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:
A visit to a childhood home uncovers unreal memories!
Overall rating
1
/
5
11 of 19 found this review helpful
Zzzzz!
PostedOctober 12, 2019
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Very slow game. Little to no sound FX and almost no character interaction. Graphics are blurry and movements are somewhat choppy.
HOGs okay, with morphing item in them. Otherwise, collectibles definitely need some work. Very disappointing game.
Try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may find this one to be to your liking. Play on!
I don't recommend this game.
A journey into the mirror world unleashes a powerful villain!
Overall rating
5
/
5
9 of 13 found this review helpful
And the saga continues...
PostedSeptember 22, 2019
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Hello friends! As usual, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story line to others who can do a much better job than I. Another new addition to this series. As with the last one, this game picks up where the other left off, giving you a little explanation of what and why things are happening. Makes for a great lead into the next chapter. The graphics are very realistic, very clear. Colors are very nice and true, but not bright. Voices are fairly nice and are age and character appropriate. You can click through dialog without missing any clues or story line. We do have quite a lot of character interaction in this one, which makes a game feel a bit more realistic. Music is quite soothing and quiet. Game play was very good, with no problems during the demo. We have wonderful sound FX and they are throughout the game play, no dead air at all. Of course, I do like the sounds of nature and they fit this game perfectly. Animation is exceptional and very smooth.
HOGs are varied, with interactive lists, place items in scene and silhouettes. Items are not difficult to find and the scenes are clear. I did not see that you could switch to another game if you got bored with the HOGs. Puzzles were not really difficult, but they did have a bit of a challenge now and then. Hint system is very helpful. There is no transport feature as such, but the jump map is set up quite nicely and does everything you need it to do. Areas are identified by name and picture and also show if you have missed a collectible or morphing item. If you find everything, you get a little something extra in the end.
Collectibles are varied as well and well done. We have to find 32 morphing items, which morph fairly quickly, so be on the lookout for them, as they are easy to miss. We also have various items to collect, e.g. 9 of this, 8 of that. Some are a little small, but still noticeable.
I really do like this game, especially how you follow from the last one through the next. The game flows very well and is easy to follow. The story is really nothing new, but it does have a little bit of a twist. You are constantly on the move and we have a lot more character interaction. Everything about it is well done. Most of the challenge is finding all the collectibles. I believe all levels of players will find this one enjoyable. Not the perfect game, but I felt it was worth a 4.75 on my scale. Yes, I am adding this one to my CE pile.
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. Play on!
I recommend this game!
A rock band reunion takes a deadly detour into a nightmare!
Overall rating
4
/
5
7 of 16 found this review helpful
Music to my ears...
PostedSeptember 18, 2019
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Hello friends! Looks like we have #5 in this series. As always, I review mostly on the game play and not the story line, as others do a much better job on that than I. As usual with this series, the graphics are exceptional, very clear, very well done, no blurring when going in and out of closeups. Game play is very well done, with no problems encountered at all. Animation is extremely well done, realistic facial movements and all. Colors are bright without being overpowering. The voice overs are also well done, with emotion, and not someone just reading a script, but very little character interaction. Sound FX are nice and throughout the game, so there is no "dead air" sound at all. Music mostly soothing, but did move with whatever was happening at the time.
HOPs are a variation of straight lists and interactive lists. Not quite as varied as in other games in the series. Scenes are clean and clear, no junk piles, and items are not difficult to find. I did not see that you could switch to another game, if you got bored with the HOPs. We do have a morphing item in the HOPs. They aren't that easy to spot, so remember to look for them. Hint system is very helpful, but I have not run across a transport feature yet. They often show up later in a game, but not sure about this one. We do have a rather boring map that will jump you to whatever location is marked. Still a lot of back-tracking. Puzzles were fairly simple to follow and figure out, and took no time at all to complete.
Collectibles are the usual symbol for this developer. They are plenty large and easy to see. We also have a morphing item in each scene. Some of these are fairly small and morph quickly. According to the strategy guide, there are also "treasures," but I don't seem to find them.
I really like this series and have all but one. At least we didn't have to choose dialog, really don't care for that at all! The story is interesting and easy to follow. It is not an challenging game, but I got into it at the end of the demo, naturally. I gave this game a 4.5, only because it needed more character interaction, which makes a game far more interesting. You tend to get into it more. Also downgraded because it needed a bit more variety in the HOPs. Otherwise, a very nice game, and one which I have already purchased for my collection of CE games. I think all levels of players will find this one enjoyable.
