sunnyglow's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.3
- Helpful Votes:80,084
- Reviews Submitted:821
- First Review:November 27, 2011
- Most Recent Review:June 27, 2025
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Can you keep history from destroying the present?
Overall rating
5
/
5
115 of 173 found this review helpful
ANOTHER JEWEL TO ADD TO THE CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT OF EXCELLENCE FOR DOMINI
PostedSeptember 28, 2017
sunnyglow
fromIt is “crystal clear” that Amber (and what an apropos name) has the perfect talent to become a supplier for crystals. She can grow all kinds of crystals out of thin air.
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
REVIEW BASED ON THE ENTIRE GAME – TIME 4 HOURS
6 Chapters Plus a Bonus Chapter - Strategy Guide: 52 Pages
6 Chapters Plus a Bonus Chapter - Strategy Guide: 52 Pages
OVERVIEW: Imperium Healer – get ready to battle a diva who is a real witch! Out for revenge, Amber, is out to settle the score concerning her mother. Her mother, a famous ballerina, was wrongfully accused of witchcraft and, as a result, was fired from her job. This devastating event caused Amber and her mother to live a life of poverty. Amber inherited her grandmother’s witchly power, and is now using it to turn everyone into crystal to exact her revenge. Her mother’s ghost has now contacted you from beyond the grave for your help to stop her daughter’s rage. Amber’s aim is to retrieve the “Healing Heart” to revive the dark magicians to vanquish the Kingdom of Tar. Can you stop her vengeance before she destroys the entire kingdom?
A TRIBUTE TO DOMINI GAMES: I purchased this game immediately! This is another excellent puzzle-intense game from Domini Games. I always feel I get more game for my money with this developer’s games. I do not mind paying a little more for their games because they don’t skimp in producing a quality game with those little extras most developers are now removing from their games.
THOSE LITTLE EXTRAS: As in other games, Domini provides indicators on the inventory bar to indicate if you have gotten all the collectibles within a scene. You collect three (3) collectibles - crystals, statuettes, and flowers. There are many in the scenes and all are easy to locate. To appeal to more gamers, Domini goes the extra mile providing a choice of “Hard” and “Casual” options for most puzzles. There is a mini-game to play in lieu of the HOP scenes, in this case a Match-3 puzzle. You can also replay some of the HOP scenes and puzzles.
INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL: This game should appeal to those who like fairy tale games. Unlike most games of this genre, this game is fast-paced with plenty of activities to keep the player engaged. The graphics are bright and colorful as usual. The vivid colors are cartoon-like. The chapter dealing with the forest is breathtaking! The sound is much better than in previous games. They must have invested in a better sound system for their games.
HEALER KIT: You get a gimmicky healer kit used throughout the game. The “healing glass” will be used to identify crystalline formations on five characters in the game. You also will get a recipe after locating these crystalline outbreaks. You will then need to locate items to create healing potions. There is a puzzle involved in which you must locate the proper slots on a healing device for each of five items.
BONUS GAME: I have not finished the Bonus game; however, it is NOT related to the main game. Get ready for some baby napping (I promise you won’t fall asleep in this sequel!)
HOP SCENES: There are 20 HOP scenes in the game. They include the usual lists of items and silhouette scenes. There are storybook scenes with items listed in BOLD letters to be located. In one you must replace them back within the scene. There are two silhouette puzzles in the main game which are somewhat interactive. There is also a beautiful matching scene in which you must move lanterns to match up symbols behind the lanterns.
PUZZLES: There are 27 puzzles in the game and most have the option for “Casual” and “Hard” puzzles. They are creative as usual for Domini Games. Here are some examples of those from the game:
A. Twist me and turn me until I am a-maze-d! Maze puzzle. Create paths by rotating segments of the grid to create a path to connect 3 crystals and their counterparts opposite them on a grid.
B. Match my path! Maze puzzle. Move 3 tokens along a path by only moving onto those spaces with a matching symbol. After passing through a token, it will change to another symbol. Go back-and-forth maneuvering all three tokens until they all reach their proper positions at the bottom of the maze.
C. Gear up for a difficult puzzle! Gear puzzle. Connect gears. It is rather unique as the gears have lines emanating from them. The lines NOT the gears should match up. It is ingenious and a little toughie in the hard mode.
D. Mathematical puzzle. Angle mirrors so that the light from a crystal can connect with all the mirrors. In the hard version, moving one mirror affects the others.
E. INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL! Matching. Not difficult – just beautiful. Place butterflies on their matching flowers by color. Then the butterflies flutter away.
F. Connection puzzle. Move tokens to same colored slots without crossing lines. You are only given so many spaces you may move before having to restart the puzzle in the hard mode.
G. More runes to ruin your day! Matching puzzle with a twist. In three circles, place runes so they match up with those on a sword. NOT EASY! Move runes from one circle to another by rotating them and using arrows to transfer them.
H. The battle for worldwide domination against AI! Battlefield domination. Play against the computer to get more tokens in a grid than the computer. Moving next to your enemy’s token will result in their capture. Good! Take that Computer!
B. Match my path! Maze puzzle. Move 3 tokens along a path by only moving onto those spaces with a matching symbol. After passing through a token, it will change to another symbol. Go back-and-forth maneuvering all three tokens until they all reach their proper positions at the bottom of the maze.
C. Gear up for a difficult puzzle! Gear puzzle. Connect gears. It is rather unique as the gears have lines emanating from them. The lines NOT the gears should match up. It is ingenious and a little toughie in the hard mode.
D. Mathematical puzzle. Angle mirrors so that the light from a crystal can connect with all the mirrors. In the hard version, moving one mirror affects the others.
E. INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL! Matching. Not difficult – just beautiful. Place butterflies on their matching flowers by color. Then the butterflies flutter away.
F. Connection puzzle. Move tokens to same colored slots without crossing lines. You are only given so many spaces you may move before having to restart the puzzle in the hard mode.
G. More runes to ruin your day! Matching puzzle with a twist. In three circles, place runes so they match up with those on a sword. NOT EASY! Move runes from one circle to another by rotating them and using arrows to transfer them.
H. The battle for worldwide domination against AI! Battlefield domination. Play against the computer to get more tokens in a grid than the computer. Moving next to your enemy’s token will result in their capture. Good! Take that Computer!
LEVELS: Casual, Advanced, Hardcore, Custom
Hints and Skips: 15 to 90 seconds
Hints and Skips: 15 to 90 seconds
EXTRAS:
Map is provided at the beginning of the game
30 Achievements
Collect 39 crystals to purchase items for your laboratory
Collect 15 statuettes and 15 morphing flowers
You get a diagnosis lens and a healer kit.
Replay 17 HOP scenes and 17 puzzles.
16 Wallpapers, 10 Concept Art, Music
Map is provided at the beginning of the game
30 Achievements
Collect 39 crystals to purchase items for your laboratory
Collect 15 statuettes and 15 morphing flowers
You get a diagnosis lens and a healer kit.
Replay 17 HOP scenes and 17 puzzles.
16 Wallpapers, 10 Concept Art, Music
I recommend this game!
Can you stop a ghost bride and save the city?
Overall rating
4
/
5
63 of 93 found this review helpful
HERE COMES THE BRIDE – WITH REVENGE AT HER SIDE
PostedSeptember 23, 2017
sunnyglow
fromI believe the ghostly Amanda Aquille may have a new career after this game. Able to soar through the air from one crime scene to another, perhaps she could become a new comic book archvillain – “Super Ghoul!”
