OVERVIEW: Congrats creepy, psycho Alex! You are about to be married to poor Ryan! This should be the happiest time of your life! Unfortunately for both you and your husband-to-be, you may be a little psychologically unhinged – actually quite mad in this lackluster 3-star game.
You are the product of an unhappy childhood. Your sister died at 13 which resulted in family conflict causing a family breakup in which your father left. Your mother buried herself in her work leaving you alone. Your only friends became some creepy Harlequin dolls – one blue and one red. (These creepy little dolls will follow you throughout the game taunting you and giving advice).
Now, you possess a family heirloom mirror. Lately, when you look into the mirror, you see another entity peering back at you. Worse yet, this entity is trying to take over your life. Her name is Xela (hint - your name backwards), a resident of the Mirror World, and a complete opposite of you in personality and appearance. Will you make it to the altar or will Xela take your place forcing you into oblivion within this Mirror World?
This is a psychological thriller in the style of Mad Head Games; however it is not as well-created as their games. The graphics are surrealistic. I would have liked to see more dark imagery to emphasize Alex’s emotional and psychological struggle,
The pace is very slow. With the back-and-forth activity combined with nondescript HOP scenes and extremely easy puzzles, I found the demo very boring – a yawn fest! In the beta there are more HOP scenes than puzzles, which, to me, is a little disappointing. I would think in a psychological thriller you would want the opposite. There is only one collectible which is a very large champagne glass. If you miss seeing these glasses, you should probably see your optometrist! They practically jump out at you. You also have 13 achievements.
I would recommend this game for those who like the thrill of romance, soap operas, or extremely easy games with little challenge. This game should appeal to beginner and intermediate players. It will be a pass for me. To me this game is NOT CE WORTHY!
HOP SCENES: I did not feel the HOP scenes were as well done as in other games. There are three storybook scenes to tell the story of the protagonist. Items are listed in bright yellow letters. There are also lists of items to locate. There is a matching scene, a silhouette scene and one involving spotting the differences between two scenes. They could be better constructed.
PUZZLES: The puzzles are all easy. However, they are better constructed than the HOP scenes. In one, you must go through a maze so that every block of the maze is visited without retracing your steps. There is also a sequence puzzle involving repeating notes on a piano keyboard, a matching puzzle involving notes and musical symbols, and an assembly puzzle in which you place books into a box with no gaps between the books. There is one multiple-step puzzle involving separating roses within a certain number of steps and connecting lights without retracing your steps.
LEVELS: Dream, Nightmare, Night Terror, Custom Hints and Skips: 15 to 90 seconds
EXTRAS:
Map is provided as you play the game 13 Achievements Collect 40 champagne glasses which practically jump out at you. No effort needed here. 8 Wallpapers, Music, 7 Sketches
HERE ARE THE DETAILS (SPOILERS) FOR THOSE WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THE HOP SCENES AND MINI-PUZZLES IN SEQUENCE
HOP SCENES: A. Storybook sequence. Look for items highlighted in yellow letters to tell the story of the protagonist. 3 scenes with 4 items each. B. List of items to locate. Somewhat interactive C. Storybook scene. Locate items listed in bright yellow letters. D. List of items to locate. As you locate the items you will locate mirror shards to place back into mirrors. E. Matching. Pair up two like items. Reused scene F. Silhouette. With basket in hand, search for those items relevant to your proposal. G. List of items to locate. Very interactive H. Spot the differences between two scenes I. Storybook sequence to restore your memory of your engagement.
PUZZLES: Puzzle Rating: (1) Extremely easy (2) Easy (3) A little difficult or time consuming (4) Moderately difficult (5) Difficult A. Maze puzzle. Go through a maze so that every block of the maze is visited once without retracing your steps. Rating: 1 B. Sequence puzzle. Follow a sequence on piano keys. Rating: 2 C. Matching puzzle. Match up notes and musical signs according to a diagram. Rating: 1 D. Assembly puzzle. Place books into a cubby hole so that all the books fit into the hole with no gaps. Rating: 2 E. Jigsaw puzzle. Reassemble glass doors by placing shards into the proper location. Rating: 2 F. Multiple step. Logic puzzles. (1) Separate roses from leaves using 3 lines. (2) Connect lights without retracing your steps. Rating: 2
ENTER A WORLD OF TALES AND REWRITE THE FUTURE IN A 5-STAR MASTERPIECE
PostedSeptember 24, 2016
sunnyglow
fromWriting the “The Story of My Life” is time-consuming. Daily I am writing, editing and rewriting the story. Adding and deleting characters and plots could take forever; however, there will be a final chapter and hopefully a successful book!
PROLOGUE – 6 CHAPTERS – EPILOGUE – BONUS CHAPTER – REVIEW BASED ON DEMO PLUS CHAPTER 3
OVERVIEW: Welcome to the world of tales, Helen! Test your literary skills as you rewrite your way through a series of stories brought to life by Benedict Bells, a famous author. This author has captured your boyfriend Ian’s soul, but for what reason? Bells has been a mentor to Ian, an aspiring writer. A secret doorway connecting the real world with Taleworld, created by writers, holds the key. With pen in hand, enter a series of these tales to locate and free Ian’s soul while battling obstacles thrown in your path. Time is running out! Save your boyfriend before both the game and your story end.
