upcountrygirl's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4
- Helpful Votes:97
- Reviews Submitted:21
- First Review:December 19, 2011
- Most Recent Review:August 24, 2018
- Featured reviews0
Uncover a conspiracy against the king!
Overall rating
5
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
At last a believable game
PostedAugust 24, 2018
upcountrygirl
fromUK
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Really enjoyed this game. It's much better than many of the recent offerings from Big Fish. So many games are too "girly" for my taste, with simpering princesses and annoying whining kids, all with American accents which (no disrespect to our friends in the US) don't fit with the setting of the game. This game has a mediaeval flavour with well-judged scenery, realistic armour and weapons, and British accents. The graphics are superb. I found the music a bit monotonous. The puzzles and HOG scenes were varied and interesting, not too hard for someone who's playing after a busy day's work, but not to easy either. Let's have some more like this.
I recommend this game!
An unexpected invitation sends you to research mythical standing stones in Brittany.
Overall rating
5
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Really nice non-annoying game
PostedFebruary 16, 2015
upcountrygirl
fromUK
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I loved this game. Still can't believe it's not a collector's edition, there's so much in it. Unlike so many games, it has no whingeing orphans or whimpering princesses, no fake accents or feeble fairies. The characters were all believable and fairly nasty. The puzzles and mini-games were a bit different from the usual, not too hard, just right for a bit of play after a stressful day. I liked having all the things to collect and having to wait quite a bit to find inventory items and then go back to the earlier scenes to use them. Definitely worth buying.
I recommend this game!
Save the besieged alpine village of Martlet and rescue its residents from the mysterious living statues in this exciting Hidden Object Adventure game!
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
Charming, quirky, light-hearted, unusual game
PostedDecember 28, 2012
upcountrygirl
fromUK
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I bought a Nancy Drew and was offered this for cheap if I made a decision within 4 minutes. It was nearly Christmas so I thought "why not" so I clicked on it. I'm so glad I did! Better than many that I've paid full price for.
The (rather daft) story is of a little town where statues come to life and cause all sorts of mayhem. It's always snowing in this town, so I saved the game up to play over Christmas and it turned out to be very suitable for this time of year!
At first it seems the sculptor is to blame for the statues running amok but later maybe someone else is in the frame ... Some of the statues are my friends and if I find the bits they need they'll do things to help me. A robot rooster will reach things I can't, and a weird little miner-dwarf will bash things for me. There was a lovely bit where I found the last of seven dwarfs and they all did an odd little dance.
This game kept us busy for several evenings: there's lots of gameplay, plenty of scenes to explore, lots of inventory items to find and deploy, and not too many Hidden Object Scenes. Mostly the puzzles are about right: neither too easy nor too hard (I played in Casual mode).
The only criticism I have is that (like most of these HO games) you can't store saves, so you can't go back and restart the game from an earlier point. This matters, because I think there are two possible endings depending on what you give the little girl at the end, and you have no way of knowing how it would have ended if you'd made the other choice.
Overall, a really enjoyable game with funny bits in, and excellent value for money.
I recommend this game!
Save the souls of prodigy children and their caretaker who disappeared during the fire in The Agency of Anomalies: Cinderstone Orphanage!
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Another great game from the Agency of Anomalies
PostedSeptember 28, 2012
upcountrygirl
fromUK
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I liked Agency of Anomalies: Mystic Hospital but this one, I think, is better. Once again you need to find a variety of keys, tools or components which are needed at all sorts of locations, sometimes some distance away, so you have to remember all the scenes and keep backtracking. You might not like this if you like games to be very linear, but I enjoy the challenge. There are standard HO "junk" scenes from time to time, which come across as light relief. The game includes many mini-games and puzzles, none of which were too hard. As an intermediate-level gamer, playing for short spells in the evening in a state of semi-exhaustion, I managed to solve all the puzzles without hitting the SKIP button; but neither were they weren't ridiculously easy.
You might expect that a storyline about lost children and a burnt-down orphanage might be nasty. It isn't - no horror scenes in this one. One by one you befriend the ghostly children and gain their special power that enables you to progress to the next bit.
The outstanding musical score is at times uplifting and at other times melancholy. It's worth playing just for the music.
Overall, a very enjoyable game.
The outstanding musical score is at times uplifting and at other times melancholy. It's worth playing just for the music.
Overall, a very enjoyable game.
I recommend this game!
Go undercover at a prestigious girls’ boarding school to discover the culprit behind threatening notes and dangerous accidents!
Overall rating
2
/
5
5 of 6 found this review helpful
Couldn't be bothered
PostedSeptember 18, 2012
upcountrygirl
fromUK
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I'm a great fan of Nancy Drew: the ones I like best are Shadow at the Water's Edge and Secret of Shadow Ranch. So I bought this one as some people think it's the best ever.
Sorry but I thought it was awful. You have to spend ages talking to these vile, spiteful, over-indulged, over-competitive brats in a private college. Do I care? There wasn't enough intrigue in this game to catch my interest and make me persevere. Maybe it's well programmed and has some hard puzzles, but I found the characters unpleasant and boring. I had to win at air-hockey against one of them, and I really couldn't be bothered. I gave up at this point, the only ND game I've ever given up on.
I don't recommend this game.