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
OVERVIEW: Is a phantom killer on the lose? Detective, you are off to the village of Anzio to help Inspector Lestrade on another case. This one centers on the murders of locals possessing jewelry which the killer desires. However, is jewelry the only motive behind the murders? All the murders seem to point to the recently deceased, Amanda Aquille. Is the jewelry part of her dowry? Not able to investigate a flying ghost, you interrogate her mother, Madam Aquille. The formerly wealthy Madam Aquille has lost everything – her fortune (due to her husband’s gambling), her husband to death, and her daughter to death. Hopefully, she has not lost her mind as well. There are no suspects, except a flying ghost, the dearly departed Amanda. The ghost appears before the killings, leaving a calling card for the next intended victim. Is the killer a phantom bride searching for her dowry or a real live person?
This is a horror-lite game. It should appeal to the fans of this series, AMAX game lovers, and those who like a beautifully illustrated game with standard HOP scenes and puzzles which are of average difficulty. The story is decent, although it is somewhat obvious who the culprit might be in this game. However, at times, stories do throw an unexpected element of surprise into the mix. The graphics are dark and dreary and the perfect setting for a bloody tale of revenge and murder most foul. As usual, you collect coins to purchase items. This time purchase items to be used in the game. You also collect roses for bouquets for a skeletal crew of brides. The gimmicky Memory Fragment Detector (which allows you to view those “invisible” items in the HOP scenes) returns in this game. This developer’s games are usually better after the demo; however, there is nothing in the demo which incites me to purchase this game as a CE. It is a great game but I will wait for the SE edition.
HOP SCENES: They are a disappointment. In the demo, they are all lists of items. They are not interactive and rather boring.
PUZZLES: The puzzles are better than the HOP scenes. They include a sliding tiles puzzle featuring skeletal tokens. You must move and rotate pieces of these tokens so that they fit into the missing slots of four tokens. This is not as easy as it may seem. Rotating the pieces also rotates the pieces of the others. There is an easy jigsaw puzzle involving placing pieces for five signs into place. There is one puzzle I felt was bizarre and illogical. This is sequence puzzle in which you must locate the proper three keys to open a door. However, there is no logic behind the keys to be found – so it become a matter of trial and error.
KUNG FU FIGHTING – BRIDAL STYLE! Take on the skeletal bride in this puzzle. First there a puzzle with more runes to ruin your day.. You are given a rune to match up with one of many from the scene. Then hold off a Shuriken (Chinese Star) attack by zapping those lethal weapons before they hit you.
LEVELS: Casual, Advanced, Hard, Custom
Hints and Skips: 5 to 200 seconds
Hints and Skips: 5 to 200 seconds
EXTRAS:
Map is given to you at the beginning of the game.
24 Achievements
Collect roses for bridal bouquets and coins to purchase items from a vendor’s stand.
Gimmicky Memory Fragment Detector which allows you to see items no visible in the scene. Every time you use it, you must locate 5 hidden items.
Replay 16 Puzzles and 13 HOP scenes
10 Wallpapers, 12 Concept Art,4 Screensavers, Music, Videos
Map is given to you at the beginning of the game.
24 Achievements
Collect roses for bridal bouquets and coins to purchase items from a vendor’s stand.
Gimmicky Memory Fragment Detector which allows you to see items no visible in the scene. Every time you use it, you must locate 5 hidden items.
Replay 16 Puzzles and 13 HOP scenes
10 Wallpapers, 12 Concept Art,4 Screensavers, Music, Videos
HERE ARE THE DETAILS (SPOILERS) FOR THOSE WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THE HOP SCENES AND PUZZLES IN SEQUENCE
HOP SCENES:
(A) List of items. Locate items (4 of each) (B) List of items (C) Mini-HOP scene. Locate 12 spokes. (D) List of items within a box.
(A) List of items. Locate items (4 of each) (B) List of items (C) Mini-HOP scene. Locate 12 spokes. (D) List of items within a box.
PUZZLES: (1) Easy 2) Moderate difficulty (3) Difficult
Zap those memories away! Memory Fragment puzzle. Every time you use the memory fragment device, you must locate 5 hidden items within the scene.
A. Sliding/Rotating Tile puzzle. For each of four pieces of four skeleton tokens, move each of the partial token to their designated location and then rotate them so the pieces snap in place. Rating 2
B. Moving tiles puzzle. Slide crowns into their proper location by color. Rating: 2
C. Slider puzzle. Slide blocks to open a path for an eye to go through. Rating: 2
D. Sequence puzzle. Find those keys! Choose 3 keys from a keychain with numerous keys to open 3 locks. You must choose all 3 at one time. There is no logic behind this – so just guess away
E. Jigsaw puzzle. Place several pieces of 5 signs into their proper position. Rating: 1
F. Multiple-step – Sock it to the skeletal bride (1) Matching puzzle. Match up runes to fight the ghostly skeleton. (2) Our bride has a penchant for martial arts – so shoot and destroy shurikens (Chinese stars) before they hit you.
B. Moving tiles puzzle. Slide crowns into their proper location by color. Rating: 2
C. Slider puzzle. Slide blocks to open a path for an eye to go through. Rating: 2
D. Sequence puzzle. Find those keys! Choose 3 keys from a keychain with numerous keys to open 3 locks. You must choose all 3 at one time. There is no logic behind this – so just guess away
E. Jigsaw puzzle. Place several pieces of 5 signs into their proper position. Rating: 1
F. Multiple-step – Sock it to the skeletal bride (1) Matching puzzle. Match up runes to fight the ghostly skeleton. (2) Our bride has a penchant for martial arts – so shoot and destroy shurikens (Chinese stars) before they hit you.
Antiques from Rosen's Workshop are coming to life!
Overall rating
3
/
5
87 of 153 found this review helpful
KIWIS DON’T REALLY FLY AND THIS GAME DID NOT LIFT UP MY SPIRITS EITHER
PostedSeptember 21, 2017
sunnyglow
from“Enquiring” minds want to know - Is Ms. Gale the “Dorothy Gale” from the “Wizard of Oz? Upon returning to Kansas, did she bring with her all that bright “green smoke” from Oz which now permeates this town?
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
5 Chapters Plus a Bonus Chapter:
OVERVIEW: Is a local town possessed, Ms. Gale? You are off through a fog of green smoke to investigate occurrences at an antique shop owned by Tom Larsson. Mysterious occurrences began when Tom discovered a puppet created by his great grandfather, Finn Rosen. Now it appears, the puppet has possessed him (as evidenced by the massive green smoke coming out of his Oz-green eyes). Since the discovery of this puppet, all items purchased at his shop have begun to come-to-life causing havoc throughout the town. His wife Emma has contacted you for help. Confront Tom, who is now referring to himself as Finn Rosen, his great grandfather, who lived over two hundred years ago, and try to expel the evil presence in the town.
This game will have you seeing green. Luminescent green-eyed monsters and green smoke are omnipresent in this town. The story is another tale of doll possession much like “Annabelle” or “Chucky.” The graphics consist of bright reds, yellows, and other garish colors which, at times, are immersed within this luminescent green smoke. The HOP scenes are the only element I like in this game. They are creatively designed. The puzzles are decent, with some offering the choice between “Casual” and “Hard” options. With the thick foreign accents, I found the voice overs irritating. You collect art supplies and there are morphing objects throughout the game. I would have purchased this game except for the “pièce de résistance,” the helper bird. Hope this developer enjoys creating helpers and NOT making them optional! It is their financial loss! I won’t purchase a game with an annoying helper in a game.
