dancemom1's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.6
- Helpful Votes:13,287
- Reviews Submitted:871
- First Review:April 15, 2012
- Most Recent Review:November 26, 2024
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Your daughter's lost in the Maze of Fears, but you'll face more than her disappearance if you dare to enter.
Overall rating
3
/
5
11 of 16 found this review helpful
Not CE Worthy!
PostedMay 15, 2015
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure, Strategy, Word, Card & Board, Family
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Hi all. Here we have number 4 in this series...yep, got all the others. This one is not a as well done as the other games in this series, and as usual, there is a lot of blue and pink. Don't know why they can't clean that up, but very tiring on the eyes. Even so, colors were bright and clear. Game play was good, no problems during the demo, but characters had a very stiff movement. Music was okay, but got a little boring after a while. Not sure why devs think the music should over-power the dialog, but it seems to happen a lot lately, even when the music is turned down. Voice overs were just okay, but without much emotion or realism.
SG was the usual and is easy to follow. HOPs were interactive lists and the same with every one. This game definitely needed a change up in this area. You can switch to the match 3, which is not one of my favorite games. At first I liked the way they were done, but then it got boring very quickly. You have to get 3 matches in a row in one area in order to eliminate the items. Too much time spent on this and not the game. One thing I didn't care for was that there were a lot of items that needed to be put together, so you were always looking for another part before you could complete a task elsewhere. Maybe they did this to make the game seem longer...it just got old real quick. HOPs are very few in the demo, so hopefully they pick up a bit as the game progresses. Puzzles were extremely simple and took no real brain power to complete. Hint system was helpful and did transport to longer locations. Jump map worked well and was clear and easy to follow.
Collectibles...fears. Now this was a nice idea, but just finding a picture of a fear was boring. I really saw no "fear" anywhere. The collectibles were extremely disappointing and needed a lot more to make this one CE worthy.
Even though I did like the story line on this one, it was somewhat choppy and did not flow well. You would find an item, use it and lose it, then need to find another "like" item to do the same thing that one did, e.g. flashlight and lantern. Almost like someone took parts and pieces of other games to put this one together. As I said, I do not feel this game is CE worthy and not sure SE works for me either. Maybe...maybe a beginner would find this one fun, but not for me. I'll give the SE a shot when it comes out and see what happens, but not holding my breath. Recommended for those who like extremely simple games.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may find this one to be exactly what you are looking for today. Thanks for the reviews.
I recommend this game!
Thieves have stolen Charon's most powerful artifact: watches that can stop time. Now only you stand in their way.
Overall rating
4
/
5
8 of 13 found this review helpful
Nice game with lots of achievements and collectibles...
PostedMay 10, 2015
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Adventure, Strategy, Word, Card & Board, Family
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Hi all. Missed this game yesterday, so here we go today. First, Happy Mother's Day! This is the second in this series. I liked the first one and found this one a bit different. Graphics were a little one dimensional at first, as far as the characters were concerned, but everything else was good. Colors are bright, but not over-powering. Game play was very good, no problems during the demo. Voice overs were nice and character appropriate, with some emotion for reality purposes. Music isn't bad, but repetitive. I always demo in easy mode to get the feel of the game. I do like the ability to increase or decrease the skip time, especially since I feel that more than 15 sec is too much wasted time and less than 10 is no challenge at all.
I didn't look at the SG, except to see that there wasn't much there anyway. Often, if they don't show the entire TOC, the game is usually short, but I have been fooled before. HOPs are nothing new...find an object to uncover a puzzles piece and interactive lists. They are clean and items are not difficult to find. Puzzles were quite simple and didn't really take much thought or time to complete. The jump map shows multiple objective areas at once, most of which you haven't even visited yet, so this can be a little confusing as to where you go next. I just walked in a straight line. Hint system is quite helpful and does transport to longer locations. You have to use a little hand-held "chronometer" to "unfreeze" areas in order to move on in a scene. This was just too simple.
Collectibles are 47 butterflies, which fill in the blanks in the extras, and are quite easy to spot. They can be a solid or an outline. You also find a number of achievements, nothing new. There are 10 animal figures to find as well..not sure what they are for, but they pop up when least expected (there is one snake figure). Blue jewels to complete a heart, these are actually 17 morphing objects which are not as easy to see as you may think. I only found 3 during the demo.
I did not find this game to be all that challenging, nor was the story line anything exciting, but that being said...I do like this game and have the need to go back and find those morphing objects so I can see what happens when I complete the heart. Also need to see what happens when I find all those animals. I think this game will appeal to most all levels of players and yes, I am going to get this one for my collection.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may not care for this one at all. Thanks for the reviews.
I recommend this game!
Haunted Legends: The Dark Wishes Collector's Edition
Restore the threads of Fate, before they cause a disaster!