Help Angel figure out what is real and what is in her head as she attempts to escape from a Mental Hospital!
Overall rating
4
/
5
Creepy, intriguing game
PostedSeptember 18, 2012
upcountrygirl
fromUK
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I've already played the other Twisted Lands games and enjoyed them, so I tried this one. Had a lot of trouble getting it to run, but thanks to some excellent support from BFG I eventually got it going. I'm glad I persevered because it was well worth it if you like this sort of thing.
Some scenes are rather unpleasant - so not suitable for children - but the graphics are very well drawn, and the melancholy music adds to the bleak atmosphere. Lots of objects have to be discovered and deployed in other areas of the game, so you have to remember where it was that you needed the pliers/crowbar/ornate key etc.etc. so when you find it you can go back - quite challenging if you only play the game in short snatches after a day's work. On the other hand, the puzzles are pretty easy. Like many similar games the storyline is a bit silly, but I don't think that matters - it's just a framework for the scenery of the game.
Some scenes are rather unpleasant - so not suitable for children - but the graphics are very well drawn, and the melancholy music adds to the bleak atmosphere. Lots of objects have to be discovered and deployed in other areas of the game, so you have to remember where it was that you needed the pliers/crowbar/ornate key etc.etc. so when you find it you can go back - quite challenging if you only play the game in short snatches after a day's work. On the other hand, the puzzles are pretty easy. Like many similar games the storyline is a bit silly, but I don't think that matters - it's just a framework for the scenery of the game.
I recommend this game!
After being kidnapped, your friend is about to be sacrificed to a powerful demon and it's up to you to save him!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Awesome game - one of the best!
PostedSeptember 5, 2012
upcountrygirl
fromUK
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I loved Eclipse Mountain so had to try this one too, and I was not disappointed. It's really neat the way you can go back in time by altering the lighting in a room, usually by drawing the blinds. Quite thrilling the way it morphs from a fairly normal (but wrecked) present-day scene to something much more interesting and sinister. There aren't too many Hidden Object scenes - just a few for light relief. You have to travel around quite a bit to find the objects that you need, so you need to remember what you need and where you needed it, because it could be some time before you find it. For me this was enjoyable, as I don't like things too easy. The puzzles were about the right difficultly level, mostly variants on the usual things like Tower of Hanoi, turning rings, pairs etc.
The music is sort of tribal drumming, which belongs well with the scenery.
The monsters are a bit pathetic but the storyline is quite interesting.
Overall, a great game for those who like a bit of a challenge.
The music is sort of tribal drumming, which belongs well with the scenery.
The monsters are a bit pathetic but the storyline is quite interesting.
Overall, a great game for those who like a bit of a challenge.
I recommend this game!
A powerful wizard has been sucked into a portal and is lost! Only you can save him from death in Allora and the Broken Portal!
Overall rating
2
/
5
2 of 4 found this review helpful
A little girl's game
PostedAugust 29, 2012
upcountrygirl
fromUK
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I bought this because it was offered at a low price if I made a decision within 4 minutes. I wish I hadn't. It is very boring, consisting of scene after scene of hidden objects, interspersed with a few easy puzzles that enable you to collect crystals. It might be OK for kids who are new to HO games but I found it a chore and gave up after half an hour.
I don't recommend this game.
Investigate a military hospital that hosted a variety of terrifying experiments in The Agency of Anomalies: Mystic Hospital!
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 7 found this review helpful
Creepy game with a good storyline
PostedAugust 29, 2012
upcountrygirl
fromUK
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I've played a lot of games a bit like this, and this one isn't amazing but is quite good if you like something a bit creepy. The storyline stands out from the crowd as being a bit more cohesive than most - the various monsters you have to hunt all originated as soldiers on whom experiments were performed. There are the usual keys/gears/tools to find and some (but not too many) Hidden Object scenes. The graphics are well drawn, rather yucky, and the music is atmospheric and desolate.
It's good, but I don't think it's quite as good as Agency of Anomalies: Penumbra Motel which is one of my favourites. It's not as long as some - I finished it in about 3.5 hours without hints.
I recommend this game!
Help Kiera Vale discover her ancestor’s history as she explores Blackwater Asylum in Nightmare Adventures: The Witch’s Prison!
Overall rating
5
/
5
21 of 23 found this review helpful
Fantastic scary game with tricky puzzles and a great ending
PostedAugust 18, 2012
upcountrygirl
fromUK
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Absolutely loved this game!!! It is billed as a Hidden Object Game but there were no tiresome junk scenes, just lots and lots of exploring of scary environments, searching for missing parts/keys/tiles etc. in order to solve puzzles. A few of the puzzles are similar to ones I've seen before but many are quite novel. None of them are particularly hard, but some were tricky and exercised the little grey cells a bit. If you can't work out what you're meant to be doing, the HINT button provides some guidance but doesn't give you the answer. There's also a SKIP button to use if a puzzle defeats you.
The graphics are well drawn and the music is superb. I particularly enjoyed the ending. Some games end rather abruptly, as though the developers have run out of budget and ideas and are glad to finish it; this one ended with interesting and surprising cut scenes and stirring music.
It appears this game was developed by a small company, and if so, it is particularly impressive. I'll be looking for more.
I recommend this game!