BIRD-BRAINED PRODUCT DESIGN. Kiwis can’t fly – but no matter, in this game your helper kiwi bird will “get his wings.” (Sorry, but I don’t think you will hear a bell ring! 'It's a wonderful life' when you don't!) You are about to improve upon Mother Nature by creating a better designed mechanical Kiwi! Hope this “bird” is not patented. I don’t EVER want to see this bird-brained idea surface again! You also get to name your active little helper as well. He is quite a performer. He performs many stunts such as whirling around to open a jar, flying up the ceiling to retrieve items, and using his beak to retrieve items under doors You modify your helper throughout the game by adding items to his bird body to help you.
G.E.-NIUS IDEA: A light bulb just went off in my mind! I have a better idea – let us go back to the drawing board and nix this idea. Why even bother? Why not GET RID OF THE IDEA OF HAVING A HELPER IN A GAME? IF YOU MUST HAVE A HELPER – MAKE IT OPTIONAL IN THE GAME!
HOP SCENES: The HOP scenes are splendid. This is the ONLY ELEMENT I liked in this game. They are creatively produced. In one unique scene, you interact with a scene of a town searching for items and then replacing them in the proper location. In another scene, you search for a list of items in which you must locate more than one of the items.
PUZZLES: I must applaud the developer on providing two levels, “Casual” and “Hard,” for some of the puzzles. The puzzles do vary in design but most are easy. They include a cleverly designed gear puzzle which has you creating paths for the gears to be placed within the grid. There is also a unique puzzle involved in parallel parking a truck (now that spoiled my day!), a matching puzzle in which you move three segments of a wing to match the other wing in the picture, and a switch puzzle to move doorknobs into the correct position.
LEVELS: Casual, Advanced, Hard, Custom
Hints and Skips: 15 to 300 seconds
Hints and Skips: 15 to 300 seconds
EXTRAS:
Map is provided as you play the game
Achievements
Collect paint tubes, musicians, and actors
10 Morphing objects
End of game – play 3 mini-games in a paint-by-number
8 Wallpapers, 6 Concept Art, Music, Video clips
Map is provided as you play the game
Achievements
Collect paint tubes, musicians, and actors
10 Morphing objects
End of game – play 3 mini-games in a paint-by-number
8 Wallpapers, 6 Concept Art, Music, Video clips
HERE ARE THE DETAILS (SPOILERS) FOR THOSE WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THE HOP SCENES AND PUZZLES IN SEQUENCE
HOP SCENES: (A) (1) Silhouette. Collect more than one item for each one shown in silhouette. (2) Locate five screwdrivers (B) Search and replace. Locate items within a town which are in the incorrect locations. A great HOP scene. (C) Silhouette. Search for items and place them back interacting with the scene. This scene has a gear puzzle. (D) List of items. (E) Matching. Match up runes (F) Silhouette items followed by a list of items.
PUZZLES: (1) Easy 2) Moderate difficulty (3) Difficult
A. Gear puzzle. Slide gears along a series of paths and into position so that all paths are traveled at least once without retracing your steps. (Within a HOP scene) Rating: 1
B. Physical puzzle. Choice between Casual and Hard. Move a ping pong paddle at the bottom of a scene to stop darts which are falling from above.
C. Matching puzzle. Position three parts of a wing to match one on the other side of a box. 3X Rating 2
D. Parallel parking. Choice between Casual and Hard. Never learned to parallel park in high school? Well now is your chance. Park a truck by parallel parking
E. Switch puzzle. Switch door handles according to eye color of the characters on the handles. Rating: 1
F. Moving tiles puzzle. Rotate three triangular sections of tokens (3 each) so that they are moved to the proper corresponding symbol. Rating: 2
G. Maze puzzle. Move a token across a maze of dots associated with items desired to be placed on a candy apple so that all the dots are crossed except for those of items not desired on the apple. Rating: 1
H. Moving tiles puzzle. Move 4 hands on a door so they all point down. Moving one affects the others. Rating: 1
A. Gear puzzle. Slide gears along a series of paths and into position so that all paths are traveled at least once without retracing your steps. (Within a HOP scene) Rating: 1
B. Physical puzzle. Choice between Casual and Hard. Move a ping pong paddle at the bottom of a scene to stop darts which are falling from above.
C. Matching puzzle. Position three parts of a wing to match one on the other side of a box. 3X Rating 2
D. Parallel parking. Choice between Casual and Hard. Never learned to parallel park in high school? Well now is your chance. Park a truck by parallel parking
E. Switch puzzle. Switch door handles according to eye color of the characters on the handles. Rating: 1
F. Moving tiles puzzle. Rotate three triangular sections of tokens (3 each) so that they are moved to the proper corresponding symbol. Rating: 2
G. Maze puzzle. Move a token across a maze of dots associated with items desired to be placed on a candy apple so that all the dots are crossed except for those of items not desired on the apple. Rating: 1
H. Moving tiles puzzle. Move 4 hands on a door so they all point down. Moving one affects the others. Rating: 1
I recommend this game!
Join the penguins on a mosaic filled journey to a deserted island! Help them explore the island and solve new challenges.
Overall rating
5
/
5
29 of 72 found this review helpful
EXPLORE A DESERTED ISLAND WITH MR. PENGUIN
PostedSeptember 18, 2017
sunnyglow
fromI would love to be on a deserted island. After sending out a distress signal, I could then wile away the hours playing griddler games while waiting for help to come to the rescue.
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
OVERVIEW: What a wonderful Monday surprise! We are off to a deserted tropical island with Mr. Penguin enjoying the magic of griddler puzzles. A BIG THANK you to BFG for offering a game in one of my favorite genres. This is another excellent 5-star game from Match Gems. I have been anxiously awaiting this latest entry from the series to appear on BFG. I have played every game in the series and this game is designed exactly like the others.
I LOVE these games and Match Gems is one of the BEST developers for this type of game. This puzzle has many different names (AKA O’Ekaki, Griddlers, Paint-by-Numbers, Pic-a-Pix, Nonograms or whatever you call them); however, no matter the name, they are a fun puzzle game.
HOW TO PLAY: This is variety of a Sudoku puzzle. In this puzzle, create pictures by filling in squares in a grid. The grids in this game will vary in size. Each side of the grid will have numbers for each line of squares indicating the number of squares which are to be filled in for that row of squares. Squares are filled in where the squares intersect between the two sets of numbers on each side.
GAME FACTS:
• Levels: Casual and Advanced.
• Colors: The game has up to six colored screens which can be switched at any time while playing the puzzle.
• Autofill: There is autofill so you do not have to fill in the unused boxes. However, you can use your mouse to right click “X’s” for unused spaces.
• Hints: Hints are given as you proceed and are based on the difficulty of the puzzle and how well you perform in solving the grid
• Number of Levels and Puzzles: There are 100 puzzles – 20 levels with 5 puzzles per level in the game.
• Aids: You have a pickax as an aid in the game
• Awards: There are 3 trophies: a gold trophy for no mistakes, a silver trophy for 1 mistake, and a bronze trophy for two mistakes. If you make 3 mistakes, you must start the game over again.
• Collectibles. When you complete one level of 5 puzzles, you receive an item to place in your garden.
• Colors: The game has up to six colored screens which can be switched at any time while playing the puzzle.
• Autofill: There is autofill so you do not have to fill in the unused boxes. However, you can use your mouse to right click “X’s” for unused spaces.
• Hints: Hints are given as you proceed and are based on the difficulty of the puzzle and how well you perform in solving the grid
• Number of Levels and Puzzles: There are 100 puzzles – 20 levels with 5 puzzles per level in the game.
