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:
The Lost Lands are in danger again... There's only one brave soul who can face the four evil horsemen to save it – you!
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
The Chosen One is a woman!
PostedJanuary 15, 2015
MSBAM100
fromReduced to playing solitaire while waiting for a good Hidden Object Game!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Current Favorite:
Lapland Solitaire
(25)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is the best CE so far this year! The story line is quite clever, even if you are a "frail woman" as the mage Maaron calls you. There are mermaids and halflings and potions and portals - so much to do before the Horseman of Fire burns everything looking for the Compass of the Worlds to open the Space Portal! Whew!
The graphics and animations are phenomenal. Watchng the heroine rise up through five stories of water is quite realistic, as is the flicking of the mermaid's tale and the glimpses of the Horseman riding through fire.
There are 20 achievements and 3 modes of difficulty. The HOS are all interactive silhouettes - not easy but not too hard. The mini-puzzles fit right into the story -- connecting 8 mage statues to pass energy balls, or matching runes one by one.
The CE bling has 35 "Beyond" collectibles that morph, plus 35 parts of a Magic Machine that is fun to watch as the parts fit in. Plus there are 20 manuscripts to find, that enhance the story. Finally, a CE that is worth the $$$! Try it and see!
I recommend this game!
A dark wizard awakens the ice queen using your daughter!
Overall rating
5
/
5
19 of 27 found this review helpful
Wizards, and potions and Ice Queens oh my!
PostedJanuary 8, 2015
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 good game with a lot of things to do. You are trying to save Princess Lerione from the Ice Queen who wants Lerione's heart to finally turn her own heart to Ice completely and conquer the world or whatever. You rescue Lucio, the royal wizard, who escaped the Ice Queen's freezing of everybody but you because you have these great gold amulet bracelets - how convenient! Anyway, with Lucio's help you mix a potion, repair a mirror and - aha - you have a portal to the Ice Queen's realm.
What is most interesting here, is the variety of puzzles. They are not hard, but each one is different. There are 3 history scrolls with 13 runes to find, each of which charges your crystal with a unique power that you need to make your way through the world of ice. You find a rune, then solve a puzzle to hear a story which charges your crystal. Each rune is different, and each story sheds light on the game story. You also have puzzle pieces to find to fill a book to un-enchant the characters the queen froze along the way.The HOS are interactive silhouettes.
The CE Bling includes 25 morphing items (indicated on map which scene they are in.) They decorate a tree for Christmas - a bit late - but for every 5 items you find, you can download a Greeting Card from the developer. There are also nice drawings of the development team.
The map is teleporting, with activities and morphing items marked. There are four game modes including custom. This is really a clever game -- not hard, but fun. Try it and see!
I recommend this game!
The Smithsonian Castle’s secrets lie in a Civil War past.
Overall rating
5
/
5
35 of 46 found this review helpful
Science, facts, and time travel!
PostedDecember 25, 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
Each Smithsonian adventure cleverly combines some historical facts with science yet continues to come up with believable stories. This time it involves time travel! You are once again an agent of H.E.L.P. called up by the Smithsonian to investigate an electrical outage and a security breach. Using a facial recognition progam with the security camera footage - a mini-game - you identify the employee. Turns out Sarah Jackson is sending information "across time" to Eli Pike, a lab assistant in 1862 who is also researching time travel! When you try to chase Sarah, you wind up back in 1862 yourself!
The game starts out a bit slow, but once you arrive back in time, it is quite fun to see the Smithsonian as it existed back then. You even run into your partner Sam's ancestor!
The HOS in the game are silhouettes to find, or objects represented by two objects you need to interpret. Once you arrive in 1862, you have a FROG to assemble. The mini-games are pretty easy, but fun -- you have to solve four puzzles to enter a door. The usual FACT cards are here, with nice tidbits about the Smithsonian and its founder. The CE bling includes one of my favorites, the Souvenir Room, but they've left out my other favorite, the "Making Of" video. There are collectibles in each scene, with an icon to let you know if you've found one there or not. Plus the HOS/FROG also have morphing items, with an icon for that as well.
The story is fun, and somehow ties into the intro which shows a little girl disappearing into a portal back in the 1800s or so. To find out more, you have to buy it! Try it and see.
I recommend this game!
Welcome to Holy Mountain Hotel, where all criminals are punished.
Overall rating
5
/
5
40 of 54 found this review helpful
Judge, jury and executioner!
PostedDecember 18, 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 great new entry into the Haunted Hotel series! Only this time, you are without your partner James, and you must find him and save him -- or is he already dead?
It seems the owner of the Holy Mountain Hotel invites guests to his hotel. But these guests seem to be guilty of a crime, but found innocent in court. Esrael Blackthorne, the hotel owner, seems to be sentencing the guilty guest to death, and then killing them. There is the surgeon who killed the patient by operating while intoxicated. And the race car driver who killed a mother and child with his car, then left the scene of the accident. But what about your friend James?
