rebeccartist's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.7
- Helpful Votes:294
- Reviews Submitted:19
- First Review:March 21, 2012
- Most Recent Review:January 8, 2014
- Featured reviews0
You’re on a train in the middle of nowhere, and a band of dangerous thieves demand you tell them where to find the Hope Diamond’s shards. As the newest Hidden Expedition recruit, you’ve got to find the shards before they do…
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Enjoyed & was also disappointed
PostedJanuary 8, 2014
rebeccartist
fromBay Area, California
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Reiner Knizia's Ingenious
(2)Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Two of the prior Hidden Expedition games (Devil's Triangle and Uncharted Islands) are on my list of all-time favorites. They were fun and also challenging and long. One of them my wife and I played together over much of a weekend and enjoyed every minute. So, I had expectations. I was excited to see another, *and* a game made with the Smithsonian, to boot -- yea, yea, heaven and bliss.
The positives: Enjoyed the tasks, enjoyed the scenery and the time spent in the Smithsonian. Thought the level of challenge in the HO games was very good, with only one instance of the list-name not matching the picture :) (a "sparrow" to me looked like a chickadee :) which could be due to regional differences in sparrows :) or that I'm a picky birder :) ).
More positives: Liked the thinking of the devs in the bonus content - that you had to solve another puzzle to unlock some things. (Except, see challenge level in re: puzzles). Liked the Custom choice of difficulty - yes, I used it.
The negatives: Most of the puzzles/mini-games were easy. There were a few exceptions that I can think of, but most of them did not make me really think and work at in order to solve. That's not to say I didn't enjoy some of the more unusual ones, I did, and I liked the fact that they kept instructions hidden so I could try to figure out the How myself. But.... I want to use the grey cells. Clearly I am in a minority because puzzles are getting easier and easier and easier with each passing year, so devs must think this is the thing to do - make puzzles that appeal to the folks who don't want to do them in the first place. (a puzzle that requires you to simply input the solution that you found on a piece of paper is NOT a puzzle....)
The biggest negative: This game felt short. I don't keep track of my time because I think that's a useless bit of info since it's so personal. I did not feel like I had taken a long adventure with lots of ins and outs and this room to explore and that. The bonus game felt short, too.
Maybe I'm nuts and if I were to count the individual locations in this HE versus the # in the last two HE games they would be the same. Maybe my expectations were unfair. But, I was, for the most part, enjoying the game, and suddenly it was over. "Suddenly" is how it felt.
Life imitates art with deadly results in this thrilling whodunit!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Unexpected treat
PostedNovember 25, 2013
rebeccartist
fromBay Area, California
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Bought this on sale without trying demo (never done that before) based upon some of the positive reviews here. After playing it and bonus content, I completely agree with them. And unexpectedly fun game, even if it is simpler in difficulty than the level of challenge I usually enjoy. The detailed artwork made it easy to get lost in the atmosphere. The puzzles/minigames were unique enough to be fun even if they weren't particularly hard. The HOs were sometimes more of a challenge, particularly later in the game, but there weren't a huge amount of them. The inventory tasks were sometimes straightforward, sometimes more of a challenge. I didn't even mind the music, but found it a nice background. None of these comments sound like I'm raving about what a great game this was. And yet, I was thoroughly engaged from start to finish - even finding "5 minutes" while I waited for a phone call to play. That's something else I've never done.
My only nitpick, and it is a complete nitpick, is that the "Boston" of the main game, and particularly the "Chicago" of the bonus game had little to do with either actual city. My roots are in Chicago, my family lived there in the 30s, I was born and raised just outside of the city. I appreciate that the devs tried to find details that pertain to Chicago, really I do, but I had to chuckle at the way these were worked into the bonus game. It was also amusing that nobody in Boston had a Boston accent, but the first person you meet in Chicago is a cop, and he had a Boston accent :). That said -- yea! baseball! in one of these games! Made me long for someone to create a HO-mystery game set in the world of baseball. (But, how could the devs forego the Cubs -- the team in the game is the Chicago Mudhens -- but they prominently showed a player with a Miami Marlins logo on his uniform? So the Marlins paid but the Cubbies didn't?)
A really good game, easily above average. Lovely graphics. Good VOs. And a plot that didn't involve evil supernatural beings (though twice I had trouble following it). Not that I mind games with evil supernatural beings, I'm simply tired of them. Nice job, devs!
I recommend this game!
As Sara tries to find a miracle cure for her ailing brother, she unravels the dark events of her own past.
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 6 found this review helpful
Good adventure game
PostedNovember 8, 2013
rebeccartist
fromBay Area, California
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Kudos to a developer I'm not familiar with. Crisp graphics, nothing fancy but still atmospheric enough with details that made sense for the locations. VOA was fine; I feel like a lone voice (no pun intended) in the wilderness because I keep saying this but the young woman assistant's voice was like fingernails on a blackboard - she sounded ten years old. Don't get why this is so appealing for men, don't want to get it because it creeps me out. But she was a young woman, not a girl - there is actually a difference between those two people, or should be, imho. Anyway.