• Aids: You have a pickax as an aid in the game
• Awards: There are 3 trophies: a gold trophy for no mistakes, a silver trophy for 1 mistake, and a bronze trophy for two mistakes. If you make 3 mistakes, you must start the game over again.
• Collectibles. When you complete one level of 5 puzzles, you receive an item to place in your garden.
I highly recommend this game if you like Sudoku games or any type of mathematical puzzle.
I recommend this game!
Can you defeat dangerous creatures and find your grandfather in time?
Overall rating
5
/
5
111 of 184 found this review helpful
ENTER A PORTAL TO ANOTHER FANTASTIC SCI-FI DELIGHT
PostedSeptember 16, 2017
sunnyglow
fromI agree with Kate about never wanting to take a subway again. After entering the subway “portal,” you have no idea what creepy, monstrous creatures you are going to encounter!
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
REVIEW BASED ON THE ENTIRE GAME
6 Chapters Plus a Bonus Chapter - Strategy Guide: 35 Pages
Time: (4 Hours – as stated in the game’s journal)
6 Chapters Plus a Bonus Chapter - Strategy Guide: 35 Pages
Time: (4 Hours – as stated in the game’s journal)
OVERVIEW: Kate – Brush up on your fencing skills and with sword in hand, get ready to battle the Nightcallers! Your grandfather abandoned you twenty years ago and now you have been contacted by your grandfather’s old friend Harold, an expert swordsman. Giving you his magical sword, you are off to fight other worldly monsters and reconnect with your grandfather. Board the train to adventure in another world – the Night World. Your grandfather and his adventurous friends opened a portal to this world and now it is time for you to close it! The destiny of two worlds now rests in your hands!
I LOVE this game! This is another thrilling sci-fi adventure game by Mad Head. The story is excellent. The game is beautifully illustrated with luminescent purple monsters contrasted against the bright colors of the Night World. Hiding in this other world is a beautiful garden scene as well. This fast-paced game radiates excitement and ingenuity. The game is well-worth the price. There are many activities throughout the game. You still collect those trade-mark swirls. I do not have many complaints about this game; however, I wish Mad Head would provide some other collectibles beside these swirls which are in every one of their games. There are no morphing objects. You get a gimmicky sword which you use after matching up runes. For me, the sword puzzles are NOT worth playing and with all the other puzzles in the game, just using the sword would suffice. However, at the end of the main game you are given a rather mind-bending bulls-eye physical puzzle to solve. The Bonus Game deals with the story of the stranded evildoer, Maldecai stranded in Night World. The story is a prequel to the main game.
MAD HEAD DELIVERS THE GOODIES AFTER THE DEMO! The game is much better AFTER THE DEMO! The HOP scenes are magnificent – full of creative scenes which you will NOT want to miss. I am not an “aficionada” of HOP scenes; however, the scenes after the demo are creatively designed! There are also some original and, at times, tricky puzzles as well.
HOP SCENES: There are twelve (12) HOP scenes in the main game and five (5) in the Bonus chapter. They vary in design. The demo includes the usual list of items to locate and a silhouette scene. The silhouette scene is lengthy and includes four mini-puzzle within it. The puzzles are all easy.
FOUR A-MAZE-ING SCENES TO “RUNE” YOUR DAY. After the demo, the puzzles include four which are very creative. They involve searching for runes in a variety of creatively designed mazes. They increase in difficulty with each maze. I believe you will be “a-maze-d!” In the first scene, the runes are part of the maze. They are not easy to locate as they are interspersed with many other runes. In the second maze scene, switch blocks within the maze to create the rune to be removed. The third one of these scenes requires the player to switch and rotate four circles to create the runes to be eliminated. The final scene has the player locating those runes in a rusty grate which looks like a maze.
FOUR A-MAZE-ING SCENES TO “RUNE” YOUR DAY. After the demo, the puzzles include four which are very creative. They involve searching for runes in a variety of creatively designed mazes. They increase in difficulty with each maze. I believe you will be “a-maze-d!” In the first scene, the runes are part of the maze. They are not easy to locate as they are interspersed with many other runes. In the second maze scene, switch blocks within the maze to create the rune to be removed. The third one of these scenes requires the player to switch and rotate four circles to create the runes to be eliminated. The final scene has the player locating those runes in a rusty grate which looks like a maze.
The other HOP scenes in the game are lists of items or silhouette. Toward the end of the game, Mad Head must have gotten tired of fighting all those monsters at work and just threw in four back-to-back non-interactive lists of items.
PUZZLES:
There are 35 puzzles in the game, not counting the standard “sword puzzle” which must be played to defeat a Nightcaller. There are five (5) in the Bonus Chapter. The puzzles are varied in style and difficulty. The ones in the demo are easy; however, after the demo, there are some very creative and somewhat difficult ones as well.
There are 35 puzzles in the game, not counting the standard “sword puzzle” which must be played to defeat a Nightcaller. There are five (5) in the Bonus Chapter. The puzzles are varied in style and difficulty. The ones in the demo are easy; however, after the demo, there are some very creative and somewhat difficult ones as well.
REPLAY PUZZLES – PLEASE! I do wish Mad Head would allow for a replay of their puzzles. There are some I really want to replay but don’t want to replay the whole game to do so.
FAVORITE PUZZLES: Here are a few of the puzzles I enjoyed in this game:
A. A-maze-d! Maze puzzle. Go through a maze of tunnels overcoming obstacles in your path. You will get items to help you navigate and will use your sword as well.
B. Light me up, Buttercup! Logic problem. Recreate a pattern on a grid from the given design. Lighting up one element from the grid lights up and turns off others as well. Not that easy to solve. 3 X
C. Odds are stacked against you! Stack colored slats into four columns so that same-colored slats are in the correct column and a design appears. Ever seen wallpaper designs? You get the idea.
D. Ugly Statues Puzzle. Exchange puzzle. Exchange the locations of monstrous statues so they are placed in order by color. Use a conveyor belt which can switch and move up to two statues per move.
E. Help me Salvador Dali! Rotate a series of four rings to reproduce the shapes of eight rather odd keys. Once complete, place the key within the slot.
F. Electrical G.E.-NIUS. Tangram puzzle. Place wires into a grid with nodes so that each node connects to a wire. No nodes must be left unmatched. Edison would love this puzzle!
G. Where is my calculator? Mathematical puzzle. Move liquids between several vials moving numbered markers until all the markers add up to 100 and each vial has 100 units of liquid.
A. Super-Duper Sword puzzle! Align two to three marbles into the safe zones to defeat the evildoer. Increases in difficulty – The marbles move faster with each level.
A. A-maze-d! Maze puzzle. Go through a maze of tunnels overcoming obstacles in your path. You will get items to help you navigate and will use your sword as well.
B. Light me up, Buttercup! Logic problem. Recreate a pattern on a grid from the given design. Lighting up one element from the grid lights up and turns off others as well. Not that easy to solve. 3 X
C. Odds are stacked against you! Stack colored slats into four columns so that same-colored slats are in the correct column and a design appears. Ever seen wallpaper designs? You get the idea.
D. Ugly Statues Puzzle. Exchange puzzle. Exchange the locations of monstrous statues so they are placed in order by color. Use a conveyor belt which can switch and move up to two statues per move.
E. Help me Salvador Dali! Rotate a series of four rings to reproduce the shapes of eight rather odd keys. Once complete, place the key within the slot.
F. Electrical G.E.-NIUS. Tangram puzzle. Place wires into a grid with nodes so that each node connects to a wire. No nodes must be left unmatched. Edison would love this puzzle!