Kudos to Mad Head for another outstanding 5-star game with its suspenseful, well-written story. Did Mad Head enter Taleworld and bring back the story for this game? No matter! You will be kept on your literary toes running from one tale to another in this game. Each tale has a different setting and the graphics well depict each tale. The HOP scenes are creative. The puzzles are all easy except for one puzzle in the demo; however, they are thematic and creative as well. This is great game especially written for those who have a penchant for writing.
“THE HIDDEN DOORWAY.” You receive a “popup book” written by Ian in which you will edit words to change the outcome of the story. You must choose between two words which will either provide a change in the scene to help you proceed or provide an inventory item to help you proceed.
HOP SCENES: The scenes include lists of items to locate and silhouette. One of the scenes sees you using a telescope to locate items.
PUZZLES: The puzzles vary in style and difficulty. They include two maze puzzles. In one you must create a path for a ball to descend from the top of the maze to the bottom. The other maze puzzle has three parts, each one increasing in difficulty in which you must eliminate shrubs with some shears. There is also an easy jigsaw puzzle and a fiendish planetary puzzle in which you must move planets into position. This is not an easy task! There are mini-interactive puzzles throughout where you must locate items to replace words in a book to change the story.
AFTER THE DEMO: Chapter 3. The plot thickens as you enter Taleworld. You discover some secrets about Ian. Write yourself into the story and try to solve the mystery behind this game. The HOP scenes include more lists of items, a matching scene and a storybook sequence explaining in more detail about the story behind the game. . The puzzles are all easy and include matching puzzles and a sequence puzzle.
LEVELS: Casual Writer, Experienced Writer, Master Writer, Critic (Custom) Hints and Skips: 15 to 90 seconds
EXTRAS:
Map is given to you at the start of the game 27 Achievements - 9 gold, 9 silver, and 9 bronze Collect 32 Doorway symbols Collect Morphing objects throughout the game Replay 16 HOP scenes Concept Art, Music, Wallpaper, Avatars, Nostalgia Section, Scrapbook and a Gardening Puzzle Strategy Guide – 56 pages
HERE ARE THE DETAILS (SPOILERS) FOR THOSE WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THE HOP SCENES AND PUZZLES IN SEQUENCE:
HOP SCENES:
A. List of items to locate. Interactive and very creative. B. Silhouette. Locate 3 each of 4 silhouette items before removing the silhouette. C. Using a telescope, locate symbols on rocks to open a portal Very creative! D. List of items to locate. As you locate items, you uncover pieces of a picture. AFTER THE DEMO: E. Using a magnifying glass, look for clues around the scene. Very creative F. List of items to locate G. Matching scene. Match up a letter or package with a symbol of something on the package. H. Storybook sequence. Silhouette. Locate items while hearing the story of Taleworld.
PUZZLES: Puzzle Rating: (1) Extremely easy 2) Easy (3) A little difficult or time consuming (4) Moderately difficult (5) Difficult
Book puzzle: Throughout the game you will refer to a book written by your boyfriend, Ian, “The Hidden Doorway.” You will choose words to either provide items you need to help you in the scene or change the environment in some way
A. Maze puzzle. Switch four pieces so that a maze is created to move a ball from the top of a circle to the bottom. Rating: 2 B. Maze puzzle. Cut bushes in a garden using garden shears so that all bushes are eliminated. You must go in a straight line and not retrace your steps. 3 X. Increase in difficulty 1 to 3 C. Moving tiles puzzle. Rotate two circles to moving planets to their proper position on the orbits of two suns. Not difficult if you use some logical reasoning in positioning them. Rating: 3 D. Jigsaw puzzle. Replace the proper pieces back onto a diagram to create the picture of a bird. There are more pieces than needed in this puzzle. Not that easy! Rating: 2 AFTER THE DEMO: E. Match up clues with a crime scene. Rating: 2 F. Matching puzzle. Rating: 1 G. Sequence puzzle. Place books in the correct order by random guessing. Rating: 2 H. Matching puzzle. Match up symbols with those on a cryptex.
Hearken all residents of BFG! You are cordially invited to the royal wedding of King Gwyn to the beautiful Gerda in a 5-star celebration. Like a breath of fresh air, we are also celebrating some new and creative puzzles in this game. The graphics are breathtaking - a fairy tale world come-to-life. The story is a mishmash of elements and themes from several fairy tales including a variation of the theme from “Aladdin’s Lamp,” with the magic lamp being replaced by a magic tinderbox with a cloaked genie hidden inside.
The HOP scenes are all FROGS and the puzzles are truly “a-maze-ing!” You will find yourself wandering through several maze puzzles in this game! Extras include jigsaw puzzle pieces to open up parables and you also collect signs. You can replay the puzzles and HOP scenes.
