MSBAM100's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.7
- Helpful Votes:8,578
- Reviews Submitted:240
- First Review:January 11, 2013
- Most Recent Review:January 27, 2024
- Featured reviews0
Status:
A strange and deadly pollen is spreading around the world, and you’ve been hired to track down its source. But the secrets you discover in the fabled kingdom of Floralia are much darker than you imagined...
Overall rating
5
/
5
91 of 125 found this review helpful
Save Floralia from Rapunzel's Pollen!
PostedJune 26, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I love this series! It took me 89 minutes to finish the demo, because I enjoyed taking my time and solving the wonderful puzzles! This is the sixth game in the Dark Parables series, and they bring back characters from previous series, and throughout the game there are memorabilia from the other games -- an extra treat for those who have kept up with the different games and their fairy tale heroines.
You are the detective sent to Floralia to determine the source of the deadly pollen and eliminate it. Unfortunately, it seems every time Rapunzel sings, the pollen spreads and plants grow wild. Luckily, Kai the botanist gives you a book that tells you how to defeat the various plants. Rapunzel seems to be controlled by her evil half-sister Belladonna, whose favorite line is "Sing for me, Rapunzel." Belladonna, like Rapunzel, was locked in a tower. Her mother was Gothel, servant to Rapunzel's mother. Somehow Rapunzel's healing touch, which grew stronger as her hair grew, has turned into a deadly touch of pollen and wicked plants. Gerda, the Golden Child whom you saved from the Snow Queen in a previous game, turns up with Prince Ross to help you in your quest.
The game stays with the flower theme of Floralia. The HOS are all FROGs, filled with flowers and jewels. The collectibles are 20 Flowerstones. The mini-games have multiple parts, with lots of flowers as well. The 5 parables help explain the story for you; when you find 4 items, the parable is revealed to you. You can win up to 26 achievements, and there are 20 cursed objects to find that allow your hint meter to fill faster. There are 3 modes of play, along with the normal CE bling and bonus game.
The art work and cut scenes are beautiful -- the opening scene of Rapunzel with her hair blowing in the wind is quite realistic. The only blemish on an otherwise perfect game is the map, which doesn't teleport. There are so many places to go, I don't understand why they didn't make a jump map.
Take your time and enjoy the 90 minute demo. You don't have to skip the puzzles because of the way the demos now work. I love this game, and cannot wait to buy it!
I recommend this game!
For 25 years, you thought you had no family. But one night, a man steps through a mirror from another world, claiming to be your uncle... changing your life forever.
Overall rating
5
/
5
42 of 54 found this review helpful
Beware the dark tornados!
PostedJune 21, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The story opens with a monster dragging your uncle back through the mirror portal -- and it is a pretty good depiction of a monster. After that, however, the evil is all dark smoky and windy tornados -- not too scary except at the end of the demo you are literally hanging from a cliff -- a real cliffhanger of an ending!
The demo took me 81 minutes to complete! I took my time and enjoyed all the puzzles, which aren't too hard but some are unique ones we haven't seen. I am really enjoying the new method of presenting demos -- not really time-based, but dependent on getting to a logical place to stop.
Anyway, you are the orphan Grace, who can save your parents' world from the dark winds, according to your uncle who comes through the mirror to visit you with his owl. You follow your uncle back through the mirror and find several portals you will have to solve and visit to create pieces of your Vi Amino Amulet, to save the dream world.
The graphics make you feel like you are immersed in the world, not just watching. At the end of the demo, you can scroll though multiple screens of artwork that are just gorgeous. The only voice-over so far is your uncle, but he is well-done. The extensive jump map has zoom buttons to examine a location more closely, plus you can scroll the map in 4 directions.
There are only 3 modes of play - no custom. You collect 176 leaves - four per scene - and you are told when you've found them all. The first four are hard to find, but the rest seem fairly easy to spot. If you find all the leaves and solve the puzzle, you get and extra Hidden Chapter, in addition to the Bonus Scenario. Of course there are achievements as well.
Your uncle's owl becomes your assistant to fly up to those high places you can't reach, and attack the monsters for you -- but still needs your help. The HOS are lists that can be swapped out for a Match 3 game. The HOS scenes repeat, but the items you have already found are missing. I liked the mini-puzzle that required you to move 4 keys to the bottom, as well as the one to find about 7 pieces of a boot you needed to enter another room.
This game is both challenging and easy at the same time. There are so many things to do, and places to visit, it seems it will take a while to complete. Thanks to the jump map, it is easy to travel around the game world, which appears fairly large. This is an interesting game, and a definite buy for me.
I recommend this game!
Dreampath: The Two Kingdoms Collector's Edition
Your sister, the Queen, has fallen deathly ill. Now you must travel to a faraway kingdom to find the cure.