G. Where is my calculator? Mathematical puzzle. Move liquids between several vials moving numbered markers until all the markers add up to 100 and each vial has 100 units of liquid.
A. Super-Duper Sword puzzle! Align two to three marbles into the safe zones to defeat the evildoer. Increases in difficulty – The marbles move faster with each level.
LEVELS: Novice, Apprentice, Master, Champion, Swordsmith
Hints and Skips: 15 to 90 seconds
EXTRAS:
Map is given to you at the beginning of the game.
Use your magic sword to fight the monsters.
10 Achievements
Replay 17 HOP scenes
Collect 36 spirals
4 Wallpapers, Music, 8 Characters
Map is given to you at the beginning of the game.
Use your magic sword to fight the monsters.
10 Achievements
Replay 17 HOP scenes
Collect 36 spirals
4 Wallpapers, Music, 8 Characters
I recommend this game!
Can you delve into a dangerous past and escape in time?
Overall rating
5
/
5
96 of 155 found this review helpful
ANOTHER PHANTASMATIC THRILLER FROM EIPIX
PostedSeptember 14, 2017
sunnyglow
fromAfter this game, Jack will be able to share his computer skills such as photoshopping with the new “friends” he will meet at his new home-away-from-home.
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
REVIEW BASED UPON THE ENTIRE GAME
TIME: 5 Hours (45 minutes for the Bonus game)
4 Chapters Plus a Bonus Chapter – Strategy Guide: 38 Pages
TIME: 5 Hours (45 minutes for the Bonus game)
4 Chapters Plus a Bonus Chapter – Strategy Guide: 38 Pages
OVERVIEW: What scares you, Ashley White? Welcome to your worst nightmare, your own illusion-filled Twilight Zone in this “phantasmatic” horror game. Suffering from amnesia you are off to a house, nestled away in the cornfields of rural Illinois to be cared for by your beloved, caring husband, Stan. Get prepared for a dark storm filled night in a ghost-filled house with memories. “It” will welcome you with a broken clown doll in the hallway, ghosts running through the halls, and the memories of 1996, when Stan’s brother was involved in an accident. As you regain your memories, the past is going to come back to haunt you.
Exploring this broken-down rat trap (one you will soon want to escape), you realize that nothing is as it seems, including the story and the game mechanics. The graphics are dark and the broken-down house adds to the creepiness of this game. The pace is excellent. Ghostly images keep popping up to add to the décor of this dilapidated farmhouse. You collect creepy dolls and morphing objects within the HOP scenes. All are easy to locate. There is at least one Easter egg advertising the upcoming MCF game by EIPIX. It is easy to locate. The Bonus chapter is related to the main story but is VERY SHORT!! One of the final puzzles with seven parts could be viewed as time filler in the Bonus chapter!
AFTER THE DEMO – DON’T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS – THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS! As one of my high school teachers used to say, “the devil is in the details – so don’t jump to conclusions!” After the demo, the game changes somewhat, which is consistent with the developer. Think you have this story figured out? Well – hold on – because that is NOT the case! EIPIX throws a new element of surprise into the story which changes it somewhat. Be prepared! “It just ‘ain’t’ what you think!” EIPIX is going to take you through a “corny” maze of subplots in this game. In one way or another, you are going to be traversing many mazes in this game!
HOP SCENES: There are sixteen (16) in the game and five (5) in the Bonus Chapter. You can also play a SUPER-DUPER MATCH-3 GAME in lieu of the scenes. The ones in the demo are excellent. Most of those are multiple-step, creative and interactive. Most of them are multiple-step as well. There are interactive scenes in which you must move clothing and other items to locate items on the list. There are lists and silhouette items. In one of the scenes you must locate the replace items back within the scenes. There are cryptic clues and in one you must search through 3 computer files to locate the items. Impressed? Well you won’t be after the demo!
DID THE HOP CREATOR TAKE A VACATION AFTER THE DEMO? After the demo, these wondrous creative scenes – POOF! – disappear! Be prepared for scene-after-scene of repetitive lists of items which are NOT interactive. There are six scenes which are straight lists of items. There is very little creativity in any scenes after the demo. Also returning is the standard EIPIX HOP scene in which you must locate five each of two items following by a list of items. PLEASE GET RID OF THIS SCENE, EIPIX! There is one rebus scene and one matching scene. Very disappointing EIPIX! Yes, there is some HO HUM in this game!
PUZZLES – I AM TRULY A-MAZE-D: There are sixteen (16) puzzles in the game and two (2) in the bonus chapter. They are all creatively designed. (Guess our EIPIX “puzzlemeister” did NOT take a vacation!) Be warned – there are some difficult puzzles in this game. Most of the puzzles I would rate as moderately difficult to difficult. However, I would not miss this game just because of the puzzles. It is a well-crafted game and you can skip all the puzzles. The story behind the game is excellent – and after all, you still have all those HO-HUM HOP scenes which some people like!
FAVORITE PUZZLES:
A. Twisting and Turning the night away. Switch tokens by pairs so they match up at both ends of a series of twisted tubes. What makes it difficult is that it is NOT linear. You must trace the path of each tube to figure out the placement of each token.
B. Pinball Wizard. Move a ball through a pinball machine. If you move the ball correctly, you will get a sling shot and a star.
C. Checkers puzzle. Jump over a grid of marbles until only one remains.
D. Drive the Texas Two-Step. On a modified radio, move a car using arrows to avoid obstacles in your path. You can control the speed of your car by using the radio dial. However, true speed demons will have that turned up all the way
E. Strategy puzzle. Move playing card symbols – Heart, Spade and Diamond to the bottom of a maze using only spaces with like symbols. The tokens change once one of these symbols lands on them.
F. Maze map. Do a hoe down through the corn. “Dosey doe” through the wonderful cornfields of Illinois using a map to get to a campsite.
G. Maze Map Part 2. More corn! This time go through those same Illini cornfields and look for buried items.
A. Twisting and Turning the night away. Switch tokens by pairs so they match up at both ends of a series of twisted tubes. What makes it difficult is that it is NOT linear. You must trace the path of each tube to figure out the placement of each token.
B. Pinball Wizard. Move a ball through a pinball machine. If you move the ball correctly, you will get a sling shot and a star.
C. Checkers puzzle. Jump over a grid of marbles until only one remains.
D. Drive the Texas Two-Step. On a modified radio, move a car using arrows to avoid obstacles in your path. You can control the speed of your car by using the radio dial. However, true speed demons will have that turned up all the way
E. Strategy puzzle. Move playing card symbols – Heart, Spade and Diamond to the bottom of a maze using only spaces with like symbols. The tokens change once one of these symbols lands on them.
F. Maze map. Do a hoe down through the corn. “Dosey doe” through the wonderful cornfields of Illinois using a map to get to a campsite.
G. Maze Map Part 2. More corn! This time go through those same Illini cornfields and look for buried items.
MORE CONFUSING PUZZLE DIRECTIONS: EIPIX – is it possible to get someone to write directions for your puzzles? I had difficultly figuring out exactly what I was supposed to do in some of these puzzles. The worst puzzle for this involves a phone puzzle in the Bonus game, (with seven (7) scenes. I still have no idea what I was supposed to do - so - I just skipped it.).
LEVELS: Easy, Medium, Hard, Custom
Hint: 10 to 120 seconds Skips: 10 to 400 seconds
Hint: 10 to 120 seconds Skips: 10 to 400 seconds
EXTRAS:
Map is given to you at the beginning of the game.