The game was interesting, the puzzles were integral to the gameplay - solve a lock to open a door; fix various things to access them; get past this security system or that. Nothing completely pointless, at least in a game context.
The HO scenes were skippable, but I enjoyed them. It was actually refreshing to have nothing interactive (can't believe I said that), and though the scenes were slightly junk pile -- some more so than others -- the objects were often truly hidden. By color, by shape. A nod to Ye Olde School of HO games. I liked.
Though the game was linear, and tasks were given, figuring out what to do to accomplish those tasks was sometimes a challenge. I know I'm fairly fried right now from real life, but I'm pretty good at these games, and I was stumped a few times and had to rely on a hint. Unfortunately, the hints were not hints, they were given solutions. That was my only real disappointment. I miss good hint systems - seems devs used to be better in this regard. I played in the middle mode, 'Hard,' if that's the term they used.
My only other disappointment was that it was a bit shorter than I was expecting. But, overall, I didn't mind that too much because it was a good game, enough challenge to keep me engaged. I look forward to these devs' next offering. (I recommend contemplating a better title, next time, however - 'Greed, The Mad Scientist' was applicable, but I almost passed it up because the title seemed silly, and the game is not silly at all.)
I recommend this game!
A mysterious man in red summons you, sending you to a flying ship where a little girl needs your help!
Overall rating
5
/
5
86 of 96 found this review helpful
Fun, a bit of a "throwback," well-thought out game
PostedFebruary 10, 2013
rebeccartist
fromBay Area, California
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I recommend this game for people who enjoy gameplay that makes logical sense, from the inventory items to the puzzles. I called this a bit of a "throwback" because there was a time when the adventure aspect of casual games was the same as original adventure games - when what we did in the game made some logical sense. When every lock was not a piece shaped like a fish and eventually found at the bottom of a haystack. I fell in love with this game in the first 15 minutes, because I felt as if I was on that ship, and each action of my mouse/cursor was directly related to what I saw onscreen. Need to open a box with 2 latches? You've got to put the hand directly on the latch itself to activate it, then on the second latch to activate it and then open the box. I like this. Some people don't.
I also recommend this game because the puzzles, so far, (I've not yet finished the game) are challenging enough to be interesting without taking me hours to complete. I don't mind long, challenging puzzles, and I hope there are some here, but at least they are not ridiculously easy.
Nice artwork, nice atmospherics. I'm not invested in VOs and don't miss them when they're gone (actually like it better without VOs, for the most part).
I loved the first "Timeless" game; it's still one of my favorites because of the great puzzles, the length of the game, and the train at the beginning :). I'm thrilled that this is an SE, and a really good one, so I can use one of my coupons with pure pleasure. Thank you Devs -- you've created a well thought out, challenging game. I will happily look out for your next offering in the Timeless series.
I recommend this game!
Unfinished Tales: Illicit Love
After the Raven Queen crashes her wedding, Thumbelina must save her prince to reclaim her happy ending!
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
An unexpected delight - 4.5 stars
PostedJanuary 14, 2013
rebeccartist
fromBay Area, California
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Unfinished Tales: Illicit Love
(50)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I was prepared to be skeptical about this game, as I'm not a big fan of twee fairy stories. But I love Elephant's games, so gave this one a shot. Was I surprised! I read a review of one of their games in which the reviewer stated she thought the devs should call themselves Elegant Games. I completely agree.
The art direction is superb. The way that they envisioned a world in which Thumbelina lives, and the mixture of tiny objects on a large scale and what we would consider "normal" size right next to it -- pretty much perfect. The details, the complexity of the environment, the small touches (the magician's makeup, for example), all made for a lovely, immersive gaming experience. I loved it. I also loved the fact that nature was an integral part of this world. Twee was nowhere to be found. Instead there are animals, and birds, and seasons, and forests, and things of the real world all gorgeously rendered, and cleverly integrated.
The game's difficulty, I thought, was in figuring out how to use the inventory items. Some were less than logical (which is fair), and a couple of them were way less than logical and required a hint. The minigames/puzzles were Elephant's usual standards - good variety, and good creativity. The HOS were fun, given the scale issue. (Looking for a sunflower seed, for example, that ends up the size of a cart :) ). The dialogue was well done, and sometimes funny, and the VO acting was excellent.
Thumbelina as heroine -- clever idea. My only gripe was that I'm of the age to remember the song about Thumbelina from the Hans Christian Anderson movie, with Danny Kaye. And that song, once it's in your head, is hard to remove ;). Accompany the song to images from Captain Kangaroo animating it and it definitely never leaves your brain.