You are assisted in your discovery by dossiers about the guests, plus videos you can watch after you assemble the projector. And James leaves you notes along the way, as well. And just when you think you will get some answers, you find Esrael dead as well........and the demo ends!
For bonus bling there are 11 character statues to collect, plus Esrael's antique collection of 22 beautiful jade and jeweled objects to find. They are not hard to discover, but still fun to find and read the item's description.
The HOS are not difficult, but relate to where you are in the game -- lists or silhouettes. The mini-games are not unique, but still fun. There are bonus mini-games, plus the bonus chapter, and an alternate ending as well. One nice feature is the ability to change the brightness of the screen. Plus the four modes include custom.
Try this and enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Christmas Eve: Midnight's Call Collector's Edition
Do you have what it takes to save Christmas?
Overall rating
5
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Your twin is alive and an evil sorceress!
PostedDecember 11, 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 was a short demo but you still get a sense of the story and a feel for the game. Which is great! Another Christmas themed game that starts out with you mourning your twin sister who fell through the ice when the two of you were skating when you were young. You are transported to Snow Hill Kingdom, where you discover everyone is being turned into ice and the town needs your help. So you solve a puzzle to get the recipe for the frost removal potion, then solve a HOP to make the potion - pretty cool!
You thaw out Leonardo, who seems to be a prince, but the Queen has been captured by an evil sorceress. Meanwhile, you use your magnifying glass to identify your sister's scarf, hat and ice skate, convincing you she is still alive. And she is -- she's just become the evil sorceress who wants to open the portal to escape her world and enter yours and rule them both!
The game has four modes, including custom, and a teleporting map. The mini-games are interesting - matching the tops and bottoms of a ring of animals is a bit challenging, but fun. The achievements are all activity based - yeah! - and help decorate your living room for Christmas.
The graphics are beautiful, the voice-overs are realistic. There are Christmas gifts to collect which are easy to find. This is a fun game with a Christmas theme that you should enjoy. Try it and see.
I recommend this game!
Another bloodcurdling tale ripped from the pages of history. This time, the horrifying legend of Elizabeth Bathory is yours to discover!
Overall rating
4
/
5
11 of 20 found this review helpful
Gypsies and potions but no vampires yet!
PostedDecember 6, 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
5
/
5
This game is based on a famous legend about Countess Bathory, supposedly a serial killer who bathed in blood to keep her youth, in the 1600's in Hungary! You are a gypsy herbalist and "finder", contacted by the father of one of women who visited the Countess' castle and never returned. It is a good premise for a story, but the demo is not that scary or gruesome.
Being a gypsy, you have psychic powers that let you touch an object and see what it was recently used for - after making the "Seeing Eye" potion. You are a herbalist, so you plant the seeds you find, water them, and add the herbs to your herbarium, and eventually use them to make potions, which is kind of fun. You get to go back and forth to your gypsy wagon via an icon on the screen.
The graphics are nice and crisp, but I wish they had the "gamma" option to brighten the screen a bit. You have tarot cards to collect, but I only found the sample one - probably because the top of my screen was too dark to see. The HOPs require you to use items from your inventory, which is sometimes hard to remember. But they are interesting -- either silhouettes or the "find 4 musical items" type. The voice-overs are few, but the lips do move.
There are 4 modes of play, including custom, plus 14 achievements of which I don't think I collected any. This is a fun game, but the demo was rather short so you didn't get a sense of what was really going on here, which is why the four stars.
I recommend this game!
The Rat King's wand has fallen into the hands of a vengeful baron. Team up with your new friend, the Tin Soldier, to stop him!
Overall rating
5
/
5
67 of 90 found this review helpful
The spirit of Christmas lives in this Christmas Story
PostedDecember 4, 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 filled with Christmas touches throughout, besides being artistically beautiful and a great story as well! There is so much to like about this game -- I already bought it! If you haven't played the previous ones, rush and get them as well!
So the Baron has found the Rat King's magic wand that the toymaker fixed - kind of. He's in love with Nina, and turns her, her fiancé Charlie, and her brother Albert into a toy doll and toy soldiers. Plus the Baron becomes a jack-in-the-box.
Albert becomes your hint button, and Charlie beomes your assistant - after you rebuild him - to help you recover Nina, who has been kidnapped by the box trolls - and turn everyone back into humans. The box trolls are little green men with their own personalities that live inside Christmas boxes. You can click on just about anything and it will react in some way.
The game is so clever. The HOS are Christmas based -- find hidden pairs or silhouettes. But the mini-games -- wow! Rebuild a snowman, make a doll by cutting a tree and carving then assembling then painting the pieces, interact with Charlie in vignettes to tell his wartime story about how he lost his leg. You even get to make a shrinking potion! When you fix the electric lights, the entire Christmas tree lights up making a beautiful scene.