13 Achievements – Some with 3 sections
Collect 35 dolls and 9 Morphing objects (within the HOP scenes)
Replay 13 HOP scenes and 12 Puzzles and the Super Match-3 game as well
8 Wallpapers, 4 Concept Art, Music, Videos, Souvenir Room
Map is given to you at the beginning of the game.
13 Achievements – Some with 3 sections
Collect 35 dolls and 9 Morphing objects (within the HOP scenes)
Replay 13 HOP scenes and 12 Puzzles and the Super Match-3 game as well
8 Wallpapers, 4 Concept Art, Music, Videos, Souvenir Room
I recommend this game!
Check out a huge variety of new puzzles in what may be the best Clutter game yet!
Overall rating
5
/
5
31 of 47 found this review helpful
AN INFINTESIMAL SUCCESS FOR JOE!
PostedSeptember 13, 2017
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Congrats Joe! Many of us Pond Friends Forum members have been anxiously awaiting this sequel to the Clutter series! I love these time-crunching, nerve racking games from Joe. I play the timed versions of the games (although you are not required to do so) for agonizing fun! There are a variety of different styles of puzzles throughout the game.
This is a game which can be played an infinitesimal amount of times. You can play the series of puzzles timed or untimed (for a more leisurely approach). There are 875 – that’s right 875 puzzles in this game. That’s a ‘lotta’ puzzles! There are over 75 each of picture puzzles and box quotes. Other types of puzzles include Slat puzzles (moving slats to create pictures), a variation of the clutter puzzles from black and white to matching up two halves of items. There are silhouettes, outside-in puzzles, and intermixed as well.
For being raised in a family of sports enthusiasts, you have done well in the gaming business, Joe. You have hit a home run with this game. Here’s hoping for more of these gems in the future.
I recommend this game!
Snow, Ice and the deadly wind blowing from the Frozen Mountains! The Lost Lands have been overtaken by ice in the middle of summer!
Overall rating
3
/
5
72 of 151 found this review helpful
AN ICE FILLED GAME BOGGED DOWN IN A DRIFTS OF TEDIOUS ACTIVITIES
PostedSeptember 12, 2017
sunnyglow
fromThis game may contain a future story for a “ragazine” – “Alaska: Stronghold of the Five Worlds and portal to other dimensions? and - Is former governor Sarah Palin their War Maiden?”
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
6 Chapters Plus a Bonus Chapter: Strategy Guide: 56 Pages
OVERVIEW: Our Warrior Maiden, Susan, returns in another adventure – this time she is transported to a kingdom frozen in ice. Our Sara Palin lookalike has been summoned by Maaron, a Druid chieftain, to save his kingdom from an unknown force causing climatic havoc. It appears that an anomaly has caused a decrease in temperature, causing the kingdom to transform into a frozen wilderness. What is behind the climate change? Locate the source and restore this kingdom to its former climate.
This is a hybrid - a cross between a HOP game and an adventure game. It is a puzzle-intense adventure game sprinkled with a few HOP scenes to qualify it as a HOP game. Although the graphics are dated, they are decent. The musical score for the game is excellent, equal to one for a movie. For those who love to search for collectibles, you will love this game. There is an abundance of items to collect along with morphing objects throughout the game – all of which are easy to locate. You can replay the mini-games and the “puzzles” within the game. I am confused by the developer’s definition of “mini-games” versus “puzzles.” Although I realize there are many who are looking forward to playing this game, unfortunately this game left me “out in the cold.” Unlike the previous games in the series, I found the demo snail-paced and tedious. There are three activities which I feel slow down the pace in this game and caused me to not purchase it.
First. There is too much back-and forth action within this game. Throughout the demo, you collect coins to purchase inventory items. I grew tired of collecting coins to make continuous shopping trips to “Nomiana’s shop.” Our little “pumpkin,” Nomiana (with an irritating nasal pitched voice) sells everything you need for your trip. However, next time, I suggest Susan purchase everything she needs in one trip. To me, looking for all those coins to use in all these extra shopping excursions are time fillers to pad the game.
Second. I tired of reading lengthy manuscripts containing excessive details about the kingdom. There are too many of these “manuscripts” to read throughout the game. They contain too much detail about the kingdom. I want to play a game not read a novel.
Third. You get a spell book to perform a variety of spells needed from time-to-time in the game. Again, there is excessive, time-filling excursions to collect items which are needed in these spells. Using the magic wand to connect-the-dots to recreate a rune I found confusing as well.
I would normally love this type of game. However, THERE IS NOT ENOUGH ACTION IN THIS GAME! With all the back-and-forth motion to the store combined with collecting supplies to create spells and reading endless manuscripts, this game became tedious. I get enough tedious activities in my life – don’t want my games to be the same
HOP SCENES: They are all the same; however, they are creative and interactive. They feature silhouette items to locate which are then used within the scene. Each of the three scenes in the demo has a mini-puzzle within it.
PUZZLES: The puzzles are excellent and well-designed. They vary in difficulty and design. Some of the puzzles are somewhat difficult. The puzzles are excellent; however, there were not enough to compensate for the slow pace of the game. There is a strategy puzzle which requires you to remove mounds of snow and put them in a bin. You must strategize your moves to accomplish this. There is a clever escape puzzle which requires you to outsmart some ice wolves (fenrongs) to get past them. There are some easy matching puzzles and an easy jigsaw puzzle. I found the spell book puzzle in which you recreate an image of a rune confusing. My favorite puzzle is an assembly puzzle which involves placing train tracks into place to exit out a cave.
LEVELS: Casual, Advanced, Hard, Custom
Hints: 5 to 90 seconds Skips: 5 to 150 seconds
Hints: 5 to 90 seconds Skips: 5 to 150 seconds
EXTRAS:
Map is provided at the beginning of the game
21 Achievements
Collect 7 stained glass, 8 owls, 7 icicles, 8 mittens, 12 golden horses, and 13 Lost Lands manuscripts
30 Morphing objects
Replay 19 Mini-games and 7 Puzzles (I do not see the difference?)
14 Wallpapers, 15 Concept Art, Video, Music,
Map is provided at the beginning of the game
21 Achievements
Collect 7 stained glass, 8 owls, 7 icicles, 8 mittens, 12 golden horses, and 13 Lost Lands manuscripts
30 Morphing objects
Replay 19 Mini-games and 7 Puzzles (I do not see the difference?)
14 Wallpapers, 15 Concept Art, Video, Music,
HERE ARE THE DETAILS (SPOILERS) FOR THOSE WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THE HOP SCENES AND PUZZLES IN SEQUENCE
HOP SCENES:
In the demo, they are all the same. Silhouette. Locate items and then replace them back into the scene, interacting with them. Each scene contains a mini-puzzle.
In the demo, they are all the same. Silhouette. Locate items and then replace them back into the scene, interacting with them. Each scene contains a mini-puzzle.
PUZZLES: (1) Easy 2) Moderate difficulty (3) Difficult
A. Strategy puzzle. Shovel snow! Move mounds of snow so they all end up in a pit at the end of the maze. Moving one mound affects the others. A very tricky puzzle. Rating: 3
B. Escape puzzle. Outfox the wolves. Move around in the forest so that you escape a pack of wolves. You must move when the wolves are not looking. Make a false move and blood spatters back at you on the screen. 4X. Rating: 2/3 depending how observant you are.
