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:
Margaret's soul has been broken into fragments and strewn across multiple worlds. Can you find them all and save her?
Overall rating
5
/
5
42 of 46 found this review helpful
Can you find the pieces of your sister's soul?
PostedSeptember 6, 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 beautiful, clever game for the weekend! Nothing scary -- even the music is calming. But you still must save your scientist sister by finding pieces of her soul that that Dr. Samuel Thomson has broken into the parts of love, loyalty, logic and creativity and scattered throughout 4 worlds reachable by his mirror portals! Whew!
To help you deal with Samuel and his inventions, your sister Margaret has left you a mechanical Harlequin that helps you repair devices you find. You also have a dossier -- a diary with notes about people you meet and objects you find. Plus a wonderful teleporting map with activities marked. And a hint button that I don't think I used. When you open a portal to a world, you even get another item to help you, like wings to enable you to reach high places!
This game is so clever. All the "locks" do not just require normal keys. You need to give a boy a fishing rod to open a drawer, place portrait pieces to open a cupboard, match flashing colors to open a door. The HOS are just interactive lists, but you can switch to a jigsaw puzzle if you get stuck.
There are 26 achievements to earn. Plus I found 4 masks that I can use in the Boudoir and 25 or so coins to use in the Museum -- unfortunately, these were not part of the demo.
One of the nice touches is when you solve a HOS, the scene left behind changes in the main game -- a closed book becomes open, a stack of items becomes scattered.
This is a great game, with four additional worlds to solve/help. Off to buy it on sale!
I recommend this game!
Mr. Turner was surrounded by people who could all benefit from his death, but who actually murdered him? Play the detective in this classic whodunit mystery!
Overall rating
5
/
5
39 of 45 found this review helpful
Who dun it?
PostedSeptember 2, 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 an interesting game! You are detective Karla Robbins who is investigating the murder of lawyer Adam Turner, assisted by detective John Scott. There are six suspects to investigate - the paper boy, the maid, the sister, the wife, the neighbor, plus the mafia!
While the lips don't move, the voice-overs are excellent. The graphics are clean and clear. You have a fingerprint scanner and the hint button, that also teleports. There is no map, but it doesn't seem necessary. The HOPs are either a list or silhouettes, and not interactive. The mini-games are interesting -- match up about 40 circles or so to make a correct picture is fun.
I haven't figured out "who dun it", and the fingerprint analysis hasn't returned yet from forensics. So I guess I'll have to get this game to solve the murder! Very nice for an SE game!
I recommend this game!
Can you escape from the grasp of a lovestruck ghost?
Overall rating
5
/
5
46 of 59 found this review helpful
Can you solve the murder of Alexandra in Romania?
PostedAugust 30, 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
The Dana Knightstone games are a relaxing bit of fluff with great graphics and interesting storylines. This one is not different, set in a Romanian castle filled with ghosts still reliving a love story and a murder! Unfortunately, you look just like the murdered bride Alexandra and her bridegroom Count Lucien keeps locking you up -- in the catacombs or the dungeon or wherever! Supposedly Alexandra was murdered by her friend Knight Nicolai, but I think the Steward might have done it!
Luckily you have your trusty dog Bandit (the name I always use for my pet game dogs!) who kind of looks like a ghost himself! Bandit of course can dig and climb and in general help you out. You also have a very nice teleporting map with activities marked, and a hint button that also teleports when necessary. Both of which make the Strategy Guide not really necessary.
The HOPs are a list, or an interactive lists of silhouettes where you use an item to get the next item. There are also some "find the pieces" types that are not hard, but fun. The mini-games stay with the theme, but are not that unique.
Anyway, like the previous games in this series, the graphics make you feel like you are in a castle in Romania. Despite the fact that there are not collectibles or a lot of CE bling, this is a fun game for a nice long holiday weekend. Enjoy!
I recommend this game!
You’re about to uncover the secret that’s been haunting Blackrow!
Overall rating
5
/
5
36 of 45 found this review helpful
Can you rescue Norma Shine?
PostedAugust 28, 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 for the nice long holiday weekend coming up! This is episode 7 of Mystery Trackers, and if you haven't played the others, you will enjoy them also. Each story stands alone, except your buddy Elf the dog is your helper throughout.
