jmcbeauty's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.2
- Helpful Votes:2,507
- Reviews Submitted:210
- First Review:November 18, 2011
- Most Recent Review:November 21, 2014
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Explore a world of magic to stop an ancient evil!
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
The Shade is back
PostedOctober 18, 2013
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
It really is amazing that I was thinking about this game now that fall has officially arrived and wondering when it would make it's appearance and now it has. The wait is over. I love the Otherworld series and #3 is just as good as the other two. You have to find and fix the perpetual prison that once held Shade, but he escaped and destroyed it. You have to find 3 fay beings in hopes that you will be able to fix the prison before the Eternal Winter comes and destroys all living things. The huntsman seems to be Shade's new side kick and somehow you do not have the amulet to use all the time and must renew its gift on a regular basis. Your first task is to find Kobold Smith.
There is a lot to do and the hos are different and keep changing so that there is no way to get bored. The game started a little slow but as I got further, it started picking up (which I expected). The mini games are not difficult and thoroughly enjoyable. There are 60 fay dragons to find, achievements to earn and a strategy guide that follows you as you move forward. As I didn't use the hint button, I'm not sure how quickly it works or if it works outside the hos and how. The extras have your regular entries; wallpaper, concept art, sound track, replay cut scenes, and replay mini games. You have three options of difficulty which include casual, expert and hardcore. Loved the game, am purchasing the game when I finish this and recommend the game which you might want to try first if you haven't tried the other two.
I recommend this game!
Jewel Legends: Magical Kingdom
Rebuild the Magical Kingdom, erect magnificent buildings and restore the kingdom’s former glory!
Overall rating
4
/
5
14 of 15 found this review helpful
Collect the Jewels
PostedOctober 12, 2013
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
A cute game with good graphics. I love match 3 and didn't get bored while playing this game due to the rebuilding of the magical kingdom. Power ups, gold bricks (one per screen) and the upgrades on what you purchase was all in good fun. Didn't get bored, music was good and the hour I played went fast.
Should anyone ever check in to a place called the Final Journey Hotel?
Overall rating
5
/
5
11 of 11 found this review helpful
WHAT A GREAT HALLOWEEN GAME
PostedOctober 12, 2013
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Elephant Games has done another fantastic game. The storyline grabbed me. James is a detective who calls you to help him to solve cases that seem to have supernatural problems. In this case, The Final Hotel seems to be hosting a battle of the monsters. A vampire has been staked and a werewolf has been slain by a silver sword. Found a book in one of the mini games that explains that two best friends had a falling out and became more concerned who could best the other. This story seems to be related to what is happening at the hotel. How will it all turn out?
There are three levels of difficulty which include casual, advanced and hardcore. According to the Strategy Guide there are 6 chapters, while the demo covers 2. There is also the Bonus Chapter under the extras along with the norm: Wallpaper, Concept Art, Music. But also included in the achievements room with about 16 achievements, 15 collectible portraits who include the vampire, the werewolf and the voodoo king. There is also a secret room that cannot be accessed until full version is purchased.
Being an Elephant Game, the art is beautiful, crisp and well done. I was a little confused though why the voiceovers were written and not lip synced, I thought they were past that. But the voices themselves were well done. The music was there but phased it out and the effects sounds were excellent.
The hos scenes were typical and list only on the ones I played with interactive items to be found. The mini games were simple, but fit the use. The map was interactive, so jumping was good for the running back and forth. Also, the hint button filled in a decent amount of time and could be used outside of the hos where it specifically told you what to do.
I haven't played the other Haunted Hotel games so have nothing to compare to, but I loved the game and will buy cause it's two for one weekend. Need to try to see if it is a game for you.
The Torment of Mont Triste Collector's Edition
No one dares fall asleep in the village of Mont Triste... for when sleep arrives, so does the mysterious Lord of Nightmares.
