roaming's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:2.1
- Helpful Votes:4,416
- Reviews Submitted:473
- First Review:April 23, 2013
- Most Recent Review:April 24, 2022
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Can you confront an otherworldly foe and save your nephew?
Overall rating
1
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Oh, no! Not again!
PostedApril 21, 2019
roaming
fromTexas
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Let me see, first you have to put out a fire, but not until after you're able to find a hose and a handle for the pump that is oh-so-conveniently located in a forest right next to where something just happens to fall from the sky to start a fire.
Then there are the bees you need to get rid of, but first you have to find a smoker, some leaves, a steel, and a flint. Wow, such originality! We surely never had to do that in any HOPA game before. Ditto for the pump handle and hose bit.
And, of course, there's yet another gadget which you will, I am sure, have use for many times throughout the game.
Zero points for inventiveness. Next!
I don't recommend this game.
Can you find the truth hidden behind the castle walls?
Overall rating
2
/
5
9 of 12 found this review helpful
It's not for me, but it might be for you.
PostedApril 13, 2019
I lasted 26 minutes of the demo before giving it up. Why? Granny_Gruff pretty much said it all for me in the CE reviews:
"There is a famous line: 'I do not suffer fools gladly' meaning you have no patience with those who exhibit lack of intelligence. In this game I would point to the secretary who repeatedly insists you saddle your horse, first when it is already saddled and then when you are busy trying to repair the mangy decrepit item he 'saddled' you with.... When you finally ride up to the castle, someone throws a stick of dynamite out an upstairs window, damaging the front door. That's when your character thinks how old and dilapidated the castle looks! Wanting to get inside and fearing for Lord Abel's safety, you stop to sort a cart full of vegetables and meats left standing out front in the courtyard."
"There is a famous line: 'I do not suffer fools gladly' meaning you have no patience with those who exhibit lack of intelligence. In this game I would point to the secretary who repeatedly insists you saddle your horse, first when it is already saddled and then when you are busy trying to repair the mangy decrepit item he 'saddled' you with.... When you finally ride up to the castle, someone throws a stick of dynamite out an upstairs window, damaging the front door. That's when your character thinks how old and dilapidated the castle looks! Wanting to get inside and fearing for Lord Abel's safety, you stop to sort a cart full of vegetables and meats left standing out front in the courtyard."
Meanwhile, Lord Abel is lying on the park bench where you placed him, possibly mortally wounded, while you run around playing puzzles and hidden object games.
And last but not least, there's the gadgety "evidence box" which lights up and shakes when you need to do something with it. I've never been a fan of gadget gimmicks, nor of the whole evidence board scenarios, but a box that lights up and does the hula? Just no!
Nevertheless, the graphics are decent enough, even if somewhat over-saturated with color, thereby earning a second star from me.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you uncover the hidden city and save your mom in time?
Overall rating
1
/
5
21 of 26 found this review helpful
Simply Awful
PostedApril 9, 2019
I lasted until Andrew knocked a hole in the ship, but I already hated it well before that.
This from another reviewer sums up my feelings about Andrew Collins. "Easily the most offensive character developers have ever created. What was so bad? It isn't even subtle. What were they thinking??"
A few other things I should mention... the awkward inventory bar, the tool belt gimmick that lights up and jumps around when you need of one of the tools, and could we please have a new female voice actress instead of the same one in every game?? She isn't even believable.
Seriously, I couldn't back out of the demo fast enough.
I don't recommend this game.
Step into the shoes of a detective who has been approached by the FBI to take over a terrifying case and stop a Dark Ritual!
Overall rating
2
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Disappointing Times Two
PostedApril 4, 2019
From my review in the Forums, Jul 26, 2013
I was truly disappointed when the demo was over, and since Vogat is one of my favorite developers, I bought it, but by the time I got to the end, I was thoroughly sick of it. As one reviewer said:
"Well aside from the fact that I never fully understood this storyline.....this is simply the game that never ends. When you finally get to a point where you think, phew, enough, it keeps going...it wouldn't be a bad thing if the story line was engaging, or the scenes were gorgeous."
Many, many HOS revisited, much traipsing back and forth, and the strange feeling I was leaving something undone in a previous chapter. I can't explain that. Maybe the story jumped too quickly to the final chapter? Dunno.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you recover your memories and save a missing girl in time?