Anyway, you are supposed to be guarding actress Norma Shine who has received threats, when you take a detour, have a wreck - of course! - and Norma is taken by a large man and dragged into Blackrow Manor. Except Blackrow Manor and the surrounding streets have been quarantined since the 1800s and everyone around should be dead!
To help you rescue Norma, you have a new device that reacts to "disturbances" and finds memories of people who lived back when. With your device, you meet the Blackrow Manor family of Abigal Blackrow and her dead alchemist husband Samuel. Abigal decides to use Samuel's notes to find the secret to immortality -- a good way to survive the plague, I guess.
You also have a very nice teleporting map with activities marked and a hint button that will also teleport. Your CE bling includes the Secret Room, 26 pieces of stained glass to find and assemble, collectibles which didn't appear in the demo that I could find, 19 categories of achievements, and of course the strategy guide and bonus chapter. No developer video, however.
The HOS were all lists, and the mini-games were not unique and not hard. But the game is easy to follow and fun. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
I recommend this game!
Manor Memoirs Collector's Edition
Help Scarlett write her next novel!
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Furnish the mansion for Scarlett
PostedAugust 23, 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
4
/
5
If you liked Gardenscapes, you will enjoy this game as well. It has a relaxed and a timed mode. I always play relaxed because I am not as fast as I used to be! Anyway, you find objects people want to buy, and earn coins which you then use to buy furniture or carpet or even a bed for the cat you find. I am not sure it is CE level -- the Strategy Guide shows where all the items are, but I'd rather just use the Hint button!
This is a fun game and Scarlett is as funny as the guy from Gardenscapes! Enjoy!
I recommend this game!
PuppetShow: Lightning Strikes Collector's Edition
The women of Paris are being turned into puppets! Can you find out who's pulling the strings?
Overall rating
5
/
5
108 of 143 found this review helpful
A brand new PuppetShow!
PostedAugust 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
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Joyville is gone, along with Felicia - except in portraits - and they've been replaced by Paris and a wonderful story about women being turned into puppets by lightening! You ride a blimp - in 1888 - piloted by Police Inspector Froissart, who has a mechanical arm, and land somewhat haphazardly in Paris. Froissart seems to be a good guy, but the person who made his mechanical arm.................hmmmm?
You partner up with Shanta, a fortune teller, who lost her doll to the puppeteer, and is willing to help you help the women to recover her doll. Of course there is a love story in here somewhere, with the puppeteer looking to replace the heart of his beloved!
The mini-games are quite fun with a circus theme - where else do you find a fortune teller? The HOPs are unique. You receive verbal or written clues, or you can switch to a picure list. The Paper Puppet Theater tells the story of a gypsy who falls in love with a girl whose parents come to buy a horse for her birthday from the gypsy. Maybe the gypsy is the puppeteer? Anyway, there are creepy puppets everywhere, made from lamps or chandeliers or whatever. You shoot out their eye and they collapse.
Plus, you get to collect piggy banks that allow you to purchase improvements to Wonders of the World -- the first, of course, is the Eiffel Tower. I didn't quite finish it before the demo ended, but it was a unique touch.
To help you along, you have a teleporting map with activities marked, a teleporting hint button as well, plus an evidence board which I didn't quite understand but I am sure will become more useful as the game develops.
And the evil spider puppet is back! Enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Lynn’s wedding is interrupted by a ghost from Edward’s past.
Overall rating
5
/
5
104 of 122 found this review helpful
Will Lynn and Edward EVER get to marry?
PostedAugust 16, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
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 in the series and it still has the wow factor! You are Carrie, Lynn's adopted mother who has raised Lynn to use her witch's powers for good. Edward is a witch hunter, who fell in love with Lynn when he realized she was a good witch. Now they are about to get married, but Edward decides to visit his old orphanage to find out what happened to his parents. Turns out his parents were killed by witch hunters, and his sister Abigal is also a witch and now wants to kill Edward for joining up with the witch hunters! Kind of complicated, but it works! Just when you and Lynn are about to rescue Edward, Abigal sets fire to the tower with Edward and the demo ends!
This has all the bells and whistles we expect from this developer. Lynn's pet Imp is along, and you find 10 items for the Imp Room along the way. Just watching the imp climb up a rope to get an item is great fun, but when he smiles -- he needs a dentist to fix his teeth!
You also get to find 35 puzzle pieces, 35 morphing items, and win 12 achievements. The teleporting map shows you where an activity can occur, plus has an icon for places you still haven't collected the morphing or puzzle item -- a nice touch.