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. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Step into the shoes of a Private investigator with short-term memory loss and uncover the shocking truth about his involvement with a serial killer called The Executioner.
Overall rating
4
/
5
23 of 38 found this review helpful
Slow, but okay...
PostedAugust 1, 2019
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Hello friends! As always, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story to others...mostly. Game play was good and I had no problems during the demo. The colors are bright but not over powering. Graphics are clear and nice as well. Animation is fairly smooth, but not a lot of it. Voices were very nice, but we heard mostly our detective and no on else throughout the demo. He sounded a bit bored with the whole detective thing. Music was monotonous. Sound FX weren't too bad, but the game was fairly quiet, even with them.
HOGs were silhouettes and interactive lists. Scenes were fairly clear and items were not hard to find. We did have a morphing item in each HOG, which was one of the items we needed to find. Didn't see that we could switch to a different game or puzzle. Puzzles were extremely simple, nothing new and nothing that took any time or thought to complete. Jump map was very bland, boring and cluttered. The hint system is helpful, but there is not a transport feature, which is something that would have been quite nice. You do a lot of back tracking to the same locations to find one item or complete one objective.
Collectibles were okay. We need to find 31 pipes that morph, 14 floppy disks and 16 hats. None of these jump off the page at you, but are still easy to overlook, even though they are plenty large enough to see.
The story line in this addition isn't too bad, but I got tired of hearing only the detective's voice. We saw the "bad girl" only once during the demo. Not a lot of action. Still, not a bad game, just not sure it's CE worthy. A simple game that didn't really grab me. That said, I may get it with a really good sale. Still think this game is geared more toward the beginner, but is a bit better than the last in the series.
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. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Can you stop a dangerous band of criminals from destroying the city?
Overall rating
4
/
5
6 of 20 found this review helpful
Magic Tatto!
PostedJuly 21, 2019
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Hello friends! As usual, I review mostly on the game play and not the story line. Graphics aren't bad in this one, except blur in the close up scenes, as usual. Colors are bright but not over powering. Game play is good, with no glitches during game play. I did find that there was a little lag when going out of close ups, but otherwise quite good. Animation is very nice and smooth, with realistic facial movements. Voices fit the age and character and seem to have some emotion and urgency. We don't have a lot of sound FX, but what we do have is well done. Music was the usual for this series...nothing special.
HOGs were a combination of place items in scene, interactive HOGs, straight lists and matching items. Nicely done. Scenes were clear and items were not difficult to find. I didn't notice that they had morphing items in the HOGs, but I wasn't looking either. Puzzles weren't difficult, but did have a bit of a challenge to them. Hint system is helpful and it does transport. We do a lot of back tracking, but mostly a short distance, so the transport wasn't used much during the demo. Personally, I do not care for maps like this one. It is too jumbled with "stuff" and you have to roll over an area to see what it is, then click to get there. Useless when you have the transport. It does show you places you cannot return to...why?
Collectibles okay, but had no challenge. We have to find 33 musical notes that are quite large and very easy to spot. We also have 16 morphing items that have been quite easy to see, except for the broom...had to really look for that one. Definitely needed more in this department.
I actually found this story interesting, even though we still have to save our poor little sister from the bad guys. Maybe it's the alien magic, who knows. There wasn't anything challenging or exciting about this addition to this series, but I found that I really need to play it out and see where it goes. We were constantly on the move though, so I didn't get bored. This feels like one of those lazy day kind of games, of which I have many. Most players might find this one interesting. Yes, I will add this one to my CE pile. Gave this one a 4.25.
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. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Can you stop a criminal you can’t always see?
Overall rating
4
/
5
13 of 20 found this review helpful
Heart of London?
PostedJuly 19, 2019
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Hello friends! As always, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story to others. However, I do comment on the story line. As always, the graphics in this game are beautiful, but we still have blurring when going in and out of close up scenes. Excellent game play, no glitches during the demo. Wonderful colors, bright, but not over powering. Excellent animation, very realistic facial movements. Voices are age and character appropriate with realistic emotions. You can click through dialog without missing any hints or earned objects to help throughout the game. Music isn't too bad, but does get annoying after a while. Very nice storm sfx, but not a lot of sfx when inside a building, usually only when something is used or picked up. We sort of have a helpful bulldog, along with a communicator so we can understand what he is saying when he barks. Hasn't been used much during the demo. We do travel through a portal, but this time we have no bright lights. Yes, we still have the creepy four armed people, but they are the good guys.