C. Matching. On a cryptex, choose the correct symbols as per those cut into a desk. Rating: 1
D. Matching. Rearrange the arm positions on a statue as per a diagram. Rating: 1
E. Connection puzzle. Use your spell book and connect the dots to recreate a symbol to cast a spell. Rating: 2
F. Assembly puzzle. Place train tracks into place to complete track to leave the tunnels. Rating: 3
G. Jigsaw puzzle. Rebuild a wall by placing stones into proper position. Rating: 1
A. Strategy puzzle. Shovel snow! Move mounds of snow so they all end up in a pit at the end of the maze. Moving one mound affects the others. A very tricky puzzle. Rating: 3
B. Escape puzzle. Outfox the wolves. Move around in the forest so that you escape a pack of wolves. You must move when the wolves are not looking. Make a false move and blood spatters back at you on the screen. 4X. Rating: 2/3 depending how observant you are.
C. Matching. On a cryptex, choose the correct symbols as per those cut into a desk. Rating: 1
D. Matching. Rearrange the arm positions on a statue as per a diagram. Rating: 1
E. Connection puzzle. Use your spell book and connect the dots to recreate a symbol to cast a spell. Rating: 2
F. Assembly puzzle. Place train tracks into place to complete track to leave the tunnels. Rating: 3
G. Jigsaw puzzle. Rebuild a wall by placing stones into proper position. Rating: 1
I recommend this game!
Can you break free from your nightmares in time?
Overall rating
5
/
5
111 of 191 found this review helpful
DAILY MAGIC PULLS A NIGHT-'HARE' OUT OF ITS HAT – ONE OF THE BEST PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS OF THE YEAR!
PostedSeptember 9, 2017
sunnyglow
fromDid Mr. Reynell attend my high school or do some teachers from Nightmare High just linger in everyone’s nightmares? I do believe Mr. Shadow Man looks exactly like a teacher I once had.
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
REVIEW BASED ON ENTIRE GAME (MINUS THE BONUS GAME)
Playing time for main game: 4 Hours
6 Chapters plus a Bonus Chapter – Strategy Guide: 44 Pages
Playing time for main game: 4 Hours
6 Chapters plus a Bonus Chapter – Strategy Guide: 44 Pages
OVERVIEW: Are you afraid of your own shadow – or, perhaps, the machinations and shadows of your mind? Enter the mind of the tormented Mr. Reynell, a victim of tragic circumstances within his life which are now trapping him in a nightmare – a dream world inhabited by shadow beings, led by the Shadow Man. You, as Mr. Reynell, will travel back in time and venture through a maze of painful memories. Along the way you will find yourself at your grandparents’ home, your high school, your college days, your graduation from college, all to piece together the events which happened in your life. Deep within the recesses of your nightmares looms a larger-than-life Shadow Man who is threatening you. Act quickly! These shadow beings are threatening to harvest your soul, taking your life force – forever. Always remember – “Buried Memories Never Die.” However, you must try to bury the past for your own sanity and the future with your beloved wife, Ash!
What a fantastic, well-crafted game! Daily Magic has upped their “game” and produced an excellent psychological thriller. This game has a well-written script worthy of a Hollywood movie. Kudos, dev! The graphics engage you in a mind maze and well depict a nightmare world with the depiction of the scarecrow-esque Shadow Man lurking behind the scenes. This game will appeal to those who love creepy, thought-provoking games. It is a fast-paced game chock full of activities. The HOP scenes and puzzles are thematic. The collectibles include creepy Shadow People for your Shadow People Encyclopedia and family portraits. They are easy to locate – the shadow people practically jump out at you! This was an automatic purchase for me. This is truly one of the best psychological thrillers of the year and quite a nice surprise from Daily Magic. Tears came to my eyes at the ending. It has a bittersweet ending and is well worth the price of this game.
HOP SCENES: There are 21 HOP scenes in the main game. I feel most of them are well-done. However, toward the end of the main part of the game, there were quite a few storybook scenes in which you locate items listed in BOLD letters. There are five of those in succession at the end. I did feel that at the final juncture of this game, this developer threw in these storybook scenes as filler. There are several FROG scenes, which are seldom seen in most games nowadays. These scenes provide an inventory item to be used within the game. There are lists of items and silhouette scenes which are creatively designed and very interactive. Most of the scenes require you to locate items and interact with them in the scenes. The items are easy to locate. You also have the option to play a Match-3 game in lieu of the scenes.
PUZZLES: This game is puzzle intense. THERE ARE 35 PUZZLES IN THIS GAME! That is a lot of puzzles. They do vary in difficulty and design. There is a multiple step one at the end of the game. The game begins with many puzzles which have the option for “hard” and “easy” versions of the puzzles. However, after the demo, they were few and far between. There are only two of this type of puzzle after the demo. This was disappointing to me. I had hoped there would be more. Most of the standard puzzles are easy.
You will restore many pictures through rotating rings, moving tiles, and switch puzzles. There are matching puzzles, sequence puzzles, Simon Says puzzles, and connection puzzles in which you cannot retrace your steps. Unlike the HOP scenes, I felt the puzzles were better at the end. Here are a few of my favorites:
(1) A-MAZE-ING! This origami/maze puzzle requires the player to fold paper along horizontal and vertical lines so that a path is created to go through a maze. To me, this requires some strategic thinking to assess where to fold the lines.
(2) DEFIES LOGIC! I love logic problems so this puzzle was one I wished to play. This is another style of puzzle not seen in many HOP games. It requires the player to place high school classes into a grid according to clues provided on a scrap of paper.
(3) I AM IN A-MAZE-MENT. This puzzle is probably my favorite of the whole game. In this maze puzzle you begin with a circle with a surrounding ring containing red tokens. Within the ring are blue tokens which match up with these red ones and various twisting paths leading to the red tokens. You must move the red tokens to the proper path so that, when clicked, each blue token finds its way down this path to match up with the red token.
(4) TANTALIZING TANGRAM: There is one in this game and it is at the end. It is a nice puzzle to finish the game. In this case you must arrange odd-sized pieces into a square so no spaces remain.
(5) GRADUATING A PHOTO: In this little toughie, you must not only switch tiles to restore a picture, but rotate them as well. Get prepared for a roller-coaster ride of up, down and switching locations within this puzzle!
(2) DEFIES LOGIC! I love logic problems so this puzzle was one I wished to play. This is another style of puzzle not seen in many HOP games. It requires the player to place high school classes into a grid according to clues provided on a scrap of paper.
(3) I AM IN A-MAZE-MENT. This puzzle is probably my favorite of the whole game. In this maze puzzle you begin with a circle with a surrounding ring containing red tokens. Within the ring are blue tokens which match up with these red ones and various twisting paths leading to the red tokens. You must move the red tokens to the proper path so that, when clicked, each blue token finds its way down this path to match up with the red token.
(4) TANTALIZING TANGRAM: There is one in this game and it is at the end. It is a nice puzzle to finish the game. In this case you must arrange odd-sized pieces into a square so no spaces remain.
(5) GRADUATING A PHOTO: In this little toughie, you must not only switch tiles to restore a picture, but rotate them as well. Get prepared for a roller-coaster ride of up, down and switching locations within this puzzle!
WORST PUZZLES: PHYSICALLY EXASPERATING: I generally don’t like physical puzzles and I do feel the physical puzzles in this game are poorly created. In one, you must keep a token in the green area of a bar while duking it out with an evildoer. However, the arrows which are supposed to help keep that ball in the green area do not work very well – either that or I am a klutz! Probably both are true. I gave up after a few tries!
BONUS GAME: Enter the world of sleep research with neuroscientist, crazed Dr. Olney. That creepy guy is not getting into my dreams! From what I have played, it appears this is not related to, but a good addition to the game.