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Fighting Nightmares
PostedOctober 12, 2013
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game by Sulus Games is entertaining, with a excellent storyline. You have been approached by a messenger for the town of Mont Triste to help with the "sleeping sickness" that has overtaken the residents. The professor who has been researching dreams has inadvertently released the Lord of Nightmares who is now wanting to take over by taking of the dreams of Mont Triste and beyond. Blanc, a young boy/ghost meets you at the gates of Mont Triste and gives you the Amulet of Dreams to help reach the people in town and enter their nightmares and bring them back from the nightmare world they cannot get out of. You immediately go into a portal and rescue your coachman from his nightmare.
There are about 16 achievements, 21 collectible gnomes and the normal extras in this collector's edition. There are 3 levels of difficulty. You are able to change difficulty during the game. When I checked out the strategy guide, there were three chapters, so not sure how long the game actually is. Also, the strategy guide did not follow your progress. Didn't actually need it though. The hint button charged fairly quickly. The game was sluggish, but not sure if it was the game or if it was my computer.
In the demo, there were more mini games, and not a lot of hos. The hos were interactive, but only came across lists. The mini games were fairly simple, ie matching faces, connecting circuits, arranging puzzles but appropriate for the situtations.
The art was well done, but more on the cartoon side with the mini games and hos more realistic. There was no music to speak of except when you were working on an hos or mini game. The voice overs were written at the bottom of the screen and had to continually hit to continue the dialogue.
I enjoyed the game, but some of the "older" type style may be frustrating to the expert players. Need to sample before you buy and decide if you want to deal with the quirks.
I recommend this game!
A shipwreck on a volcanic island unearths deadly secrets!
Overall rating
4
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
Treasure Hunters and Mayans
PostedOctober 6, 2013
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
The story starts at the end of Mayan Prophecies: Ship of Spirits. They are in the small boat they used to escape the ship only to run out of fuel and supplies. A huge wave throughs them out of the boat and they land on a Mayan Island that is having issues with missing treasures that are destroying the island. The Spirit of the Volcanos has awakened and its a race against time to stop the destruction of the island and to find the treasure hunter that has made it to the island.
The visual was very well done and the colors were bright and vibrant. There was no music to speak of except during the cut scenes which is very appropriate for the scene. You need to find the parts of the Mayan artifact which tells the story of the beginning of the Mayan problems when the items have been stolen.
The hos were interactive and the items were not difficult to find. The mini games were typical, but still nicely done. If you want during the hos, you can change to mahjong games which is a nice change. There are four levels of difficulty with casual, normal, hard and custom as your choices. There was a lot to do with finding 40 beyond objects, 40 hummingbirds and 10 achievements. It was an enjoyable game and recommend it.
Guide little Emmy through her fears and back to the real world!
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Hmmmmm
PostedOctober 6, 2013
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
The story starts out with Aunt Helen trying a neurological experiment to reach her niece Emmy and bring her out of the fugue state she is in. Her mother is unavailable and is in a coma from doing some kind of wave transfer from herself to Emmy. Dr. Sullivan in the overseer in the experiment, but not sure if he is good or evil. Evil Emmy has taken over Emmy's mind and has changed Emmy's dreamscapes to what she wants them to look like. You also have Emmy's teddy bear, Teddy, to help you along in your journey.
There are two levels, casual and advanced. The story itself has 6 chapters with 2 bonus chapters that are supposed to be Mary's story. The extras are locked until you purchase the whole game and include hops, puzzles, concept art, and the art gallery.
In my opinion this should not have been a CE. I didn't need to use the strategy guide and if I wasn't sure what to do, Barry the bear was more than willing to help. The games were easy and the hos scenes were also very easy to locate even with some of the items being interactive. The scenes were good and done as watercolors meaning everything had a very soft look to it. Granted it was a dreamscape, but prior to entering Emmy's mind, it was also soft. It was an ok game but didn't grab me as a I have to have.
I recommend this game!
Detective, it is your job to destroy the evil machine that is tearing the city apart and arrest the crazed professor responsible for the destruction!
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
What a great SE
PostedOctober 6, 2013
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game was obviously meant to be a CE, but loved it as an SE because of the bells and whistles only usually found in a CE. The game itself it well constructed and the storyline is decent. The sound and music went well and actually forgot they were there except during cut scenes. It has 4 levels of difficulty, causal, normal, hard and professional. Played on casual as it was the demo. The developers did a very nice job to mix the "real" people with the scenes and background. The hint button works outside the ho scenes and tells you what you should do next. There are 22 achievements, 15 mutant flowers, gold to find the decorate your garden off the achievements room.