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Meh. Just So-so.
PostedApril 3, 2019
Seriously? Who puts a lock on their kitchen door and also the fridge? They do in this game. And of course, as per usual, the fire extinguisher is locked up, too, and so you have to run around finding pieces and parts and solving puzzles to get the keys to just about everything.
This game has way more puzzles than HOS. I don't like puzzles. I'm not good at solving them, find them frustrating, and skip them all. I do like HOS. These are supposed to be hidden object games. It says so right up there under the title. It doesn't say puzzle game with a few random hidden object scenes thrown in.
Other than that and the extremely abrupt and unsatisfying ending, it's an okay game.
Track down a vampire hiding on a Mississippi riverboat cruise.
Overall rating
1
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
I'm a fan of vampire myths, so why didn't I like this game?
PostedMarch 25, 2019
To quote another reviewer, "For game play, it seems the developers decided to bring out everything in their 'bag of tricks.' There are hidden objects - quite large, by the way - lists, progression, riddles, puzzles, mini-games within mini-games, potions, spells, runes, symbols, ancient rites, you name it and it is in there."
Sorry Eipix. There were too many gadgets, gimmicks, and tricks in the your bag to suit me. Other than the custom hint and skip options, I did not like this game at all.
When a young man is apparently abducted by spirits at an abandoned movie theater, you rush to investigate. You arrive to find truth to the tales as you encounter specters from the very movies shown in the theater! Can you navigate dangerous films to save the living in time?
Overall rating
2
/
5
9 of 15 found this review helpful
Oh, no! Not another gadget!
PostedMarch 23, 2019
Yes, another gadget, and this time it's a flashlight to shine the ghosts away. Yawn.
I have to agree with penmom36, this plot is neither cutting-edge nor original. Neither are the puzzles and hidden object scenes. I found everything about this game to be one big bore. If it gets more interesting after the demo, I'll never know. It's a no-buy for me.
I don't recommend this game.
Escape a terrifying hotel with a haunted past.
Overall rating
2
/
5
14 of 15 found this review helpful
Oh, no! Not again!
PostedMarch 20, 2019
Three consecutive times, one right after another, in the exact same room doing exactly the same things! Wow, what an inventive way to add to the length of a game.
The monsters in this game are only another iteration of the ones from Insidious Dreams, the ninth of the Phantasmat series. In this game they have red eyes. How very imaginative.
This is yet another game featuring a dark, decaying house/hotel with an evil past that's infested with hideous ghostly monsters lying in wait to devour their living victims.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you delve into a dangerous past and escape in time?
Overall rating
1
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
I Wasted a Coupon
PostedMarch 19, 2019
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
This game is so far from the genius of the original Phantasmat, and that's a shame. The reason I got it was because some reviewers said it was more like the first couple of Phantasmat games. It wasn't.
And sorry, but I beg to differ with some who thought it was spooky. IMO, the spookiest thing in this game was the clown toy sitting on the stair banister. The rest was just old, grungy, and dilapidated... graphics up to par otherwise, except for the demons, which were more like cardboard Halloween decorations and not at all scary.
I was so bored that I nearly gave up and quit the game several times. It really was like a smorgasbord of cliches from every HOPA of the last ten years. Sadly, it wasn't worth the effort of continuing. The end of the story was a real letdown... sudden and utterly predictable.
I don't recommend this game.
A missing girl has been lured away by evil music! Stop the young prodigy and save everyone from the evil Maestro!
Overall rating
3
/
5
Not Terrible
PostedMarch 10, 2019
My review in the Forums, Feb 16, 2012
I found this game to be okay if confusing in places. One thing I found irritating was that some of the HOS were clear and things easy enough to find, but others were muddy with objects almost impossible to find.
I found this game to be okay if confusing in places. One thing I found irritating was that some of the HOS were clear and things easy enough to find, but others were muddy with objects almost impossible to find.
I agree that the hint and skip buttons take far too long to recharge, especially since I was playing the easy version. The ending is so sudden it came as a complete surprise to me. There will clearly be another sequel.
One thing I would have liked better was if the hints had given an actual clue instead of, "There is nothing to do here."
This wasn't as great as some of the earlier ERS games, but it wasn't terrible either.