Tikatoy's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.3
- Helpful Votes:1,359
- Reviews Submitted:111
- First Review:November 15, 2011
- Most Recent Review:April 30, 2017
- Featured reviews0
Status:
The legendary Crystal Skulls have been lost for centuries. Can Sandra Fleming retrieve the skulls from all over the world?
Overall rating
3
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Not quite there
PostedMay 15, 2012
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
There is nothing terribly wrong with this game, but there is nothing that stands out about it either.
The graphics look fairly nice, especially the changing sunlight effects. There's a good number of hidden object scenes and some welcome variations like finding X parts of an item in a location (e.g. scraps of paper) and a spot the difference where the two images are mirrored. There's also a good variety of puzzles, although nothing too original or tough.
I ended up using the walkthrough more often than I usually do, not because it was a hard game, but because I don't really like mousing all over to the screen to find small inventory items.
The story is nothing special, but I like the way they dropped little clues to the mystery throughout the game.
Overall, every aspect of this game was pretty decent, but it was completely unmemorable. Nothing stands out enough for me to recommend this game when there's so many other better HOGs out there.
I don't recommend this game.
Escape from a town that is lost in time and space! Explore the mysterious city and solve its riddles to make it home!
Overall rating
4
/
5
25 of 26 found this review helpful
Fun, original puzzles and nice graphics
PostedMay 9, 2012
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
This is a polished, high quality HOG with pretty graphics, good animations/effects and good music with a couple of distinguishing features:
- Great variety on the standard hidden object scenes including find X object (e.g. find 10 coins), lists of object silhouettes instead of words, moving objects out of the way to uncover objects in the word lists.
- Unique, original, challenging (for a casual game) puzzles. I especially liked one puzzle that was like a mini-strategy game; you control a knight that has to defeat monsters and you can pick up resources like weapons, food and keys along the way.
I also really liked the idea of a town trapped out of time. I have only one somewhat minor complaint to do with backtracking: you find objects you can't pick up until later on when you need them, then you have to backtrack (for only 3 items), hidden object scenes can activate more than once in the same location so you have to wander around to find them.
The latter wasn't that big of a deal for me because I just used the hint which led me straight to active scenes. (Speaking of, the in-game hint system is great, it's basically a built-in strategy guide) The right way to do repeated hidden object scenes is to do it like ERS, where you need to use an inventory item in an old location and you'll definitely pass by the active scene to use it.
Overall, I really liked this game. If you enjoy interesting and challenging puzzles, check this one out.
I recommend this game!
Escape from Thunder Island
Join the more-brave-than-brilliant aviatrix Rita James on a quest to rescue her kidnapped father in Escape from Thunder Island!
Overall rating
4
/
5
33 of 34 found this review helpful
Pulp fiction HOG!
PostedMay 7, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
The story and cut scenes are straight out of pulp fiction (the genre, not the movie), which I enjoyed. I also loved the humour in the hovers/tooltips throughout the game, and the running gag of the monkey constantly having to save the completely oblivious humans. The hidden object scene graphics were pretty ugly, but not in a way that bothered me, if that makes sense. The location graphics looked pretty good, though.
The game is organized into chapters of 5-10 locations each. I appreciated that there were variations on the hidden object scenes, including find X of a certain type of object. I also liked that sometimes there were riddles in the word lists, instead of just the name of the object.
You can refer to the map to see which locations still have actions to take (hidden object scene, puzzle, inventory item, etc.). The map goes a step further than other games as you can hover over locations and it gives you a more specific hint about what needs to be done there. It's essentially a built-in strategy guide.
The puzzles were actually pretty fun, though nothing too difficult. In many ways this game was pretty average, but the fun pulp fiction story and feel bumped it up to 4 stars for me.
I recommend this game!
Travel the globe with Samantha Swift to find the ancient waters that hold the secret to the Fountain of Youth!
Overall rating
3
/
5
19 of 22 found this review helpful
A straight HOG with some nice extras
PostedMay 7, 2012
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
This is an older-style HOG where you are taken from one hidden object scene to another in a linear fashion. You occasionally can move between scenes, but usually only 2-3 at max. Inventory items are typically found and used within the same location. There are some puzzles, which were surprisingly original, challenging and fun. There were some scenes where you had to find matching pairs of objects (e.g. bee and honey) or a certain number of a given object (e.g. find 15 coins) that provided a nice change from the standard word lists. You would also get 2-3 items per scene where instead of a word you get a simple riddle (e.g. "sands of time" instead of hourglass).
The art style is a mix of "hand-painted" backgrounds and cel-shaded objects. I liked the combination. There are two swifts (birds) and a lightning bolt (you get a hint when you find this) in each scene and if you find enough swifts, you unlock the unlimited hidden object mode.
There are numerous achievements/trophies to get, which adds to replayability if you're into that kind of thing (like me). Overall a fun little game, but nothing really special.
I recommend this game!
Explore the mystical woods and mountains to defeat the evil spirit called Strix in this Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!
Overall rating
4
/
5
40 of 43 found this review helpful
Different from the usual HOG
PostedApril 22, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Instead of getting a separate scene that you zoom into with hidden objects, the objects are in the locations themselves. And if you play in Advanced mode, you don't get word lists at all.
Visually, the game is also pretty different from the usual look of HOGs. The scenes seem to be composed of 3D models, or possibly a mix of 2D and 3D. The game also seems to partially be in TRUE widescreen. Most games that fill a widescreen monitor merely stretch the image horizontally, resulting in ugly distortion. This one actually fills the screen without distorting the image. I usually dislike the 3D look in these types of games, but it looked pretty good here, especially because some of the settings looked good, like the institution, which looks like a floating castle in the sky.