Overall rating
4
/
5
16 of 24 found this review helpful
Nice game, but not CE worthy
PostedMay 7, 2015
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure, Strategy, Word, Card & Board, Family
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
SG is the usual and is easy to follow if you need it. I use it only to make sure I found all of the collectibles. Jump map was very generic and needed actual pictures of the locations with the names to properly identify where you were going. HOPs are the usual interactive lists with nothing extra. Time to upgrade a bit on this one. They are clear and clean and items are not difficult to find. Puzzles are very simple. I do like the block puzzles, e.g., move the pieces to form a picture, but I'm also a big jigsaw puzzle person. Some of the others took a little time to complete, but are not difficult.
The only collectibles I found are the pigeons. Not sure if their collection means anything, other than finding out about each bird. This is rather boring and one of the suggestions I made was to add something else to the collectibles to make it more interesting. Didn't happen. They are not all that hard to spot, but some are quite small and/or far away. Disappointed in these.
I beta tested this one back in February and made a few simple suggestions...naturally, they were ignored. I have all of the others in this series and like them all, but this one left a bit to be desired. The game flowed well, but the only challenge was trying to see the small birds. Very disappointed in the fact that the demo only had 2 chapters. Extremely short play. When I beta tested this one, I only gave it a 3.5 because I didn't feel it was CE worthy, based on the boring collectibles, or lack there of. I will give this one a 4 only because I like the story line, but I am still not sure it is CE worthy. It is going in my puddle for now. If there is a really good CE sale, I'll get it. Otherwise, I'll wait for the SE.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may find this one to be exactly what you are looking for. It is a nice game and one I think most all players would like in one form or another. Thanks for the reviews.
I recommend this game!
Enter the role of Eve Glover, one of the best CCPP's agents, sent to investigate the lack of radio communication from your scientific team on Iceland, researching harmonium radiation.
Overall rating
4
/
5
7 of 8 found this review helpful
Well worth the CE price....
PostedMay 1, 2015
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure, Word, Card & Board, Family
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Hi all. Just got to this one today. Another addition to this series, and yes I do have the others in my collection. Excellent graphics, bright colors. No problem with game play at all during the demo. I usually turn music down to a little background, but this music is awesome. Combination of soothing, sinister, and edge of your seat. Extremely well done. Looks like we also have a little time travel, or at least to another dimension...nice. Voice overs are very well done, age and character appropriate, with fear, pain and all the other emotions to make it more realistic. You can skip blocks of dialog without skipping it entirely, for those who read faster than they speak. There is a click penalty, but you really have to click a lot to get it!
The jump map is helpful, but you don't need to use it. Didn't care for the "extra" click to make the jump, but that's just me. SG is the standard, but again, you don't really need it for this game, as it flows quite well. HOPs are interactive lists and silhouettes and are very clean and clear. Items are not difficult to find. You can switch to a bubble popper game, but not my cup of tea. Puzzles were somewhat different and fun, but not difficult. Some took a little bit to complete. Hint system is quite helpful and does transport to longer locations.
The only collectibles I found are books and there are 40 of them. They aren't hard to spot, but they don't jump off the page at you either. You also collect colored crystals that provide you with special powers to help along the way and to complete objectives. There are a lot of achievements.
I primarily review on game play and not the story line, but this story is different and captivating. You are constantly on the move, without a lot of back tracking. I found this game to be challenging and fun enough keep me moving, interested and wanting more. I was very disappointed when the demo ended. I really like games that include the ability to go back for collectibles you missed and an extra souvenir room. Absolutely, I am getting this one for my collection. I think this game will appeal to all levels of players.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may not care for this one at all. Thanks for the reviews.
I recommend this game!
Find the cure to save your brother from the Others.
Overall rating
4
/
5
26 of 32 found this review helpful
Nice SE...
PostedApril 26, 2015
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Family, Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Hi all. Again I find that the SE is much better than the CE version (see CE review below). Playing a second time does help when you are on the fence about a game. Still do not feel it is CE worthy, but I am going to get the SE version for my collection.
"Well, this one is a little different. Graphics were very nice and animation was good. Colors are very bright and clear. Game play was good, no problems at all during the demo. Music was soothing. Voice overs were pretty good, but I felt the "raven" should have sounded a bit more "magical." The voice didn't seem to fit the all seeing, all knowing bird.
HOPs were done a little differently, in that in some, the characters actually participated...well done. They are very clean and quite simple and items are not difficult to find. Other HOPs are puzzles within a HOP. Nice. There is a jump map, which is okay. You don't do that much running back and forth, but it is helpful when needed. One odd thing I did see with the map is that when you needed to finish completing something in a scene, and looked at the map, it would say "impossible to use map at this time," rather than not show that there is something else to do elsewhere. Does that make sense? Hint system is also helpful, no transport that I have seen, but it seems a little slow on the refill.