LEVELS: Casual, Advanced, Hard, Custom
Hints and Skips: 1 to 100 seconds
Hints and Skips: 1 to 100 seconds
EXTRAS:
Map is provided as you play the game
15 Achievements
Collect 15 Shadow People for the Shadow People Encyclopedia
Collect 15 Family Portraits
12 Wallpapers, 18 Concept Art, Music, Developer Diary
Map is provided as you play the game
15 Achievements
Collect 15 Shadow People for the Shadow People Encyclopedia
Collect 15 Family Portraits
12 Wallpapers, 18 Concept Art, Music, Developer Diary
I recommend this game!
Mysterious portraits are causing their subjects to transform into monsters!
Overall rating
4
/
5
73 of 144 found this review helpful
DO PEOPLE CHANGE AFTER MARRIAGE? – JUST ASK THESE NEWLYWEDS!
PostedSeptember 7, 2017
sunnyglow
fromIs it true people “change” after marriage? Has your spouse turned into a beast? Contact artist Basil Hallward to "capture” their true animal spirit!
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Art comes to life in this latest sequel to the Dark Romance series. Newlyweds, Sybil and Nigel Kane, will be spending their honeymoon apart when a wedding gift, a painting, transforms our blushing bride into a wolf-like creature. An old childhood friend, Basil Hallward, is behind the transformative artwork, blaming Nigel and fellow friend, Henry Watton, for his impoverished condition and the bankruptcy of his father. He is using his new “artistic talents” to extort money from these two old childhood chums. Henry’s wife, Angelica, has turned into a panther and Henry is now a bull. Play the tag-team newlyweds, Sybil and Nigel as they both work together to stop their misguided friend from turning their village into another “Animal Farm.”
I do not find this game as well-crafted as the previous games in this series. I believe it will appeal to all the hopeless romantics out there. The game mechanics are excellent; however, I find the story and the gaming script poorly written and somewhat absurd. Unlike the previous games in this series, this game seems slow-paced. You have an assortment of collectibles which include paint brushes and paintings. You will exchange an amount of brushes for a menagerie of animals. There are also morphing objects hidden within the game. As in previous games, the inventory bar indicates when there are collectibles and morphing objects to be found within a scene. You will tag-team between the characters Nigel and Sybil. Eat, drink and be merry as food and drinks abound in this game for you to ingest.
HOP SCENES. There are more HOP scenes in the demo than in previous games. They are innovative and creative, with most of them being highly interactive. I felt the first scene was very creative. It is an interactive silhouette with a mini-puzzle at the end of the scene. However, after that scene, the scenes in the demo are the usual ones seen in every other game. They include mini-HOP scenes to locate a small number of one item, a storybook scene which features items in ROSE COLORED letters (to match the love theme) and lists of items. You have the option to play a Match-3 game in lieu of the scenes.
PUZZLES: This game does not have the number of puzzles as in previous games. Most of the puzzles offer the option between “Easy and Hard” versions. The puzzles are decent, but not as good as in previous games. I did not find any of those “hard” puzzles to be truly difficult. Most of the “hard” puzzles are of middle difficulty. There were only two puzzles I liked in the demo. I did enjoy the thematic maze puzzle leading our “hawkish” Nigel through a maze while avoiding black hawks. Other puzzles include matching puzzles, rotating tiles and switch puzzles to create images, sequence puzzles, and connection puzzles. Not all these puzzles are thematic, however.
FAVORITE PUZZLE: PUT OUT THE FIRE! Put out the fire – but hopefully not for our newlyweds. Play against a “fired up” computer who is trying to light up more tokens than you do on a grid. Take turns by moving your tokens into the grid to eliminate the fire tokens and increase your water tokens while the computer is trying to do the same with its fire tokens. Success consists of extinguishing the fire by eliminating the computer’s fire tokens.
LEVELS: Casual, Advanced, Hardcore, Custom
Hints and Skips: 15 to 90 seconds
Hints and Skips: 15 to 90 seconds
EXTRAS:
Map is given to you at the beginning of the game.
20 Achievements
Collect 64 Brushes to use to purchase animals
Collect 12 Cursed Paintings
15 Morphing objects
Replay 19 HOP scenes and 19 Puzzles
15 Wallpapers, 20 Concept Art, Music, Movies, and a Menagerie
Map is given to you at the beginning of the game.
20 Achievements
Collect 64 Brushes to use to purchase animals
Collect 12 Cursed Paintings
15 Morphing objects
Replay 19 HOP scenes and 19 Puzzles
15 Wallpapers, 20 Concept Art, Music, Movies, and a Menagerie
HERE ARE THE DETAILS (SPOILERS) FOR THOSE WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THE HOP SCENES AND PUZZLES IN SEQUENCE
HOP SCENES: You have the option to play a Match-3 game in lieu of the scene.
(A) Silhouette. Interactive scene in which you must locate items which are then used within the scene. There is a puzzle at the end of the scene (B) List of items. (C) Mini-HOP scene. Locate 8 herb leaves. (D) Storybook scene. Find items listed in ROSE-COLORED letters (E) Silhouette. (F) List of items
(A) Silhouette. Interactive scene in which you must locate items which are then used within the scene. There is a puzzle at the end of the scene (B) List of items. (C) Mini-HOP scene. Locate 8 herb leaves. (D) Storybook scene. Find items listed in ROSE-COLORED letters (E) Silhouette. (F) List of items
PUZZLES: Most games have the choice between Easy and Hard versions
A. (Within HOP scene). Matching. Remove tokens by clicking on a token which is between matching tokens.
B. Rotating tiles puzzle. Rotate three rings so that each ring is pointing to a symbol on a given code. Rotating one ring affects the others.
C. Connection puzzle. Guide four (4) flowers to their matching locations without crossing lines with each other.
D. Play nurse. Follow directions to perform first aid on your driver.
E. Sequence puzzle. Press animal buttons in sequence as per a diagram.
F. Maze puzzle. Guide Nigel through the maze (as a hawk) avoiding the black hawks.
G. Switch puzzle. Switch tiles so that the symbols on the three tiles combine to create the image on a rune. Must match the runes in both the row and the column in which they are placed.
H. Play against the computer. On a grid, try to fill more spaces with water than the computer does with fire. You will keep score as to the amount of hits each of you has. Play until one of you is destroyed
I. Sequence puzzle. Remove belt straps in sequential order.
J. Matching puzzle. On a cello, move strings so they look like those on a given diagram.
K. Maze puzzle. Move in sequential order from left to right landing on the correct symbols as indicated on a diagram.
A. (Within HOP scene). Matching. Remove tokens by clicking on a token which is between matching tokens.
B. Rotating tiles puzzle. Rotate three rings so that each ring is pointing to a symbol on a given code. Rotating one ring affects the others.
C. Connection puzzle. Guide four (4) flowers to their matching locations without crossing lines with each other.
D. Play nurse. Follow directions to perform first aid on your driver.
E. Sequence puzzle. Press animal buttons in sequence as per a diagram.
F. Maze puzzle. Guide Nigel through the maze (as a hawk) avoiding the black hawks.
G. Switch puzzle. Switch tiles so that the symbols on the three tiles combine to create the image on a rune. Must match the runes in both the row and the column in which they are placed.
H. Play against the computer. On a grid, try to fill more spaces with water than the computer does with fire. You will keep score as to the amount of hits each of you has. Play until one of you is destroyed
I. Sequence puzzle. Remove belt straps in sequential order.
J. Matching puzzle. On a cello, move strings so they look like those on a given diagram.
K. Maze puzzle. Move in sequential order from left to right landing on the correct symbols as indicated on a diagram.
I recommend this game!