firebird40's Profile
 
 
 
Stat Summary
 
  • Average Rating:
    3.3
  • Helpful Votes:
    485
 
  • Reviews Submitted:
    30
  • First Review:
    November 12, 2011
  • Most Recent Review:
    November 25, 2017
  • Featured reviews
    0
 
 
Status:
 
 
firebird40's Review History
prev 1 2 3 next>>
 
Overall rating 
It was OK.
3 / 5
8 of 9 found this review helpful
Nothing Special :(
PostedNovember 25, 2017
Customer avatar
firebird40
fromPittsburgh, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor 
OK
3 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
Storyline 
OK
3 / 5
This was a well done game, but nothing special. Maybe after past MCF games I expected more than just run of the mill.
Storyline was a boring cliché, it was extremely linear so no challenge or mystery, and there was literally zero fright factor.
It was also extremely short, and just very ordinary.
I don't recommend this game.
+7points
8of 9voted this as helpful.
 
Overall rating 
It was OK.
3 / 5
14 of 22 found this review helpful
This Crater doesn't have much impact
PostedJuly 22, 2017
Customer avatar
firebird40
fromPittsburgh, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor 
OK
3 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Good
4 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
Storyline 
Poor
2 / 5
I played the entire demo to this game. It has some good points - the graphics are beautiful- but in the main, it is the same storyline recycled for yet another addition to this series. The entire demo felt like any other PuppetShow I have played, and I own several of this series, although not the most recent ones, as they are too cookie cutter for me.
It has a puppet helper which I found added nothing to my experience of the game. I don't mind helpers sometimes, but this one just did not appeal at all. I much prefer having a choice whether to use a helper.
The demo didn't last long enough for me to get a feel about where this game is actually going, so it's not a buy for me.
Give it a try, you may see something I didn't, and really enjoy it. For me, it was a ho-hum addition to the series.
I don't recommend this game.
+6points
14of 22voted this as helpful.
 
The people of Lightfalls are disappearing, and it’s up to you to save them!
 
Overall rating 
Disliked it.
2 / 5
10 of 11 found this review helpful
Predictable and Boring
PostedNovember 21, 2015
Customer avatar
firebird40
fromPittsburgh, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object
 
Current Favorite:
 
Fun Factor 
Poor
2 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
OK
3 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Poor
2 / 5
Storyline 
Awful
1 / 5
I have all the Surface games but the quality has really gone down in the last few, and this one is no exception. The gameplay is totally predictable and basic ( put out the fire, kill the bugs, go find the button for the glove box etc). The puzzles are easy and uninteresting, and the storyline is really bad, at least up to the point where the demo ended. These devs can, and have, done so much better than this less than average game.
I don't recommend this game.
+9points
10of 11voted this as helpful.
 
Return to your hometown to save your father and uncover Midnight Castle’s secrets!
 
Overall rating 
It was OK.
3 / 5
49 of 57 found this review helpful
Not CE worthy and Short!
PostedSeptember 17, 2015
Customer avatar
firebird40
fromPittsburgh, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure
 
Current Favorite:
 
Fun Factor 
OK
3 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
Storyline 
OK
3 / 5
If you like the Mystery Castle FTP game, then you may like this one. The visual and sound quality are excellent as you would expect, and some of the puzzles are fun.
The HOPs are well done but boring, and the storyline is average, same thing I see in almost every game of this type. You are always rescuing a relative - grandfather, sister, father.
The game is very linear, requires little thinking, and is extremely short. I finished in an hour and a half, which I consider poor value for the cost of the CE.
All in all, I recommend the free to play game over this "sequel" which is average at best. These devs have done much better games in the past, and I am sorry to see their creativity completely fail on this one.
I don't recommend this game.
+41points
49of 57voted this as helpful.
 
You stop a crazy fan, but when he dies, who’s responsible?
 
Overall rating 
It was OK.
3 / 5
9 of 13 found this review helpful
Thin Ice
PostedJune 12, 2015
Customer avatar
firebird40
fromPittsburgh, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure
Fun Factor 
OK
3 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Good
4 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Poor
2 / 5
Storyline 
Poor
2 / 5
This is a decent, cookie-cutter game. Good quality graphics, on my screen at least, excellent voiceovers, and smooth gameplay. The storyline never changes in Eipix games, so if you have played one, you have played them all.
The puzzles were repetitive and way too easy, and the HOS were clear and well done, but did not offer up anything new. The game includes collectibles that were very obvious, morphing objects in the HOS, and the usual extras.
Length was definitely on the shorter side, as gameplay is fairly linear, and the story winds up all loose ends.
All in all, would be an okay SE game for a lazy afternoon, but not memorable in any way.
I don't recommend this game.
+5points
9of 13voted this as helpful.
 
All the adults have vanished. Is this a child's dream, or nightmare?
 