Overall rating
5
/
5
9 of 13 found this review helpful
Save the Queen, reunite the kingdoms!
PostedJune 19, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
What a wonderful, relaxing, charming game! Even the music is soothing. There are some evil characters, but the overall theme is calming, even while you are trying to save your sister. You arrive at Goldthrone to find King Harald gone and perhaps turned back into a gold dragon. The dragon theme is well thought out, with even the achievements hatching from dragon eggs into various cute dragons.
If you want a relaxing journey with not too many hard problems, this game is for you. Your friend cat Muir, whom you rescued, tells you the story of the kingdom in pieces. Even the cat is calm, cultured, and claps politely when you use your coins to buy him items like boots, a flower, a candlelabra, or a pillow.
The demo ends with the golden dragon escaping his chains and flyng away. The previews show a wonderful world waiting for you to enter and find the Elixir of Life. Enjoy!
I recommend this game!
A series of unexplained deaths baffle authorities, and you’re called in to investigate.
Overall rating
4
/
5
10 of 14 found this review helpful
Poison, poison everywhere!
PostedJune 19, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I played the Beta of this game and not much has changed except now there are 40 treasure chests to collect instead of 20. There is lots to do and things to find, but game isn't as good as some of the more recent releases. Calling me senorita and madam within a few minutes is slightly irritating besides being grammatically incorrect!
Anyway, you are contacted by the governor to find out who is killing this group of men - two are found dead in the demo. The old pirate Ramirez was killed by poison released through the ventilation shaft. You found Mario Medina in a wine cellar, poisoned by fumes from a wine bottle. Both were holding a Nemesis figurine with notes about their upcoming demise. Your fingerprint kit shows a 4-fingered person touched both the shaft and the bottle. And Sergio, the aide assigned to you by the governor, just happens to have only 4 fingers. And is there when you are accused of killing Mario and arrested!
The jump map is excellent, the graphics are quite good, and the voice-overs have moving lips. But the story is too cut and dry, at least in the demo. The HOS are excellent, with multi-tiered play using lists and silhouettes. The mini-games are a bit easy. You can play a Match3 game instead of HOS.
But the CE bling is over the top, with The Making Of video and the souvenir room -- two of my favorite extras. Of course there is the bonus game, plus a Chest Hunt where your 40 Treasure Chests are stored, and a Chest Room where you get to spend your treasure. Plus a replay of your puzzles and your HOS, and the normal CE bling as well.
An overall fine game. But the storyline is a bit too straight forward for 5 stars.
I recommend this game!
After a long journey, Queen Sophia faces her enemy for the last time - but will she succeed in saving her parents?
Overall rating
5
/
5
32 of 57 found this review helpful
Will Queen Sophia finally "Awaken" her parents?
PostedMay 31, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is sixth entry in one of my favorite series. And like all the previous ones, it does not disappoint. You are still Queen Sophia on a journey to rescue your parents who have been kidnapped by the evil wizard Dreadmyre. You need to find Argenius, the centaur Blacksmith, and forge the Blade of Courage. You immediately find Argenius, but he is taken by the huge Ogre. So you rescue his son, then set off on a mission to find and defeat the ogre, and rescue Argenius. Which leads you to the dwarven mine and some beautiful graphics.
I really like the new idea of longer demos - up to 90 minutes. This gives you an opportunity to really get "hooked" on the game, plus the demos end in logical places instead of abruptly cutting off. This demo for me lasted 75 minutes. It makes me want to complete the mini-games instead of skipping them. And the mini-games in this game are well worth the effort. One makes you put back together your flying mechanical dragon - you are flying him instead of your normal trusty unicorn - so he can help fight the ogre. Another one requires you to make crystal dust for the cannons to fight the ogre -- a three part scenario that grinds the dust, makes a path to the crystal gems, matches the gems to their shapes, and finally funnels the dust into matching vials. Great fun and creativity! THEN, you get to shoot the ogre by matching parts of the scene to where you have to shoot. As you vanquish the ogre, he grabs Ran, your pet owl and hint button, and the demo ends! Now I really have to buy it to save my owl.
Besides the mini-games, the HOS are also clever. While it may look like a simple list, you have activities within the HOS to complete - like unknotting a rope, whose knots are hidden by other objects. Or by putting together a book with all the creatures in the game. Or by offering a chameleon different cards until you finally can catch him.
For CE bling there is a bonus chapter, and a bonus garden that you find flowers throughout the game that evidently will let you purchase items in the garden when you finish. There are the normal cutscenes, music, wallpaper, and art. Plus achievements, including finding the Boomzap logo, which I never did during the demo -- I never remember to look!