There are 4 modes of play, including custom. Plus the gamma option allows you to brighten your screen. There are 2 bonus games, miniature cat collectibles in their own cat Christmas boxes, and 36 jigsaw puzzle pieces to find to make 3 different puzzles. The 23 achievements open up presents and are story-based or time/hint/skip based.
Don't wait for Christmas -- try this now!
I recommend this game!
A deadly secret lurks in the woods of Dire Grove!
Overall rating
5
/
5
60 of 82 found this review helpful
Revisit Dire Grove and lift the curse!
PostedNovember 25, 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 treat to give thanks for! The Mystery Case Files keep getting better and better. You are again the Master Detective called upon to solve a mystery by revisiting Dire Grove. You arrive to find the temperature is 30 below and wild animals are attacking the town. The only people left are the hunters, led by Samuel, who have captured a druid called a Mistwalker, whom they blame for the problems in the town. It is up to you to figure it out and return the town to normal.
The game is fantastic, with one extra touch after another. You get to decide if you are a male or femaie, plus select one of 5 game modes, including a "Master Detective" timed mode only available after you complete the original game! No custom mode, however, but you can adjust the brightness. The lips move in the voice-overs, and I even jumped when two wolves surprised me when I was focused on saving one of the hunters! Your suitcase even has stickers from all the places you've been - namely, the other MCF games!
Ther are 8 model buildings to collect that are easy to spot but they morph. There are 84 puzzle pieces to find and assemble in 5 jigsaw puzzles. There are several achievements -- all time/hint/skip based except for one "secret achievement." You have a jump map with activites marked in casual mode. Besides a bonus game, you can play again with an Alternate Ending!
After finding 5 key pieces of evidence, you get to see the Investigation Board, which helps you tie the evidence together and decide the town is cursed. The HOPs are all multi-level and fun. The best part are the "Rube Goldberg-like" mini-games that have you pushing levers and connecting circuits or building paths on large device to get to the reward item at the end. Luckily, they include puzzle clues so you don't have to skip when you get stuck!
Can't wait to buy it! Try it and see.
I recommend this game!
Find out who framed your fiancé for murder and clear his name
Overall rating
5
/
5
19 of 26 found this review helpful
Wolf Studios strikes again!
PostedNovember 22, 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 the fourth Final Cut and they all take place at Wolf Studios where murder and mayhem abound! This time you are the assistant director helping your director brother shoot a movie that already has 5 deaths connected to previous attempts to make the movie. Your fiancé Rubin plays the villain, who shoots the hero Brian -- unfortunately with real bullets. So Brian dies and his wife Melanie and Rubin are kidnapped. It is up to you to save them by finding the original film and giving it to the kidnapper.
This developer always has lots of CE Bling. Besides the normal stuff, you have the Souvenir Room, the Making of, 40 film strips to collect, plus a Match 3 game. There are morphing objects in the HOPs - because it is an achievement, not because I found any. The film strip collectibles have an icon on the screen - very helpful.
There are four modes of play, including custom. The teleporting map has activities marked. There is also a film slide viewer, that you use in rooms where the slide was taken, to find details that are different. The HOPs are not too hard, but multi-level. The mini-games are OK, but not necessarily on topic for the game.
I played for 81 minutes, and just when I thought I was delivering the film to the kidnapper, he/she says it is only half of the film so you only get one hostage back! So I have to buy this game to save the other hostage! Try it and see for yourself.
I recommend this game!
Save your friends and escape from a deadly game!
Overall rating
5
/
5
61 of 74 found this review helpful
Can you win the card game and save your friends?
PostedNovember 20, 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
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Every Surface game is uniquely different, and this one doesn't disappoint. The premise is, you and your friends sign up for an experimental Game, but you are late - good thing! Meanwhile, your three friends have disappeared into the game world by rolling the dice, landing on a square and facing the consequences of the card they draw. Being late, you still must join the game, but you have the opportunity to save your friends, and you become the White Queen game piece. You finally free your friend Maggie from the Lumberjack, but he grabs you instead to bury you alive -- and the demo ends!
The Surface games include flowers to find in every scene, that you use to purchase items for the bonus room -- which looks similar to your apartment. I managed to buy a teddy bear and some curtains. I am not good at looking for items unless I have a reminder on the screen, but it is fun to try.
Also part of the CE Bling are collectible statues of game characters -- not very hidden, but still fun to spot one. The achievement awards are all chess pieces on a gameboard. One of the options to change is the Gamma option, which brightens the screen -- I like to eliminate the darkness that occurs at the edges of my large monitor during HOPs.
There are four game modes, including custom. Playing on Casual is quite easy. I played for 72 minutes and didn't skip a mini-game. The HOPs are also easy, but each one is slightly different so you don't get bored. Sometimes the HOP is part of the story recitation. Other times you find pairs by moving items in the scene.
This is a very good game with an excellent and unique story line. Gotta have it!
I recommend this game!