This is the EIPIX I remember from days of yore and whose games I fell in love with! Welcome back EIPIX to the Kingdom of Gaming Wizards! My knights in shining armor have returned to their rightful place of “honour” (a little British spelling) at the BFG Round Table!
Alas, my lords and ladies, I will not be able to attend this wedding. Feeling faint of heart, this game will be a pass for me. I am suffering from too much whimsy from all the fairy tale games of late. Someday, perhaps my Prince Charming will also appear and bring with him a precious jewel just for me – A GAME WHICH IS NOT A SUGARY SWEET FAIRY TALE DELIGHT!
HOP SCENES: In keeping with the fairy tale theme, the four scenes in the demo are all FROGS. I am also certain our bride did not have to kiss a FROG to find her prince!
PUZZLES: The puzzles vary in style and difficulty. They are creatively designed and some are thematic as well. There is a super-puzzle which includes three different maze puzzles. Each puzzle in the super puzzle is a maze involving a knight conquering obstacles in his path; however, each one is set up differently. Other puzzles include a rope puzzle which requires you to untangle ropes. There is also a mathematical puzzle in which you must set up a path for knight to reach a castle.
STORY: It seems Gerda has brought some extra baggage (namely an old friend) into this marriage. Her BFF, Kai, is also in love with her and wants her as his bride as well. (When asked to be the “best man,” he probably thought that meant he was the “best man” for Gerda!). He is out to stop the wedding at all costs which may rest with a magical tinder box with a cloaked genie inside granting Kai’s every wish. With Kai’s wishes destroying everything - can true love save the Mountain Kingdom?
LEVELS: Casual, Hard, Insane, Custom Hints: 10 to 120 seconds Skips: 10 to 400 seconds
EXTRAS:
Map is provided as you play the game 12 Achievements Replay 21 puzzles and 17 HOP scenes Collect puzzle pieces to open up 7 parables Collect 39 signs 8 Wallpapers, 3 Concept Art, 16 videos, souvenirs,
HERE ARE THE DETAILS (SPOILERS) FOR THOSE WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THE HOP SCENES AND PUZZLES IN SEQUENCE:
HOP SCENES: All the scenes are FROGS used to create inventory items
PUZZLES: Puzzle Rating: (1) Extremely easy 2) Easy (3) A little difficult or time consuming (4) Moderately difficult (5) Difficult
A. Switch puzzle. Switch pieces from three masks and place them into the correct location on each mask. Rating: 1 B. Rope puzzle. Untangle ropes by moving them on tracks in a circular fashion to move them away from each other. Rating: 2 C. Super puzzle. 3 Maze puzzles. (1) Lead a knight through a maze defeating obstacles in his path. (2) Move a knight through rooms which rotate until he reaches his goal. If you are trapped in a room you must start over. (3) Swap tiles to create a path for the knight to get his prize. Rating for all: 2 D. Mathematical puzzle. Create a path by using 6 numbered tiles which move a specific amount of step forward or backward to set up the route all while avoiding fires in your path. Rating: 3
When a famous shapeshifting alchemist is charged with looking into the murder of the king's most trusted agent and friend, the last thing she expects to discover is an intricate network of shadowy criminals, intent on bringing chaos to the land.
OVERVIEW: Welcome to a world of whimsy in this 5-star game full of magic. Magical creatures and enchanted items abound in this uplifting game, in which you are able to fly! This beautifully crafted game can be enjoyed by all members of the family. I, personally, do not like fantasy games; however, I do admire the craftsmanship of the developer in creating this lovely game.
The gaming script is well-written. The story is a variation of the themes of “Red Riding Hood” and “Robin Hood.” You play an alchemist, carrying your own handy alchemy kit, to create potions. In this case, you are solving a murder mystery - fairy tale style! It is a well-crafted game with some very creative puzzles. There a variety of collectibles including 15 figurines and 34 jigsaw puzzle pieces. You receive an alchemy kit and will be preparing all types of potions throughout the game!
HOP SCENES: The scenes are lists of items with some interactivity and silhouette scenes. To me, this is the weakest part of the game. They are decent; however, not as well-crafted as the puzzles.
PUZZLES: The puzzles are all easy; however, they are all creatively designed. They include an assembly puzzle to create a potion. There is also include a multiple-step map puzzle in which you traverse a route to a castle with four puzzles dealing the obstacles of wind, mountains, birds, and lightning. The other puzzles include a jigsaw puzzle to create a picture, a couple of sequence puzzles, and a matching puzzle involving DNA from the crime scene.
STORY: You, as an alchemist, have been summoned to the castle to solve a crime. Wolf has been murdered. You, as a fairy land detective will traverse all over the kingdom to get evidence and solve the murder.