HOGs are varied and well done, with interactive HOGs, place items in picture, riddles. Scenes are fairly clear and items are not difficult to find. If we didn't care for the HOGs, we could switch to a March 3 game. Most of the mini games were challenging and took time and thought to complete. We still had a few simple puzzles as well. The hint system is very helpful, but I did not see that we had a transport feature, but the map opens to show you where you need to go next. The perfect map! Areas are clearly identified by name and picture, so we don't have to do a lot of clicking to figure out where we need to go. It also indicates where we may have missed a collectible, or you can remove that feature for more challenge.
Collectibles are very well done and varied. We have 51 coins to find that allow us to buy items for a room. These do not jump off the page at you, but are not difficult to find. We have 15 various artifacts. Some are rather small, others are just easy to overlook. There are also 15 pictures that morph fairly quickly.
This story was better than the last and flowed much better. I found that some movements didn't make a lot of sense, even for a game. I doubt that I could walk into a room with the bad guy and wonder around in his stuff without some sort of backlash. I would think I would either have to take care of him or sneak in. That didn't make sense to me. All that aside, we are constantly on the move in this addition. I like this series and really liked where the story was going. Yes, I have the need to see what is happening in this one and why. I think this will appeal to most all levels of players. Yes, I am adding this one to my CE collection. Gave this one a 4.75 because of the story, the collectibles and the challenging games.
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. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Can you stop a buried past from destroying your world?
Overall rating
4
/
5
11 of 23 found this review helpful
Water, eater everywhere...
PostedJuly 15, 2019
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Hello friends! As always, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story to someone else. Looks like we have the beginning of a series, this one being #2. Graphics are very well done, very clear and no blurring in close ups. Game play is excellent, with no problems during the demo. Color is very nice and true. Animation is very smooth and body movements are quite life-like. Voices are age and character appropriate and show emotion when speaking. I especially liked the underwater voices, very realistic in sound. We have quite a lot of character interaction in this game, which makes a game far more interesting. We can click through dialog for the most part, if we read faster than they speak. Sound FX are extremely very well. Music is very soothing and unobtrusive. We do have a useful help item, but no pets.
HOPs are a very nice combination of interactive lists, silhouettes, pairs and matching "swatches" of a picture or item in the HOP. Very well done. I didn't see that you could switch to something else. Items are not difficult to find and scenes are fairly clear. You also have morphing objects within the HOPs. Puzzles aren't extremely challenging, but some did take a little time and thought to complete. Hint system is very helpful and we do have a transport feature for longer locations. The map was blah, but it does jump to other locations. I much prefer the use of the transport feature for a quick jump to the next location.
Collectibles were the usual symbol that this developer uses in their games. Quite large and very easy to see. We also have morphing items to find in the scenes. These are not as easy to spot, as they can blend and hide. There are icons in the bottom left corner that tell you if you have missed one of the collectibles, and you can go back to pick them up.
This story is very well done and easy to follow. I found myself drawn into the story from the beginning. You are constantly on the move in this one, so you don't get bored. There is enough challenge to keep you interested. I liked how creative the Developer was in the use of inventory items. I believe all levels of players will find this one fun and somewhat challenging. Yes, I am going to add it to my CE collection. Gave this one a 4.75 on my scale, only because there wasn't quite enough challenge 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. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Can you stop a powerful foe from taking over Paris?
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 6 found this review helpful
Off to Paris!
PostedJuly 15, 2019
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Hello friends! As usual, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story to others who do a much better job than I. Don't know where we are with this addition, just know it's a lot. As usual, the game has excellent graphics, even with the blur in close ups. Game play was excellent, with no glitches during the demo and the game fit my large screen quite well. Colors are very nice and bright, but not even close to over powering. Animation is extremely well done, with realistic facial movements and fluid body movements. Excellent voices, age and character appropriate, and they show emotion when appropriate, e.g., anger, fear, urgency, etc. We can click through written dialog, if you read faster than they speak, and not miss any of the story line, additional items or any clues. The music was the usual for this series. Sound FX are nicely done as well.
HOPs very well done and somewhat interesting in the set up. We have interactive lists, with multiple layers to complete, silhouettes and some highlighted words. The scenes are clear and items are not difficult to find. I did not see that you could switch to something else if you didn't care for the HOPs. We do have morphing objects in the HOPs. They are not as easy to spot as you think, as the morph is fairly subtle and easy to miss. Puzzles were somewhat challenging and they did take some time and thought, but we also had some that were fairly simple. Hint system is helpful, and we do have the transport feature for longer locations. As usual in this series, we have a lot of back tracking, so this comes in handy. We also have a jump map, which is quite blah. Use the transport, it's faster.