The HOPs are lists or silhouettes with a twist. Solve a list to create a mold to melt a statue to make a key to open a drawer to get your final item, or finish a picture, or switch to a matching game. The mini-games are interesting -- guide the imp though a blind maze, removing vines along the way. There are four modes of play, and with the map, you don't even need the hint button or the strategy guide.
You don't have to play the previous games to enjoy this one, but they are all quite entertaining. Hope you like it, too.
I recommend this game!
There's a new sheriff in Meadows Town – and it's you! Can you stop a vengeful Viking spirit before she strikes again?
Overall rating
5
/
5
45 of 59 found this review helpful
The Vikings are here!
PostedAugust 14, 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 can't remember another Hidden Object game involving Vikings, so it is pretty neat to have a Viking love story as the theme of this game.
You arrive in town to find the Sheriff missing and a teacher dead. With your trusty sidekick Deputy Jones you investigate and pretty soon you have 3 murders and a Viking shield maiden's spirit who steals their bodies and turns them into skeletons. And you're next! It seems Valkiris just wants to be reunited with her love Torvald, who has gone to Valhalla -- but no women allowed!
You have the Evidence board that holds all your findings, a pretty good jump map that sometimes shows you where to go next, and a cool "spirit device" that lets you collect paranormal activity to get rid of an unfriendly spirit in the room. Plus you collect runes that help you decipher scrolls -- not so helpful yet but only one gets translated in the demo.
The HOPs are fun -- match pairs of objects, dress a man who lost some clothes running from the spirit. The mini-games are even better -- match fingerprints, use a phone without the numbers being visitble, complete Viking magnets on the fridge. Each game and HOP ties into the story.
I played the demo for 81 minutes and truly had a great time! Enjoy.
I recommend this game!
Travel through ghost worlds to investigate the mysteries of your family. Can you uncover the mystery of the tribal curse?
Overall rating
5
/
5
41 of 45 found this review helpful
Can you make all the voodoo dolls?
PostedAugust 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 is an excellent example of an SE game. No bells and whistles, but a great story and very interesting execution.
You are the son of your father who dies upon your birth due to an old curse. Your father's letter encourages you to figure out how to break the curse, so it doesn't happen to you also. You need to make a voodoo doll to help break the curse, by finding about 7 different pieces of the doll and then assembling it. The clever part of this game is the multiple pieces required for completing the spell, using the altar to transport to your grandfather's farm. Evidently, the spell didn't affect your grandfather? Anyway, the puzzles are clever -- like assembling a key that you use in multiple locations.
There is no map, but I didn't need one so far. I only wish the inventory would lock open. However, when you click on an item, like a candle, it shows you what you need to move forward -- like a match to light the candle. When you accomplish something significant, like performing the spell to open the altar portals, you hear the beginning bars of the old "Mission Impossible" theme song!
I don't usually go for SE only games, but this one is very cool as well as creative!
I recommend this game!
Solve the mystery that spooked a young girl into silence!
Overall rating
5
/
5
105 of 124 found this review helpful
Beware the fiery knight and his hound!
PostedAugust 9, 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
Be prepared to be impressed by the quality of this game! I enjoyed all 83 minutes of the demo, from the spontaneous combustion of items you click on, to the creepy things that happen at random instances - like in the middle of a HOS!
You are Brenda Gale, called in by the British police to investigate yet another disappearance at Flatsbury Castle, of a father and son. Daughter Jesse was not taken, and misses her mother terribly, who has tragically died after divorcing their father - Ha!
Anyway, what makes this so much fun are the multi-level HOPs, that are clever, but logical, as one item interacts with another, based on either a list or silhouettes. In my favorite HOP so far, you fix a lamp, a doll goes creepy, then you find patterns to get a key to open a chest to get the final item. Or you have to uncover all the numbers to a code. Each HOP is unique and the items even cross themselves off the list as you interact with them. How cool is that!
Plus, you get to collect puzzle pieces that fit into a picture frame that yield a piece to the grand art work started by the original Lord of the castle -- who it seems killed his daughter and/or her boyfriend who was the mason who built the castle.
The story makes sense, the hint button will teleport you, there is a fiery knight and his hound walking around, and it all makes for a very satisfying game experience. You've got to try it for yourself!
I recommend this game!