The only collectibles I found so far are raven silhouettes. There are 28 of them and they are not as easy to spot as you may think. The silhouettes are fairly light and blend pretty well into the scenery, so be on the lookout for them. The lack of something extra was a little disappointing.
This wasn't a bad game, but I'm not sure it is CE worthy. It is quite simple and easy to follow. Looks like I might be odd man out on this one, but there wasn't enough challenge, nor was the story interesting enough to make me want to buy it now. I'm not sure a "seasoned" gamer would find this one worth the price, unless they just wanted something simple. I do that occasionally myself. For now I am going to put this one in my puddle and see what happens when I replay it as an SE. I sometimes change my mind and buy the SE."
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may find this one to be exactly what you are looking for. Thanks for the reviews.
I recommend this game!
A simple job protecting a bumbling professor becomes a nightmare when a masked figure threatens to kill him!
Overall rating
5
/
5
26 of 36 found this review helpful
Excellent addition to this series...
PostedApril 25, 2015
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Family, Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I also beta tested this one. I track the betas and give them stars. This one I gave a 5, which I rarely do to any game, but it had it all and was well worth it. Been out of town, so not going to do my usual review, but I bought this one without giving the demo a try. That is something I have only done with two other games. Yes, the other game came out this week aswell and it got the same rating and instant buy without the demo.
Don't think anyone, of any play level, will be disappointed in this game at all. I think this one is the best of this series. Naturally, I have all of the others.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may not care for this one at all. Thanks for the reviews.
I recommend this game!
Only the Rose of Life can cure your father’s illness.
Overall rating
5
/
5
3 of 7 found this review helpful
Excellent addition to this series...
PostedApril 25, 2015
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Family, Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I also beta tested this one. I track the betas and give them stars. This one I gave a 5, which I rarely do to any game, but it had it all and was well worth it. Been out of town, so not going to do my usual review, but I bought this one without giving the demo a try. That is something I have only done one other time, but I see another game that came out this weekend that is going to get the same treatment as this one.
Don't think anyone, of any play level, will be disappointed in this game at all.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may not care for this one at all. Thanks for the reviews.
I recommend this game!
Trapped in the past, Sarah must find a way home.
Overall rating
4
/
5
41 of 52 found this review helpful
Nice SE...
PostedApril 19, 2015
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Family, Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Hi all. Below you will see my review of the CE version. I still stand by that review on this one. However, in playing it again, I find that I like it well enough to use a PCC and get the SE version. I think this one might pick up a bit as we progress.
"Well, we have the 4th in this series and it seems to run along the same lines are the first 3. I always demo in casual mode to get the feel of a game and usually always review on game play only, letting others review the story line. Graphics were fairly nice in this with good animation, down to the eye movements. Colors are bright and clear. Game play was good, but there was a little lag between scenes and when you used "Nubi," your trusty helper. Nubi has skills you don't possess and is quite helpful. Unlike other helpers, he is very quiet. Music doesn't seem to be quite right for this setting, but I usually turn it down for just a little background noise. Sound FX are very nice, with the sounds you would expect to hear in a jungle and such. Voice overs were appropriate for the characters as well. Other than the SFX, this game is pretty quiet and has little very interaction with the characters.
HOPs were nothing new and very simple, with interactive lists and finding parts of objects. They are pretty clean and items are not difficult to find. If you don't care for HOPs, you can switch to a Mahjong game. Puzzles were quite simple as well, with nothing new during the demo. You are not over run by HOPs or puzzles in this game, but you do a lot of running back and forth to the same location. Fortunately, you have a jump map that saves you a lot of time and shoe leather, and you will use it. Hint system is quite helpful, but seems a little long on the recharge. Skip time is even longer in the puzzles. I don't see that you can customize this feature to shorten it either.
There are a lot of achievements, but nothing new and they are not difficult to achieve. The only collectibles are animal masks, 10 each of jaguars, crocodiles and eagles. These are hidden in close up scenes and within the game, and are quite small in most cases. They use rocks, trees and bushes and various other items to cover them, so they are not as easy to spot as you think. Still, the collectibles were disappointing.
As I said, I have the first 3, but only the last one is a CE. This is not a bad game, but I really don't feel this one is CE worthy either, as it is just too simple and geared more toward the beginner, or someone who just wants a no brainer game for a change. I have a lot of games like that. The story seemed a little choppy and when the demo ended, it left me scratching my head and wondering what just happened and why. The game moved a little too slowly and didn't make me want to continue to see what happens. Maybe the demo needed to be a bit longer, or at least a little more of the story in the beginning. I am going to put this one in my puddle and give it another try when the SE comes out. I often change my mind about a game and get the SE, but I rarely change my mind about the CE version."