Collectibles weren't too bad, but could have used a bit more. We have 35 signs" which are all the same shape and color, and in some cases, are easy to spot...some are not. The challenge is to remember to look for them. Yes, we do have the morphing items in the HOPs, but still could have used a little more.
The story in this addition was interesting and flowed extremely well, even though it isn't quite as exciting as some of the others in this series. Looks like it may pick up as the game progresses. We don't have a lot of character interaction, but we have a lot of action to keep us interested. You are constantly on the move and don't have time to get bored. Most of the challenge is in the puzzles. I feel most all levels will find this one interesting and worth the price of the CE. Gave this one a 4.5. Yes, I am going to add it to 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. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Can you save the world from an ancient magic?
Overall rating
3
/
5
9 of 22 found this review helpful
Loch Ness?
PostedJune 22, 2019
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Hello friends! As usual, I review mostly on game play and leave the story line to others. Again, the graphics are blurry in all scenes, but worse in close ups. Really hard on the eyes. Game play was very good and I had no problems during the demo. Colors weren't bad. Voices were okay, but a bit muddled. We had a combination of English, Scotish, Irish and British. Sometimes, a couple from the same character. There wasn't a lot of interaction with the characters, but enough to keep you from getting bored. Didn't seem to be a lot of sound FX, mostly only for major actions. Music was okay. We didn't have a helpful animal or character, but we did have a pan flute that allowed us to communicate with the animals when needed. Very simple puzzle connected with that feature.
HOGs were, with lists, fragments and highlighted words. They were clean and items were not difficult to find, with nothing new. We could switch to a connect the jewels if we wished. The puzzles were very simple and took no thought or brain power to complete. Hint system was helpful. We do have the transport feature for longer locations, and of course, we do have a jump map, which is quite boring and bland.
Collectibles are disappointing. We have to find 38 signs in the shape owls. These are quite large and very easy to spot. We also have morphing objects in the HOGs. Definitely needed more.
The story line started out interesting, hinting at Loch Ness, but went down hill after that. Nessie just got lost. There wasn't much in the way of action or challenge in this addition either. When I beta tested this one, I had indicated that I might get it, if it had some really good collectibles...it does not. When this series started, it was pretty good, but has lost something along the way. The story may pick up as the game progresses, but if I don't see it during the demo, I don't buy it. I am sure there will be those who will find this one to their liking, but there wasn't anything that really drew me into the story. This game might appeal to a beginner, but I'm not sure about a seasoned gamer. I will recommend it for beginners only, but no buy for me. I gave this one a 3.0.
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. Play on!
Can you stop a past case from destroying the present?
Overall rating
4
/
5
10 of 14 found this review helpful
A Female Holmes?
PostedJune 18, 2019
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Hello friends! As usual, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story to others. The graphics in this game are extremely well done, with realistic movements. Voices fit the characters very well, but of course, I do love a good accent. We can click through the dialog if we read faster than they speak, and not miss any hints or clues to what is happening in the story. Colors are true and not over powering at all. Game play was excellent, with no problems during the demo. Music was soothing and made for a very nice background when we didn't have sound FX. Of course, the sfx were quite well done. Didn't run across any "helpers" during the demo, but the owl above the hint was cute.
HOGs are varied and very well done. We have interactive and straight lists and pieces of a picture. We had the standard set up for the HOGs, then we also had a shorter version now and then, with only a few items to find. I prefer the standard. Our hint system is quite helpful and we do have the transport feature. This is a good thing, as we do a lot of back tracking. The jump map was okay, but not really needed. We did have some challenging puzzles in this one as well.
Collectibles weren't bad. We have 24 morphing items that often are very small. The morph is subtle, so be on the lookout for them. We also have 32 picture pieces used to complete 4 photos, as well as 12 rather large figurines. The morphing items are the most challenging to find.
Ms Holmes has not replaced Sherlock at all and was a refreshing change. We have an interesting story that is loosely based on Hound of the Baskervilles. The story is easy to follow and flows quite well. We don't have a lot of action or character interaction, but we are constantly on the move for one reason or another, so you don't get bored. I really got into this game by the time the demo ended, so I find that I need to play on and see where it takes me. I think most levels of players would find this one interesting. Yes, I am adding it to my CE collection. Gave this one a 4.5.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may not care of this one at all. Thanks for the reviews. Play on!
I recommend this game!