I recommend this game!
When your daughter, Emily, is taken over by a mysterious force, you must travel to the Nightmare Realm to search for a cure. But nothing could have prepared you for what you find there…
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 3 found this review helpful
Might be good...
PostedJanuary 14, 2013
rebeccartist
fromBay Area, California
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
... but I, too (as I've looked at other reviews) have a problem with the cut scenes and dialogue running excruciatingly slow. I suspect it's probably the video card in my slightly older computer. Slightly meaning a few years old. I, too (as another reviewer noted) have an up-to-date system, regularly maintained, with very little on it other than BFGs and some documents. My tech specs are consistent with the stated game requirements. But the cut scenes were so slow, and then the spoken dialogue was heard and two minutes later, that spoken dialogue was then visible on screen, so there is a sync problem with my system as well as playback speed or complete lack thereof.
As for the game, I agree that it's visually intriguing, and more creative than the usual offering. I have a vague memory of playing the first one, and perhaps not liking it very much. I played the demo with an open mind, given the good reviews. I did not notice that the hour demo was about to end, so I was immersed in it. It's pretty darned dreary, for sure. Perhaps if someone handed me $$ and said I could get the game for nothing, I would play it and endure the dysfunction with my system and probably enjoy myself. When the demo ended, I was happily engaged in a puzzle challenge, for example.
But -- it doesn't work on my machine. If this is something where the devs are looking to the latest and greatest video cards (as if we all have them), that's too bad.
Oh, and I haven't had this issue with any other game that I can remember, over the past 2 years, including one of the Pachyderm games released last month (that I played yesterday).
Murder, She Wrote 2: Return to Cabot Cove
Take on the role of beloved murder-mystery writer Jessica Fletcher and return to lovely (but lethal) Cabot Cove!
Overall rating
2
/
5
44 of 52 found this review helpful
Disappointing sequel
PostedNovember 21, 2012
rebeccartist
fromBay Area, California
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Loved the TV series, loved the 1st game (which I replay every once in a while). This is not the same game play as the 1st MSW game, which might have been okay even though it made the game mostly indistinguishable from other games here on BFG. It might have been okay if the game itself stood on its own merits (aside from it being a sequel), but for me, it doesn't.
I don't like HOG scenes where the devs use any piece of clip art they can get hold of and stick objects into a scene that make no internal sense to the game's environment. I also don't like HOG scenes where the objects' relative scale to each other is wrong, and the scale in relation to the environment is off. Example: A nutcracker that's the size of 2 postage stamps because.... I suppose to make it harder to see since it's so small and therefore it's "hidden." Why someone has a nutcracker the size of 2 postage stamps sitting on top of their desk is a mystery (no pun intended), but it looks and seems stupid. To me this is lazy programming.
That's one example of the ways this game feels slap-dash to me. I had some technical issues, too, in the demo which felt like lazy programming though it could be there was some conflict with my computer that I don't have with any other game.
I expected a quality game like the first MSW. However, from the silly grin on Jessica's face (even when looking at a dead body), to the bad artwork for Mort, to the rather boring tasks (find a key and then find a key and then find a key), to the bad HOG scenes, MSW 2 does not have nearly the same level of quality as the first MSW.
It seems that this game was subcontracted out to a different developer, which is too bad. They decided to change the game play, the format, the artwork, which is too bad. It isn't as if the changes were for the better, or to make it a more interesting kind of game. If you take away Jessica and Mort, this game is no different than most of the other games here. And that's too bad. MSW the first had some unique things going for it, and a design sensibility that made you feel you actually were following along with Jessica, in Cabot Cove, solving delicious crimes.
Huge disappointment.
I don't recommend this game.
Play as journalist Edgar Lance and solve a mysterious murder during the roaring twenties in Paris.
Overall rating
2
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
So much potential
PostedOctober 22, 2012
rebeccartist
fromBay Area, California
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
So little realized. I wanted to *love* this game, much as others here have mentioned. Paris, 1925, the art world, a mysterious death-- almost every aspect of, I'm in. (Add a train and I'd be obscenely engaged).
Since there is little chance my review is going to influence future players, I'm commenting solely for the game devs. Firstly, I agree with almost everything that other reviewers have said about the bad decisions the devs made. "Hidden objects" does not mean make them so miniscule and dark that you need a magnifying glass to find them, for instance.
My main gripe with the game was that the devs did not seem to get themselves out of their own heads and into a gamer's head. *They* knew what they wanted me to notice or do, so therefore I should have noticed it or done it. Except that it doesn't work like that.