LEVELS: Casual, Advanced, Expert, and Custom Hints - 5 to 90 seconds: Hints in HOP scenes: - 5 to 60 seconds: Skips - 5 to 120 seconds
EXTRAS:
Map is given to you at the start of the game 15 Achievements Receive a “potion kit” in which to create needed potions. Collect 15 figurines Collect 34 puzzle pieces Strategy guide - 46 pages 8 Wallpapers, 6 Concept art, Music
HERE ARE THE DETAILS (SPOILERS) FOR THOSE WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THE HOP SCENES AND PUZZLES
HOP SCENES:
• 3 consecutive lists of items to collect • FROG • 3 consecutive silhouette scenes
PUZZLES: : Puzzle Rating: (1) Extremely easy: (2) -Easy: (3) A little difficult or time consuming: (4) Moderately difficult: (5) - Difficult
A. Assembly puzzle. Follow a recipe to create potion by setting the conditions (between four settings for temperature) and addition the correct ingredients according to a spell book. Rating: 2 B. Multiple-step Map puzzle. Interact with a map and solve problems which halt you from proceeding to a castle. Every time the arrow stops, you must tackle a mini-puzzle to continue in your flight. You will solve four mini-puzzles involving wind, mountains, birds, lightning all with sequence, matching, removal puzzles. Rating: 2 C. Jigsaw puzzle. Create a picture by using jigsaw pieces. Rating: 1 D. Sequence puzzle. Using an iron glove, remove thorny vines in sequence. Rating: 2 E. Sequence puzzle. Using a diagram, match up symbols with notes on a diagram, ring bells in order Rating: 2 F. Matching puzzle. Using two slides containing “DNA”, Match up 3 “DNA” molecules in blood samples – one from each slide. Rating: 2
fromHave a ghost infestation in your home? Don't call a ghostbuster! Cash in on your dilemma! You, your ghost and your house can become Hollywood celebs by telling your “phantasmic” story on a nationwide paranormal reality show!
5 CHAPTERS PLUS A BONUS CHAPTER - REVIEW BASED ON THE DEMO PLUS CHAPTER 3
OVERVIEW: “Go away! You shouldn´t be here!” Perhaps not, but after a car crash, you find yourself at the abandoned Silent Waters Hotel. You won’t find 5-star accommodations at this rundown ghost infested rat trap; however, you will find yourself treated to a 5-star game! The ghost story behind the game is well-written. The pace is excellent with plenty of activities to keep you ghost hunting. Of course, you won’t want to stay at this hotel; however, with well-constructed, creative puzzles and HOP scenes, you won’t want to miss this game! Besides the ghosts, watch out as well for the infestation of rats, bugs, and spiders!
HOP SCENES: There six scenes in the demo and they are varied and well-done. In the demo they include a silhouette sequence in which you must use a flashlight to locate the items. There is a storybook scene in which you locate items and replace them back within the scene while learning a little history of the ghostly mansion. There are couple of lists of items to locate, a matching scene, and a mini-HOP scene as well.
PUZZLES: There are eight puzzles in the demo and they are varied in both style and difficulty. Most of the puzzles are easy; however, there are few difficult ones as well. Puzzles from the demo include: a sliding tiles puzzle, a switch puzzle involving flowers, a matching puzzle involving dials, a pipe puzzle, and an assembly puzzle.
FAVORITE PUZZLE: Fiendish maze puzzle containing a unique twist. Create a path by rotating squares to move a token from the top right to the bottom left. What makes this puzzle unique is that you must also switch the squares around within the scene.
STORY: A vengeful ghost is out to settle the score in a family rivalry. Does the ghost feel he has been cheated out of an inheritance? As you wander this ramshackle hotel, encounter a teen, Clark, whose main squeeze, Maggie has been kidnapped by this ghost. Be warned! Clark, will go to any means to get her back!
AFTER THE DEMO: Chapter 3: You will spend more time meandering around the hotel. I found the puzzles and HOP scenes to be consistent with the demo. Puzzles: 2 manual dexterity puzzles involving a sling shot and baking a statue, a fiendish tangram puzzle, and replacement of items back into a scene. HOP Scenes: One silhouette scene and 3 lists of items (one using a flashlight)
LEVELS: Casual, Advanced, Hardcore, Custom Hints and Skips: 15 to 90 seconds
EXTRAS:
Map is given to you at the start of the game Numerous Achievements Strategy Guide: 52 pages Collect 29 parts of hotel crest Collect 13 items for a music room 22 Morphing objects: Replay 13 Mini-games and 16 HOP scenes 10 Wallpapers, 13 Concept Art, Music, Screensaver, and a Secret Room
HERE ARE THE DETAILS (SPOILERS) FOR THOSE WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THE HOP SCENES AND PUZZLES IN SEQUENCE
HOP SCENES:
A. Silhouette. Locate items using a flashlight. B. Mini-HOP scene. Locate 5 metal rods. C. Replacement. Search for items and replace them into the correct locations in an old diary which tells the story of the original owners of the hotel. D. List of items to locate. E. Matching. Uncover and match up pairs F. List of items which uncover skull pieces
PUZZLES: Puzzle Rating: (1) Extremely easy 2) Easy (3) A little difficult or time consuming (4) Moderately difficult (5) Difficult
A. Sliding tiles puzzle. Slide 5 buttons into position according to color. Rating: 2 B. Maze puzzle. Move a token from left to right using arrows to create a path for the token. Rating: 3 C. Switch puzzle. Switch the locations of four flowers on a wall so they match up with their chalk images. Rating: 1 D. Matching puzzle. Rotate 4 dials so that they match clues on a diagram. Switching one dial affects the others. Rating: 2 E. Sequence puzzle. Pull down chords on five angels in proper sequence. 3X Rating: 2 F. Logic puzzle. Rotate three stars connected to three balls so that the two halves of each ball are the same color. Each segment of the stars contains a color which will match with one half of each ball. The balls change color to match the colored segment of the star. Rating: 3 G. Pipe puzzle. Connect segments of pipe between two valves. Rating; 2 H. Assembly puzzle. Use a drilling machine to create a lever. Rating: 3
Dozens of top-notch nonograms are popping out today on the BFG gaming site! A BIG THANK YOU to BFG for providing more nonograms (same as griddlers, O’Ekaki, Pictograms and mosaics). This is a beautifully created 5-star game which provides a wide range of these puzzles.