There are three modes of play. And your pocket dragon is back. So far he only burns things -- don't know if he will switch to a frost dragon or whatever as in some previous games. Your faithful owl Ran is the hint button. And the jump map marks areas ready for action. Queen Sophia is available to remind you of your tasks, should you forget.
I am going to take advantage of the discount this weekend, and buy this game! Try it!
I recommend this game!
Guests keep disappearing from a gimmicky haunted hotel. Is there someone pulling the strings, or are these ghosts actually real?
Overall rating
5
/
5
32 of 43 found this review helpful
Who is haunting the hotel?
PostedMay 29, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Current Favorite:
Haunted Manor: Painted Beauties Collector's Edition
(83)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Guests are disappearing from Abraham Shadowy's haunted hotel, so he summons your friend James to come detect. And of course, James brings you along because you do all the work! He does show up and give you an item every once in a while! Abraham is not so happy James brought you along, however. It seems Abraham has a "Master" who wants James. The Master appears as dark smoke, and he's already captured Henry Spinner, a historian who was an invited guest to help solve the "mystery."
This is a nice long demo that gives you a good feel for the game, and ends at a logical place. Like all Elephant games, the graphics are excellent - the opening video shows Henry the historian being chased and dragged away. However, the lips don't move in the voice-overs. One nice option available, is to change the brightness of the screen via the gamma slider -- for those of us who don't like to squint at the dark settings!
There are three modes of game play. The map is teleporting, and indicates where an activity exists -- absolutely necessary for me, as I can never remember what room requires what item! This makes the strategy guide rather unnecessary. The hint button either points to a room to teleport to, or to an object within a room that needs action.
Because Abraham is an inventor, there are several mechanical objects to fix, including the light amulet, and a mechanical scarab that can fit into small places you cannot reach. The HOS are all lists - a bit too cluttered -- that follow an Egyptian theme. You also can collect 12 Egyptian canopic jars that describe who is buried inside them! The mini-games are unique, but not hard. My favorite was the room with the knives. You had to match up magnets to remove the knives so you could enter the room. Another one was to position mirrors that eventually blew up the skeleton blocking your access to another passage. There are 10 achievements you can win.
There is a bonus game, plus the usual CE bling. What is missing is the "Secret Room" that has been showing up in Elephant games lately after the Bonus Game - one of my favorite parts of their CEs. This is a worthy contender, however.
I recommend this game!
Haunted Manor: Painted Beauties Collector's Edition
A peaceful day at the park becomes a journey into the surreal when you become the latest victim of a troubled artist's deal with Death!
Overall rating
5
/
5
59 of 81 found this review helpful
Don't have your portrait painted in Paris!
PostedMay 24, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
You are Amelie, a Parisian beauty who agrees to allow Stephan Black to paint her portrait, and winds up trapped in a gothic mansion with 8 other women who also had their portraits painted! It seems Stephan has made a pact with Death - who happens to be a woman - to keep painting women and then painting prisons for them so Death can eventually get them.
So we have seen the "save the woman in the painting" theme before, but this one is still fun. And even when you save the woman, it seems Death gets her anyway! You must need the Soul Vial the priest left you to collect and save the captured souls. To enter each portrait, you need a colored jewel. Plus you are also trying to find 33 rosary beads that the priest told you would protect you from Death. One of the women -- Stefan's wife? - told you to restore your portrait from the place you were originally painted, before Stefan paints a picture jail for you, in order to escape. So much to do here! And he tore your picture into 15 pieces!
The HOS are mostly lists, except the first one was a list of silhouettes that were nicely hidden in the scene. Some of the mini-games were unique, but a few were repeats we have seen before. My favorite was to form four grouping of like items by rotating and swapping. The hint button is a guardian angel child that goes to sleep while she is re-charging. The map is quite a disappointment, however. First, it is hard to tell what scene is showing before you jump to it. Second, it is pretty useless - to me - because I normally rely on the map to tell me where to go next. This map doesn't show any activities waiting to be performed. So you have to rely on the hint button to take you to the next place - quite tedious, because I can never remember which room needed which object.
Regardless, the graphics are very nice. The voiceovers are well-acted and the lips do move. You have 16 achievements, plus the rosary beads, plus 30 morphing objects. I only found 2 morphing objects so they are well hidden and hopefully the strategy guide will show where they are! There is no icon on the screen to tell you if the scene has one or not, unfortunately. The CE bling includes the Bonus chapter, wallpaper, art, soundtrack and screensaver, plus the strategy guide. There are only 3 modes of play.
This is a very good game -- the third in the series. And quite fun to play. I just wish the map functioned in a more helpful fashion. With the special pricing this weekend, I will buy!
I recommend this game!
Find your sister and escape from a terrifying haunted house!
Overall rating
5
/
5
41 of 46 found this review helpful
Don't go in the house!