Examples? (Two of a number of early examples, since I gave up on the game after the hour trial). At the very beginning, you're tasked with putting a puzzle together that is (apparently, though you don't know this at the time) a postcard advertisement for a gallery show - one of the paintings from the show. Once the puzzle is completed, and it's very abstract so not easy to complete, it disappears from the screen. A few minutes later, you are asked a number of questions about this painting. Questions about the real life artistic influences obvious in the painting (obvious to the game devs.) Except you didn't really get the chance to look at the completed painting / postcard, much less recognize that it's depicting a painting on the wall of the show. One busy, abstract painting is going to look like another with the graphic quality of this game. Given the chance, I (with an art and art history background) could have answered the questions just fine. However, I was frustrated. And I don't know how gamers without an art background would have been able to answer them. How many gamers are familiar with Manet's "Olympia" for example? My point is -- what was the purpose of this exercise, in terms of the game? Make me, as the cub reporter, realize I know nothing, and so, therefore.... ??
Same thing could be said about the cub reporter's (gamer's) decisions about what to put into the articles that were supposed to be judged by the editor. With vague guidelines and odd options to choose from, what did the devs expect the gamers to take away from that exercise? Not exactly a puzzle, more a skill test of tabloid journalism, seemed like. But what was the point?
Throw these two strangely off-putting exercises at the gamer right off the bat, add to that weirdly obscure "objects" (like bits and pieces of one thing or another) that are eye-straining to even notice, on top of the two-dimensional and clunky graphics, and the good things about the game are lost.
Yes, good things. A few of them, I think, if I remember right. One, the lack of hand holding, for the most part. Old school AG style. Two, the puzzles were somewhat challenging (jigsaw, and the file cabinet). Three, the potential for a very interesting storyline. I will assume that was fulfilled based upon a few of the good reviews here - like I said, I gave up on the game because I was not enjoying myself way so much more than I was enjoying myself.
Thank goodness for trial versions.
(And in case this review is deleted for being too spoiler-y, perhaps BFG might at least forward this to the devs...?)
I don't recommend this game.
You’re drawn into a web of deceit when your train stops in Andville, where the Black Widow lies in wait...
Overall rating
4
/
5
10 of 10 found this review helpful
Wonderfully creative environment, fun game, wish it were longer...
PostedOctober 22, 2012
rebeccartist
fromBay Area, California
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
My review title sums up my feelings after completing the game. I'm still in the midst of the bonus chapter. I was honestly surprised when the game ended, given the size of the file (nearly 1GB) and the fact that it was a CE I expected it to be significantly longer than it was. I did not check the walkthrough before purchasing; perhaps I should have.
Good: Truly creative environment, beautiful graphics, nice art nouveau style with interesting little details throughout. I loved the art direction - from the initial title page (creative way to display the game's title) I was hooked, and expected to be engaged in my environment, and I was. I loved that aspect of the game. The puzzles/mini-games were fun, some were challenging, some were easier, but none were boring. I had to work out 2 of them on paper before completing. I'm not a huge fan of mathematic puzzling, but I overcame my initial sigh+eww reaction and felt a sense of satisfaction upon completion.
So-So: the storyline was okay, not completely engaging, not off-putting. It could have been more involving, I think, as it played out rather routinely and quickly. For example, the potential for some further interaction between the two mechanical antagonists (all I'll say so as not to spoilerfy) would have been fun. I, as the hero/ine, could have utilized the "good" one more extensively, let's say. There was potential there, imho, that was too quickly resolved.
Bad: Aside from the length (again, way underutilized potential), the dialogue and voiceovers were strangely s..l..o..w. I don't understand why. At all. Way too slow, and since you couldn't skip ahead in the dialogue (say if you read at a faster pace than these people spoke, meaning if you had a reading ability greater than a second grader), you could only skip the entire thing or listen to all... of... it..., there is the potential to miss important facts out of frustration. Given the attention paid to the graphics, the style, and the puzzles, this entire dialogue issue felt jarringly weird.
All of that said, I was hugely disappointed when the game was over so quickly. I was enjoying myself (sat and drank my coffee during the dialogue cut scenes or filed my nails ;) ). I was not ready to be done with the game.
Recommended.
I recommend this game!
Welcome to Top Secret Finders. Your first mission is to save a small town, uncover the truth about a government conspiracy and stop the villain in his tracks!
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Surprisingly good game!
PostedMay 21, 2012
rebeccartist
fromBay Area, California
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Yes, I'm an X-Files fan, and yes, I'm a mystery fan, and this was right up my alley. I am very impressed with this game! It did not feel like there was a lot of hand-holding - I needed to explore and figure things out on my own, and the game honestly needed me to do that. On my own. I like that :).
Good, original, challenging puzzles, fun storyline. The graphics were no problem for me -- I liked the dreary aspect of them. The artwork felt right, and not over the top creepy. Just right. A deserted, and desolate town looked like exactly that.
I would buy more games from this developer.
One more thing -- the VOs were mostly good. But, the woman.... what is up with the women VO actors? They are all starting to sound like 10 year old children to me. Ick.
I recommend this game!