STORY: You are Cate, pursuing a career in landscape design. Your Grandma Ann has been invited to participate in the “Best Garden” competition. However, lately she has been unable to take care of her gardens. She has enlisted your help to resurrect them.
DETAILS: Here is the outline for the game:
• Grids which produce realistic final pictures • 3 colored screens for each puzzle • Choice between 7 different styles of tile sets, which is unique. • 50 levels - 120 puzzles. • Achievements to be earned based on your skill in solving these without errors. • Collect coins to purchase power ups or items for your garden. • Choice between Casual and Expert modes (Expert mode does not clear a line until the game is completed and there are no power-ups). • A certain number of mistakes (4 in the demo) before having to restart the game. • Eye – allows you to open up a random square • Hammer - allows you to open a specific square • Grid – Allows you to open up a chosen area
OVERVIEW: ERS kidnaps our attention in a blood-splattered 3-star game. Enter a dark world of mechanical puppetry, masked criminals, kidnapping, and a star-crossed couple in love. This a horror-lite game with an engaging story bogged down by a slow pace. For me, the slow pace is due to the lack of any challenge from the puzzles, the consistent back-and-forth movement between the scenes, and the annoying presence of a helper – a mechanical cat. Using a colloquialism from the British Isles - it is a “bloody” bore! To complete my lack of excitement to play this game are the sounds of animals which permeate throughout the entire game.
With an excellent story line and graphics, I might have purchased this game, despite the lackluster puzzles and HOP scenes. However, I was completely repelled by the incessant animal sounds and the “mechanical cat.” Sneakily, this helper appears about half way through the demo. First, you must assemble him, and then, he is used frequently in the game performing all types of time consuming antics. And, for those who love those adorable little helpers, this cat is anything but adorable. With his piercing robotic eyes, he is one nasty cat! You will also be serenaded by the baying of dogs or wolves throughout the game. Animal sounds are heard in almost every scene. So annoying!
In the demo there are more puzzles than HOP scenes. You are able to choose not only your gender but also your appearance in this game which is a nice touch. The collectibles are puppets. You are able to replay the HOP scenes and the puzzles.
I recommend this game - just not for me!
STORY: The story deals with love gone wrong. James, a man who is critically ill, is in love with a beautiful wealthy young woman, Marjory, who is under the control of her father. Her father does not approve of her relationship with this man. Both lovers are kidnapped and held for ransom. You are off to save both.
HOP SCENES: To me these were the best part of the game. There are not many in the demo. I enjoyed the first scene which is a replacement scene in which you replace items back into the scene. It is interactive and creative. The other two from the demo include a FROG to assemble the helper cat, and a somewhat interactive list of items to locate.
PUZZLES: Most of the puzzles from the demo are ridiculously easy. There are several matching puzzles. One is no more than matching up four symbols on lock pins with those on four locks. This puzzle is one a small child could solve. The other two matching puzzles involve matching up dollar bills and matching creepy eyes in a box. There is a switch puzzle to restore a picture. I found only one puzzle which is slightly difficult. It is a logic problem in which you play against the computer to accumulate the most tokens on a chess-like board.
LEVELS: Casual, Advanced, Hard, Custom Hints and Skips: 5 to 200 seconds
EXTRAS:
Choose your character by gender and appearance Map is given to you at the start of the game 12 Achievements Collect puppets Replay 19 HOP scenes and 17 Mini-games 10 Wallpapers, 5 Screensavers, 8 Concept Art, 4 Soundtracks, and 15 Movies
HERE ARE THE DETAILS (SPOILERS) FOR THOSE WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THE HOP SCENES AND PUZZLES IN SEQUENCE
HOP SCENES:
A. Replacement. Place items back into their proper locations in the scene. B. FROG. Assemble a helper robotic cat C. List of items to locate.