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may find this one to be exactly what you are looking for. Thanks for the reviews.
I recommend this game!
The Queen of Creatos is missing, and if you don't get her back soon... the entire world will crumble!
Overall rating
4
/
5
14 of 17 found this review helpful
Some challenging puzzles...
PostedApril 18, 2015
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Family, Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Hi all. We have another Reflections game today. If you have played the first and liked it, you will like this one as well. Graphics are pretty good, although not a lot of animation other than the owl (noisy and annoying with his flapping wings). Game play was good, no problems with the demo. There are a lot of blues and pink, again, which I find quite tiring on the eyes. Music isn't too bad, but monotonous...few notes, quite repetitive. Voice overs left a lot to be desired. Very "ho-hum" with no emotion and somewhat silly dialog. The one thing I really didn't care for are the floating jellyfish. What is that supposed to be? This game does have very nice sound FX.
HOPs are very few and far between, but are very clean and items are not hard to find. Puzzles are a bit challenging and different and I found them to be quite enjoyable. I even had to skip a couple, mostly because they were time consuming and I wanted to play more of the demo. These do take some brain power and patience. You can switch to a match 3 if you don't care for the HOPs, or just get tired of them. The couple I did run across were both the same type, so no change up here. In some cases, you will take a lot of steps in order to complete an objective. It isn't a straight forward game at all. Hint system is helpful and does transport to long locations. The jump map was a bit clunky and I found that I usually had to click more than once to jump anywhere. From the looks of the map, this might be a fairly long game. Did not find any need to use the SG.
The only collectibles I found so far are 114 mirror shards...114! They are not hard to spot, and are fairly good sized, but you do have to look to see them. In most cases, they don't jump out at you and blend pretty well in some scenes.
I beta tested this one a while back and wasn't thrown off my chair, and I see they didn't pay any attention to the suggestions either. Yes, there are a lot of collectibles, but not many HOPs so far, so hopefully that picks up somewhat. Some things in this game were a little odd, like the symbol with the car and helicopter and then the ink pen...none of which were in that time period. All that being said, I did not dislike this game, but found that it moved rather slowly. I think I need to get this one, only to see if I can find the 114 shards. Plus, I did like the puzzles. Yes, it is a buy for me.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may not care for this one at all. Thanks for the reviews.
I recommend this game!
Ominous Objects: Phantom Reflection Collector's Edition
A mysterious mirror is causing havoc in your client’s house!
Overall rating
3
/
5
19 of 24 found this review helpful
Good for beginners...
PostedApril 16, 2015
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Family, Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Hi all. Wow, a left-handed custom cursor! Okay, a small plus, but note-worthy for me. As always, I review on the game play and not the story, as others have already done a very good job on that end. I thought we were finished with these blues and pinks all over the place. Very tiring on the eyes. Animation was pretty good, although not that much of it. The graphics were somewhat blurry, especially when you were in the "glass breaking" mode and the screen was jumping all over the place. Did not care for that at all. Too much broken glass for me, but fortunately you could skip it. Careful doing this, as you sometimes have conversations with the people behind the glass. Otherwise, graphics weren't too bad. Game play was good, but lagged a bit between scenes. Had no problem with the demo at all. Music wasn't too bad, a bit soothing actually. Voice overs were quite boring to me...no excitement, fear or emotion of any kind. Just reading from a script. You have a helper, a cat named Mr. Jenkins, who isn't used much so far and pretty much just sits in his corner bathing himself and doesn't seem to like being picked up.
HOPs were okay, with the standard interactive lists, silhouettes and a few puzzles thrown in. They were pretty simple and not too cluttered, but a couple of items made me think a minute before I found them. The puzzles, mostly story board type, were painfully easy, and a little boring. Hint system worked quite well and did transport you to further locations. The map was helpful as well, but is not pleasing to the eye.
The only collectibles I found are the coins used to upgrade Mr. Jenkin's room. Extremely disappointed in the lack of something more. By the end of the demo, I hadn't even spent a dime.
Needless to say, I felt that this game was pulled out of the closet and tossed in today. We have had a couple of really nice CE games lately, but this is not one of them. It isn't a bad game, just very simple, with no challenge or anything that made me want to run out and buy it to see what happens next. Due to the lack of excitement, challenge or collectibles, I really don't feel this one is CE worthy. Personally, I feel that a beginner may like this one, or someone who just wants a lazy day, no brainer kind of game. I do buy those occasionally, so I will put this one in my puddle for a "maybe" later with a "really" good buy, but probably only for the SE.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may find this one to be exactly what you are looking for. Thanks for the reviews.
I recommend this game!