The story begins with you getting notification that 2 children, Michael and Sarah have been left behind after the town has ordered evacuation due to the town being overrun with mutated plants. You see a man who looks to have been electrified and now glows with energy which he uses to stop you from getting to the children. He drops his badge and you know that he is from Greenlab, the lab where the missing Professor Gustav was working on experiments with a fallen meteorite. The mayor, Roy Wilson, is also missing. It is up to you "Detective" to find the missing children and find out what has happened in Fortune Town.
I recommend this game!
It should have been a tremendous achievement, but the tunnel through the Ridge of Leviathan became the site of a great disaster. What really happened that day?
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 8 found this review helpful
Elephant Games has done it again with Surface!
PostedSeptember 20, 2013
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
A trip is planned and you miss the train because someone bumped you and you ended up dumping you luggage on the ground. The train is the first to go through the new Ridge of Leviathan Tunnel which is to save 3 hours of traveltime. But the train never comes out the other side of the tunnel and your family has disappeared. A year later you return to the tunnel, just to remember. A Dr. Martin Bors lures you into the tunnel to replay the disappearance, but he has no official backing for the experiment. But what have you got to lose as your life has been broken into pieces. You get onto the train and go thru a portal into another dimension and Dr. Bors is seriously wounded.
The game was beautiful visually and the sounds were extremely well done. There are eight chapters with a bonus chapter, journal, interactive map, with the normal extras, 15 achievements, flowers to collect and the pantheon puzzle to solve. I had a blast during the demo and will be purchasing asap.
I recommend this game!
Someone has stolen two powerful magic doves from your kingdom, and the consequences could be disastrous. Embark on an extraordinary journey to stop the thief.
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 4 found this review helpful
FLIGHTS OF FANCY IS DEFINITELY THE RIGHT TITLE!
PostedSeptember 13, 2013
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
You are the countess and have just returned home from King Eridan's engagement party only to find that your house has been broken into and your staff and friends have been turned into statues and your father's magical dove has been stolen. It is up to you with your assistant William to get the dove back.
Visually it is definitely an ERS product. The lush vibrant colors, the adorable and not so adorable creatures, the beautiful detail work is a work of art. The voice overs are well done and the voices themselves fit the characters. The music was there but not annoying or distracting, just there fitting the scene.
The normal extras are available as well as 4 levels of difficulty (casual, advanced, hard and custom. Played on casual for the demo and found the games on the easy side but enjoyable. You have to find 15 charmed kingdom inhabitants, 10 achievements and arrows for extra hints. The hint button being an elf that you have named and a fairy to help you with magical spells that you have also named. The interactive guide does not follow you nor do the hints help with where you need to go.
I thoroughly enjoyed the demo and plan to purchase as soon as I finish this review.
I recommend this game!
You've come to Mexico to explore a mysterious mansion. But this is no vacation. Your cousin is missing, and the house is crawling with bizarre and deadly creatures!
Overall rating
4
/
5
6 of 9 found this review helpful
What a great game
PostedAugust 25, 2013
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The story begins with your cousin Mary calls you in a panic that she's in trouble in Mexico after going there to find her boyfriend and you're the only one that can save her. You are met almost immediately by the Dr. who shoots a tranquilizer dart at you. Once you get into the building he wants a sample of your dna. Once you find your cousin you find out that she has been injected with the dna of four different dna's and you must get the dna to save her.
There is a lot to do in this game. There are about 20 achievements and you need to find 20 soap bars so that you can clothe your friend the raccoon. There is also the possibility to play mini games instead of solving hos. The hint button fills quickly and can be used for directions without it needing to be filled. The extras include music, screensavers, wallpapers, videos, concept art, 14 hidden object games and 17 puzzles. The demo only included the first two chapters and general tips so have no idea actually how long the game is. There are 4 levels of play: casual, advanced, hard and custom which can be changes during game. The artwork and voiceovers were well done.
I recommend this game!