PUZZLES: Puzzle Rating: (1) Extremely easy 2) Easy (3) A little difficult or time consuming (4) Moderately difficult (5) Difficult
A. Matching puzzle. Swap and match up 4 lock pins with their symbols. Rating: 1 B. Logic problem. Playing against the computer, fill a type of checkerboard with more chips than the computer. When a chip moves a square is changes the color of all chips surrounding it. Rating: 3 C. Switch puzzle. Switch tiles to restore a picture. Rating: 2 D. Matching puzzle. Create and match up monetary bills. Rating: 2 E. Matching puzzle. Match up eyes in a box. Rating: 1 F. Moving tiles puzzle. Rotate tiles so that four masks are in the center of the scene. Rating: 2
WALTZ THROUGH VIENNA TO THE TUNE OF SOME VIENNESE SCHMALTZ
PostedSeptember 10, 2016
sunnyglow
fromThere is a need for black hooded robes. They are used in almost every game nowadays. Someone can make a fortune selling them to game developers as well as secret cults, monks, and Star Wars characters.
OVERVIEW: Be on your toes as you tour Vienna in this 3-star mystery game. Your best friend Maria, a prima ballerina, has been kidnapped off a ship and you are off to save her. This is a mediocre game which is similar to other games from this developer. The game has a good mystery story; the graphics are beautifully illustrated; the HOP scenes are duplicates of those from previous games; and the puzzles are extremely easy. I feel that the pace is a little slow due to the lack of challenge in the game. Am I suffering from déjà vu? I do feel as if I have played the same game before.
There are an equal number of puzzles and HOP scenes. Many of the HOP scenes and puzzles are cookie cutter reproductions from other games. However, to be fair to them, I do feel EIPIX does provide a couple of new concepts for their HOP scenes and puzzles. There is a new style of logic puzzle in this game. There is one HOP scene which seems to be slightly different than those from previous games.
Repeating myself now for the umpteenth time, I wish EIPIX would develop some new gaming strategies for some of their series. This is yet another series which has gone stale. I also wish they would include one or two challenging puzzles as they did in the past. Even better would be to offer puzzles with both an easy and hard option. This game will appeal to those who like ballet, mysteries and easy breezy games. Personally, I find it another boring assembly line production of previous games in this series and it will be a non-purchase for me.
Extras include the same collectibles as in all of their other games (signs). There are the same morphing objects in the HOP scenes. You can also replay the Match-3 game, HOP scenes and puzzles.
HOP SCENES: The HOP scenes are better constructed than the puzzles. There are several multiple-step ones. They include lists of items, silhouette, matching and cryptic clues. The “old” EIPIX HOP scene is back again in this game – locate 5 of two items, releasing a list of items to locate. You also have the option to play a Match-3 game instead of the HOP scene.
PUZZLES: The puzzles are extremely easy. The puzzles include a matching puzzle to open a gate. There are two map puzzles in the demo. In one of them you must formulate a route for 3 ships within a certain number of moves. The other map puzzle is similar to a HOP scene in which you eliminate items from a scene. The demo includes a sequence puzzle and another matching puzzle as well. There is a logic puzzle involving ribbon in which you must run various types of ribbon across and down a square piece of cloth so that each ribbon covers patches of the same design.
LEVELS: Easy, Medium, Hard, Custom Hints: 10 to 120 seconds Skips: 10 to 400 seconds
EXTRAS: Map is provided as you play the game 15 Achievements Collect 39 signs (music boxes?) 16 Morphing objects: (in HOP scenes) Replay Match-3 Game, 16 HOP scenes, and 22 Puzzles 4 Concept art, 8 Wallpapers, Music, Souvenirs, and replay of Movies
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. The good “old” EIPIX HOP scene. In case you don’t remember. (1) First locate 5 of two items. (2) List of items to locate. B. Matching. Match up earrings which are listed in silhouette. C. Multiple step. (1) List of items to locate. (2) Cryptic clues D. Multiple step. (1) Cryptic clues. (2) List of items
PUZZLES: Puzzle Rating: (1) Extremely easy 2) Easy (3) A little difficult or time consuming (4) Moderately difficult (5) Difficult
A. Matching puzzle. Rotate parts of a gate so that they match. Actually, all you need to do is just rotate the parts until a light appears. Ridiculously easy! Rating: 1 B. Map puzzle. Move 3 ships decorated with their country’s flag to their home port. Each boat has a certain amount of moves you are allowed. Rating: 2 C. Map puzzle. Use a map and clues from a note to remove items from the map. After you have removed the items you will be given the location of an address. More of a HOP scene than a puzzle. Rating: 1 D. Sequence puzzle. Insert tokens in the proper sequence to complete a picture. Rating: 2 E. Matching puzzle. Place notes on one side of a diagram so that both sides match up. Rating: 1 F. Logic puzzle. On a board of patterned tiles, match up ribbons so that the top ribbon matches up with the tile on the bottom. Rating: 2
PICK UP A BOOK AND OPEN UP A WHOLE NEW WORLD – A GAMING MASTERPIECE
PostedSeptember 8, 2016
sunnyglow
fromNo need now to purchase those virtual reality devices – just find these tomes and the quill. Open a tome and experience virtual reality without those cumbersome devices! Better yet – as with any writer - write and create your own worlds.
