demo. In the case of Solar Eclipse that was a huge mistake. Yes the HOS and the Puzzles are great so there is no complaint with that part of the game BUT I had to quit the game early on because I couldn’t deal with the storyline that at times made no sense, horrid voiceovers, and then there is the HUGE issue with the graphics.
As much as I enjoy fantasy type games this one simply wasn’t my cup of tea. I doubt that I will ever purchase another Spirit Legends game without trying the demo. My hope is that in their future games Domini will tone down some of their graphics so that they are a bit easier on the eyes.
What I did find excellent in the game were the puzzles and some of the HOS. The Bestiary, a spell book used to tame beasts, requires that we play mini games before each use and some of those were excellent and well-constructed. The gameplay was not always easy, and I did have to use the hint button quite frequently, in fact more often than usual. If all you want in a game is to find an abundance of puzzles with few HOS, then this is the game for you!
In the end I didn’t finish the game because the voiceovers and all those blue and purple tones were overwhelming and at times simply irritating. Even though Spirit Legends is not a game I enjoyed, I recommend that you try the demo because the game might be perfect for you. Happy gaming!
Can you save the world from an ancient magic?
Overall rating
3
/
5
66 of 103 found this review helpful
IF YOU LOVE INVISIBLE OR MINISCULE ITEMS IN HOPS THEN THIS IS THE GAME FOR YOU!
PostedJune 22, 2019
biscuitsmama
fromDid I mention that I really, really disliked the HOPS?
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I’m not going to waste a lot of time writing a long review of this latest Myths of the World game, Under the Surface, because there is not too much to say aside from my review title which should give you a good idea of how I feel. A couple of years ago EIPIX made a change to their HOP scenes, most likely because too many gamers complained about them being too easy. Rather than being creative with hiding the items they instead made them tiny and indistinct so that they became almost invisible. I believe this developer should have taken into account that many HOPA gamers are older and may lack the visual acuity they once had. At least for me, the HOPS were tedious and painful to play in Under the Surface.
Although the game itself is very good I am deducting two points from my game rating because the HOPS are so disappointing. In fact, I ended up playing the alternate Skipping Stones game rather than dealing with the tedious HOPS. The graphics in Under the Surface are very good, and the voiceovers are some of the best I’ve heard in recent HOPA games.
For me the story of the Loch Ness Monster was a big selling point for the game. I have generally enjoyed the Myths of the World series with one of the games being on my list of all-time favorites. Even though I did dislike the HOPS in this game, the Puzzles were fun. Of course, as is common practice now there are more Puzzles than HOPS, which in this case that is a good thing. If you can deal with the tedious HOPS, then I highly recommend this game as one you might enjoy. As always, please try the demo to see if Myths of the World Under the Surface is the game for you. Happy gaming!
I recommend this game!
Can you help people escape their magical prisons in time?
Overall rating
2
/
5
86 of 124 found this review helpful
GRANDMA JUMPS ON THE PUZZLE LOVERS BANDWAGON
PostedJune 20, 2019
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
After playing most of this new game in the Unseen Fears series I gave up because Stories Untold is a plodding game that had puzzle after puzzle and few real HOS. The truth is, the Unseen Fears games have never been ones that excited me – well maybe there was one that was a very interesting and entertaining game. Undoubtedly, Stories Untold should have been canned before it ever hit its release date.
The most annoying thing about Stories Untold occurred in the beginning of the game when Nathaniel comes across the boys throwing rocks at the house. Yes, the very first scene should have been my clue to leave this game alone. The voiceover for the young boy was obviously an older person trying to sound like a kid – which is very grating and, unfortunately, the voiceovers didn’t improve at all. Of course, I didn’t listen to my inner voice and just had to buy the game. I guess I kept hoping that Stories Untold would improve because the graphics were beautiful, and those early HO scenes were excellent.
You might ask what happened that caused me to dislike the game? Well, it seems like GrandMa Games jumped on the rah-rah bandwagon for puzzle lovers and inserted far too many puzzles into each scene of the game. I got to the point where I felt the puzzles interfered with what is a weak storyline to begin with and simply made it difficult to follow the action. It seems like developers are using puzzles to either cover up a weak game plot OR using them as gameplay time extenders. I ended up quitting the game simply because I was sick of puzzles and really wanted to have a cohesive story for the game, but I sure couldn’t find it.
GrandMa Games is a favorite game developer and one who has created some excellent games. They have created some of the best series of games, so it is painful to see a game that doesn’t hit the mark come from this wonderful team. Please realize that these are only my feelings about the game and I definitely recommend that you try the demo because Unseen Fears Stories Untold may be a game that you will thoroughly enjoy. Happy gaming!
I don't recommend this game.