I really liked the story and there are a lot of voice overs throughout the game that were of high quality and really enhanced everything, although there were a few translation mistakes in the text displayed to accompany the voice overs.
The puzzles were of a pretty good level of challenge and variety. Game length seemed on the short side, but I was satisfied with it anyway.
I recommend this game!
Lift an evil curse that has been cast on the kingdom by a witch looking for revenge in Love Chronicles: The Sword and the Rose!
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 8 found this review helpful
Very good parts, but missing a compelling storyline to make it great as a whole
PostedApril 21, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I loved a lot of things about this game: the beautiful graphics and weather effects, very good animations (loved the house with legs!), the challenging puzzles, fun hidden object scenes, the excellent journal, the great hint system that functions as a strategy guide. I even liked collecting all the roses; I love this kind of bonus/optional challenge. But there was just a little something missing and I think it was the absence of a compelling storyline to pull everything together and make it meaningful.
I really enjoyed the puzzles; there were a lot of challenging ones (although a lot of easy/average ones as well), and I especially enjoyed one that was a more complex version of fitting different-shaped puzzle pieces together to form a specific shape. It took me a while to do and was very satisfying! There were not as many hidden object scenes compared to other games (which I liked) and there were several "find X coins/stars/etc" scenes mixed in which I appreciated.
The game is fairly long and there's lots of fun gameplay. I never thought it dragged, although there was enough backtracking for me to notice it.
I played and liked the first game in this series (The Spell) and that one was more unique where you could restore locations and there were FROG (fragmented object) aspects to it; this sequel is more like a standard HOG and that's okay, I guess, because it's very good, but it doesn't have that unique feel to it anymore.
I recommend this game!
Travel through time and witness a historic construction in Monument Builders: Eiffel Tower, an amazing Time Management game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
Pretty fun, but many other better games in this genre
PostedApril 21, 2012
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
I liked this game enough to finish playing it, replaying some levels to get gold scores for all of them. I liked the setting-appropriate music and cute, if low-res, graphics as well as the Eiffel Tower trivia they would display in the loading screen before each level and the historical setting was enjoyable in general..
Others have already mentioned this problem with the game: poor explanation of the full effects of upgrading the company HQ, which is CRUCIAL to finishing in expert time for most levels. The difficulty level seemed uneven, with the most challenging levels in Part 2 (out of 5) of the game. This is possibly because I played Part 2 before I read about the "trick" of destroying roads to get resources, in which case the game is just too easy overall.
There's nothing truly bad or awful about this game, but there are better ones in this genre like Royal Envoy, the Time Builders series or Pioneer Lands.
I don't recommend this game.
Join Nicole, and her sidekick Igor, as they trek across the globe in search of her missing father! Dive into Hidden Object fun!
Overall rating
4
/
5
26 of 28 found this review helpful
A different type of HOG
PostedApril 12, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
In this game, instead of getting a list of words, you get images of the objects you're supposed to find. There is added challenge as the objects might be present in the scene at a different angle than in the image, making it look different. You can hover over the images to get the text for the object, which helped in finding it sometimes.
Play the demo for about 5-10 minutes to get a feel for the game--the gameplay remains the same throughout the entire game. There are some mini-games/puzzles, but they're pretty standard ones I've seen many times before in HOGs, and of average (i.e. easy) difficulty.
I like fantasy settings, so I enjoyed the islands in the sky and undersea locations, even if the art style was just okay to me. Overall, this was a mellow game I enjoyed playing, put my brain in neutral for a while. :)
I recommend this game!
The Missing: A Search and Rescue Mystery
A group of college students have gone missing from a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. You are called in to rescue them, but nothing is as it seems.
Overall rating
4
/
5
32 of 38 found this review helpful
Interesting story, great weather effects
PostedApril 9, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
At its core, this is a pretty standard HOG with average (i.e. easy) difficulty hidden object scenes and puzzles. There are a number of things that make it stand out from the crowd though:
- Interesting story with a genuinely intriguing mystery that unfolds bit by bit through found journal entries. There are also some tense moments when the mysterious monster appears in cut scenes.
- Graphics are pretty decent, but the game features the most satisfying weather effects I've seen in a casual game. In one part of the game, you get to explore a part of the island, and then later go through it again except with the sky dark and stormy which was cool.
I appreciated that when you're done with tasks in a set of locations, some in-game event occurs that makes sense in the story and seals off those locations to save you backtracking.
Game length was pretty short but I was satisfied with it anyway. It didn't FEEL short, it just occurred to me when I was trying to figure out how long I'd spent playing it. :P
I recommend this game!
After a group of young students go missing, the Mystery Trackers are called in to search the city of Raincliff!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Some minor problems, but mostly a great game
PostedApril 8, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game has beautiful graphics and top-notch animation and cut scenes. The puzzles were really fun--a significant number of original puzzles and almost all of them were of above average difficulty. Gameplay consisted more adventure game elements than hidden object scenes, which I appreciated. There are achievements, which I really like, so there's added challenge beyond just finishing the game.
It also reminded me a lot of MCF: Dire Grove with all of the snow and missing students, use of full-motion video, and tense music that kicks in when something happens, rather than just looping through different scores. This is both good and bad as I really liked Dire Grove, but it's a little TOO similar. There was a lot of backtracking, which I generally don't mind, but feel in this case negatively affected what was an otherwise exciting (and original) story.
Those minor issues aside, everything else was excellent, I'd say I still like the first game in the series (Mystery Trackers: The Void) more, but this one is very good as well.
I recommend this game!