REVIEW BASED ON THE DEMO PLUS CHAPTER 3 - 6 CHAPTERS PLUS A BONUS CHAPTER
OVERVIEW: WOW! WHAT A GREAT GAME! The world of books is coming to life in this 5-star puzzle fest! In a labyrinth of secret passage ways and booby traps, you, as a literary historian, are off to locate some legendary rare books. These tomes have the ability to literally open up new worlds! This entire game is a creatively designed puzzle. I LOVE the story behind the game. Enter a literary labyrinth – a virtual library with tomes for different styles of literature. The graphics are colorful. The pace is excellent with many activities within the game. There are an equal number of HOP scenes and puzzles in this game; however, the HOP scenes themselves either contain puzzles or are puzzle-like themselves. Such a beautifully created game. So creative – a gaming masterpiece!
Extras include a collection of coins to purchase figurines of characters in the game and jigsaw pieces to create some jigsaw puzzles. Now – put down that book and stop a madman bent on destroying this world by creating his own with a special quill and paper! Sounds rather like any writer, doesn’t it? Does that place writers into the category of madmen creating their own virtual realities? This game was an automatic purchase for me!
HOP SCENES: In the demo they are very creative and include quite a variety of different types of scenes as well. There are sentences with items to be located highlighted in yellow letters. There are also a series of three scenes involving pictures in which you must locate the differences between the pictures. There is a FROG sequence, a list of items to locate, and a silhouette scene. There is an optional Match-3 game to play in lieu of the HOP scenes.
PUZZLES: Based on the demo there is quite a variety of puzzles and they vary in difficulty from easy to moderately difficult. As stated, the complete game is a puzzle. There is a logic problem in which you must deduce the order in which 5 symbols must be pressed according to clues given. There are two matching puzzles. In one, you match up bells so that symbols above them match those on the bells; in the second puzzle you create a maze so that tokens are able to take a path to their matching symbol on the sides. There is an easy, storybook maze puzzle involving moving obstacles out of the path of a horseman. There is a paint-by-number puzzle; however, this one is a little tricky and requires some logic to complete it.
AFTER THE DEMO: You will enter other literary worlds. The next is the world of horror, my favorite genre. (I bet you thought it was humor – but you are wrong!) More great puzzles continue in this literary labyrinth. There is a fiendish moving tiles puzzle with tokens which must be moved into their proper locations. Other puzzles include a logic problem, a slider puzzle, and an easy manual dexterity puzzle. I only played one HOP scene and it was an interactive search and replace scene.
LEVELS: Casual, Advanced, Hard, Custom Hints and Skips: 1 to 100 seconds
EXTRAS:
Map is provided as you play the game 15 Achievements – some with multiple parts Collect coins to purchase 8 figurines Collect puzzle pieces for 6 jigsaw puzzles Strategy guide - 58 pages 16 Concept Art, 10 Wallpapers, Music, 6 Levels of a Tome Maze
HERE ARE THE DETAILS (SPOILERS) FOR THOSE WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THE HOP SCENES AND PUZZLES IN SEQUENCE
HOP SCENES: Optional Match-3 game
A. Sentence. Locate items listed in YELLOW letters and then interact with the scene. B. Find the differences. Locate 6, 9 and 12 differences between two scenes with 3 sets of pictures. C. Jigsaw puzzle. Locate pieces and create a scene. D. FROG E. Replacement. Mini-scene in which you locate items and replace them back into the scene F. Silhouette. Interactive. Locate and replace items back into the scene. G. Mini-HOP scene. Locate 10 feathers H. List of items to locate AFTER THE DEMO: I. Sentence. Locate items listed in YELLOW letters. Interactive
PUZZLES: Puzzle Rating: (1) Extremely easy 2) Easy (3) A little difficult or time consuming (4) Moderately difficult (5) Difficult
A. Logic puzzle. Deduce the order of five symbols by a given set of clues. Rating: 3 B. Moving tiles puzzle. Uncover tiles so that all of them are uncovered. Moving one affects the others. Rating: 3 C. Matching puzzle. Ring 5 bells until the image on the bell matches the image above it. Ringing one affects the others. Rating: 2 D. Maze/Matching puzzle. On a circular board, move the outer circle so that the tokens on the inside of the circle are able to amble through a maze to connect with its like image. Rating: 3 E. Maze puzzle. Help a horseman get back to his castle by interacting with the environment to remove obstacles in his path. Rating: 2 F. Weights and balances puzzle. Move 5 chains containing tokens to the same height as their corresponding token on the side of the scene. Moving one token affects the others. Rating: 3 G. Rotating circles puzzle. Rotate three interconnecting circles until images on the circles correspond to a matching groove. Rating: 2 H. Paint-by-number puzzle. Paint a picture by selecting the color from three pots of paint which will then fill in that section. However, you can only paint a section which is next to either the pot of paint or the color. Rather difficult. Rating: 3 AFTER THE DEMO: I. Logic puzzle. Move a token from left-to-right two spaces at a time. You may not backtrack and must exit exactly using two spaces. Rating: 3 J. Slider puzzle. Rotate rings to recreate an image in the center of the circle. Rating: 2 K. Manual dexterity puzzle. Bulls eye! Hit two chains with pots of acid when the chains are in the center of the target. Rating: 2 L. Moving tiles puzzle. Move a whole lot of tokens into their proper location. Rating: 4
OVERVIEW: EIPIX returns with another whodunit in this 3-star game. Travel up north to Alaska where the railroad tycoon, Seth Savage, has been murdered. Working on a railroad tunnel in the snow packed north, he developed quite a few enemies in his path. Who killed the railroad magnate? With the host of suspects, this will not be easy.