Overall rating 
Liked it!
4 / 5
49 of 61 found this review helpful
Way too Short
PostedJune 4, 2015
Customer avatar
firebird40
fromPittsburgh, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor 
Excellent
5 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
Storyline 
Good
4 / 5
I really enjoyed this game. The quality is excellent, the puzzles included some new ones I hadn't seen before, and the storyline is well done and creepy.
However, I found it to be way too short to be a good buy for a collector's edition.
The end is rushed and easy, the storyline wrapped up with a few short comments, and the game just ends. Had I known how little time it would take to play it, I would not have bought the collector's edition, and for that reason, can't recommend it.
A shame, as the game was very well done, but the level of challenge was lacking as well as the length being an issue. Wait for the SE.
I don't recommend this game.
+37points
49of 61voted this as helpful.
 
Your daughter's lost in the Maze of Fears, but you'll face more than her disappearance if you dare to enter.
 
Overall rating 
It was OK.
3 / 5
20 of 24 found this review helpful
Scared? Play this game and you won't be...
PostedMay 15, 2015
Customer avatar
firebird40
fromPittsburgh, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
OK
3 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Good
4 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Poor
2 / 5
Storyline 
Poor
2 / 5
I usually like games by this developer, and have other games in this series, but the gameplay in this one is so repetitive that it is boring to play. Each fear is like a room: you solve 3 or 4 puzzles, they throw in some interactive HOS along the way, you use your gimmicky gadget to rescue yourself, and you go on to the next fear.
There is nothing scary about the game unless you count the fragmented and unexplained storyline.
Voices and music are good, but they aren't enough to save this game from itself.
I don't recommend this game because it is boring, and there are much better games with a higher level of quality and interest out there.
I don't recommend this game.
+16points
20of 24voted this as helpful.
 
A simple job protecting a bumbling professor becomes a nightmare when a masked figure threatens to kill him!
 
Overall rating 
Liked it!
4 / 5
12 of 15 found this review helpful
You can checkout anytime you like but...
PostedApril 25, 2015
Customer avatar
firebird40
fromPittsburgh, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor 
Excellent
5 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Good
4 / 5
Storyline 
Good
4 / 5
Pros: I thought this was overall a well done game. Voiceovers, storyline, graphics, were all high quality. The puzzles are fun and imaginative, and the HOS varied in type, with some standard and others more involved.
Cons: Length. VERY short. Ending is abrupt, answers no questions to speak of, and the bonus story goes back and deals with one of the other characters in the game, which I found less interesting.
I took a star off for the ending, and for the lack of originality in the storyline. It was done well, but it's a copycat story we've seen many times before. I can think of at least 4 games with a similar story.
Worth checking in to this hotel, but due to length, etc I recommend buying with the sale or waiting until the SE comes out.
I recommend this game!
+9points
12of 15voted this as helpful.
 
Overall rating 
Disliked it.
2 / 5
17 of 24 found this review helpful
Tesla, Da Vinci and Cortes? Alternate Dimension of Awful
PostedMarch 22, 2015
Customer avatar
firebird40
fromPittsburgh, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor 
Poor
2 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Poor
2 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
Storyline 
Poor
2 / 5
The demo is the best part of the entire game. I bought it and discovered that it really deteriorates into something which is completely illogical and tedious.
I took off a star for the bad graphics, which are grainy and unattractive, another star for the deadpan voiceovers, and a third star for the glacial pace of the game.
The storyline started out very interesting, but I quickly lost interest in a ridiculous alternate dimension that had da Vinci, Tesla, three pseudo Mayan tribes, various steampunk characteristics and Cortes as a futuristic pirate.
It's a shame, as other games in this series have been pretty good. All of them are better than this one.
I don't recommend this game.
+10points
17of 24voted this as helpful.
 
The legacy of the witches continues when Lynn and her husband are lured into a trap by a mysterious sorcerer…
 
Overall rating 
Liked it!
4 / 5
5 of 6 found this review helpful
Witchy Business
PostedMarch 4, 2015
Customer avatar
firebird40
fromPittsburgh, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor 
Good
4 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Good
4 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Good
4 / 5
Storyline 
Good
4 / 5
I have all of the games in this series, and this one is one of the best. The quality is what you expect from a CE, with visuals and sound well done. Game has a jump map, the ability to customize the level of play, which I especially like, and has collectibles and morphing objects.
The storyline makes Morgana the toughest witch in history, which is getting a bit old at this point, and I detest the imp helper so I have dropped my rating to 4 stars, since you have to use that helper 15 times or so, and I found that extremely annoying. In addition, the imp sits on your inventory bar and waves constantly throughout the game, trying to make you look at the objectives. Supposedly the imp was once a dog, and I really wish they would have left him that way.
The ending is complete without the bonus content, which is nice for those who prefer SEs. All in all, this is an enjoyable game that is well done and fun to play.
I recommend this game!
+4points
5of 6voted this as helpful.