PostedMay 17, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is a wonderful game with lots of surprises and clever twists and turns. You and your sister Hope decide to explore a haunted house that - duh - has only been there 3 months or so! Don't do it!! Of course the house morphs and mutates and separates you sister and the others from you. There is also a hooded villain and dark smoke floating around.
The house has been around a while, at least since 1908, because you read a diary about Sir Anthony and his friend who become trapped in the house until the house - or their fear - consumes them.
Meanwhile, you find Sam who was trying to buy the house with his wife Beth, who both became trapped. You free Sam from the plants he is deathly afraid of, but he freaks and decides you are the villain and tries to set you on fire. Then there is poor Mr. Peterson, the tour guide, who is claustrophobic and has walls closing in on him. The house keeps trying to trip you up, but you keep solving the traps and are not afraid - except maybe of the nutcracker suite!
The HOS are lists -- the first one is clever, requiring you to find petals behind items hidden in the scene. The second one is the same scene with most of the items removed -- not cool. The mini-puzzles alternately hard or easy.
I couldn't find the strategy guide, but the map is a jump map and a good thing because you wander all over and the map is the only thing that tells you where to go next. The hint button is shaped like the house.
You have 15 achievements to earn, a heart to collect in each scene, plus figurines of all the characters. But I don't think this is a CE -- no HOS to replay or mini-games. There is a bonus game. I really like this game, but will wait for the SE version.
I recommend this game!
When his sister is murdered, you must prove your nephew’s innocence!
Overall rating
5
/
5
34 of 49 found this review helpful
The Gray saga continues!
PostedMay 15, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This is the sixth game in the series, and since I can't really remember the others, it must not matter. You are Aunt Gray who is summoned by Judge Adderly to be a witness in the case against your nephew James McGray in the killing of his sister Sally. The whole Gray/McGray/McGrey naming convention is a bit confusing and I'm not sure why it is included. Anyway, it appears James has motive, because he inherits the estate since Sally is dead!
You have the ability to time-travel, and you return to Blackstone Castle while Sally is still alive but arguing with James. However, there is a black ghost floating around the castle as well, doing dirty deeds like setting a fire and changing locks. He warns you that "You've gone too far" right before setting the castle on fire.
You have a very nice jump map with active sections marked to help you, plus a hint button, plus a strategy guide when all else fails. Your job is to gather evidence, which tells a bit of a story. You also have 13 figurines to collect, 10 achievements, and 35 morphing objects which must be well hidden because I didn't find any! There are three game modes.
The voice-overs and acting are first rate, although not many in the demo. The HOS are all lists. The mini-games, however, are first rate. My favorite was moving around doll accessories for all the dolls in the dollhouse. And putting together a stained glass window puzzle.
I think this is a buy for me. Try it and see!
I recommend this game!
Your librarian friend wants your help as a journalist – he’s found an ancient book that is still unfinished. Can you save the world in the book before their story ends?
Overall rating
5
/
5
43 of 57 found this review helpful
Rewrite the ending and save the king!
PostedMay 10, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
You are a reporter to whom a librarian gave an ancient, strange book. As you read the story, you are drawn into the world of King Kelen of Torelion, who has been captured by the dark mage Eldor. Eldor will kill the king, unless he receives the Enchanted Crown by midnight. The king's mother, Amelia, asks you to save her world from the prophecy's fulfillment, which has Eldor taking over Torelion.
As if that isn't enough to deal with, the book rewrites itself, putting up roadblocks for you -- spiderwebs all over Amelia's cottage, beavers eating the elder tree, and an overturned carriage at the castle. You are led through the story by Live the rabbit, who resembles the white rabblit in Alice in Wondland!
The story is excellent -- you never know what is coming next. The graphics in the cut scenes with the dark mage are wonderful. The rest of the graphics, while clean and clear, are a bit cartoonish, like the rabblit. And the voiceovers do not move their lips.
The demo is only 45 minutes, enough to whet your whistle and leave you wanting more. There are four modes of play, including custom. I played on casual, but still had to use the strategy guide -- something I almost never do any more. There is a hint button as well as a teleporting map with activities marked if you want. The HOS are silhouette lists, or find x items. You can switch from the HOS to puzzle mode, which presents you with a random mini-puzzle to solve. The mini-games themselves are excellent -- not too hard and not too easy, and unique. One of my favorites was a whack-a-mole variation where you try to hit 10 beavers to save the old tree. Another was guessing where the caterpillar will land after it does its chess knight-like "roll."
The entire game is clever and different. You are also collecting 18 colors of paint that you will use in a painting after the game is completed. There are four different story worlds for you to complete. I'm gonna have to buy this -- too much fun!
I recommend this game!