This game is hot off the assembly line and a carbon copy of the one from last week and the dozen or more previous to that. I found the demo boring. However, there are a few aspects I do like about the game. I like the graphics. I feel they well depict the characters and an Alaskan mining town.
I feel the story is a well-written whodunit and keeps you guessing as to who is behind the murders. However, the pace is slow due to the lack of activities and the back-and-forth movement between scenes in the game, I have no desire to continue in this investigation. To me, this game lacks creativity. The HOP scenes, with the exception of one, are similar to ones from previous games. The puzzles are boringly easy.
Returning are all the same props from the previous games in the series including the evidence board. You will question suspects as to the veracity of their statements, examine bodies as in the other games. Basically you play the same game – with a different storyline. The same collectibles return as well. You collect the same signs which look like fish to me. Also making its encore appearance are the morphing objects within the HOP scenes. Most, if not all, of the achievements are the same. However, you are able to replay the puzzles, the HOP scenes and the Match-3 game.
If you have not played many EIPIX games, you will probably love this game. However, having played the SAME GAME repeatedly, their games have now become hackneyed. We are offered so many EIPIX games on this site that they are now blending together.
HOP SCENES: There are more puzzles than HOP scenes than HOP scenes. And although EIPIX returns with their classic HOP scene (locate two of five items, interact with those two items to open up a list of items), there is a new approach to one of the HOP scenes. Numbers are associated with items which you remove in the scene. You must locate the numbers and NOT the items per se.. Very creative! You also have the option to play a Match-3 game instead.
PUZZLES: The puzzles are ALL easy. I realize that some like puzzles which are easy; however, the simplicity of the “puzzles” in this game is ridiculous. There is a Simon Says puzzle which requires you to repeat the sequence of TWO birds singing. One bird sings and then the other sings. You press two switches to repeat the sequence of TWO birds! That is the complete puzzle! Really?
As usual, there are a couple of multiple-step puzzles. You also must gather information on the suspects. You ask questions to determine if the suspect is telling the truth or lying as in previous games. You also inspect the murdered victim(s) as well. Other puzzles include switch puzzles, sliding tiles puzzles, maze puzzles and matching puzzles.
LEVELS: Officer, Deputy, Sheriff, Special Agent (Custom) Hints 0 to 120 seconds Skips 0 to 400 seconds
EXTRAS: Map is provided as you play the game Detective notebook with an evidence board. 13 Achievements (Some have 3 parts) Collect 40 signs (Look like some type of fish) 13 Morphing objects: All within the HOP scenes Replay 23 puzzles, 13 HOP scenes and the Match-3 Game 8 Wallpapers, 4 Concept Artwork, 6 Videos, Music, and a Souvenir Room
HERE ARE THE DETAILS (SPOILERS) FOR THOSE WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THE HOP SCENES AND PUZZLES
HOP SCENES: Match-3 game to play in lieu of the scene
A. List of numbers associated with the items which must be removed. A nice creative touch! B. The standard EIPIX HOP scenes which is used in every game. (1) Locate 5 of two items, then interact with the scenes to uncover (2) list of items to locate. This is now getting SO OLD AND STALE! C. List of items to locate
PUZZLES: Puzzle Rating: (1) Extremely easy: (2) Easy: (3) A little difficult or time consuming: (4) Moderately difficult: (5) Difficult
A. Multiple-step. (1) Switch puzzle. Switch “file folders,” so that their lines connect to create a pattern. (2) Sliding tiles puzzle. Slide tokens into the proper locations according to the letters A, B, and C. Rating: Both puzzles 2 B. Matching puzzle. Find similarities between two ropes – one from a story and one from the crime scene. Rating: 2 C. Matching puzzle. Match up related hiking items. Rating: 1 D. Multiple step puzzle. (1) Matching puzzle. On a large map, match up a tracing of a segment of a map with the actual map. Use arrows to rotate the scrap of paper. (2) Maze puzzle. Create a route by going through numbered tokens. You cannot use the same point or route twice. Rating: 2 E. Simon Says puzzle. Repeat a sequence of lights on two birds. Rating: 1 F. Moving tiles puzzle. Move 3 keys to the proper slot using arrows to move them. Along the way there are blocks which you must use to be able to get them into the proper location. Seems difficult but actually fairly easy if you use logic. Rating: 2