just_my_thoughts's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:5
- Helpful Votes:151
- Reviews Submitted:5
- First Review:February 1, 2013
- Most Recent Review:October 13, 2021
- Featured reviews0
just_my_thoughts's Review History
In this classic point-and-click, enter a corrupt and power-obsessed world as you try to find answers to your neighbor’s mysterious disappearance!
Overall rating
5
/
5
41 of 43 found this review helpful
First Class Game
PostedOctober 13, 2021
just_my_thoughts
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Bravo Bigfish for your courage to present a first class game despite the anticipation that a lot of your customers will trash it. It always amazes me, how many people prefer to click through brainless games with items to be found in the most stupid places and be used in even more stupid contexts.
What a pity that one has to go decades back if you want to find a game that has logic, a great real life story line without monsters or other paranormal stuff, and is a piece of art with great graphics and superb voice overs.
Nope, this game won’t guide you. And it won’t be finished within 4 or 5 hours unless you ran through it with a walkthrough in your hand. You have to think, put yourself in the shoes of the hero and try to find the solutions with all the trial and error troubles that life presents. The game is more dialog driven, more like a novel, but not boring by any means because the dialogs are so well written and spoken by actors in a way I have not seen in any other game yet. There are only a few items to be found which have to be used logically in context with the situation and story line. And like a real good book, this game has a message. Issued in 2004, well before the first smart phone or flat screen TV was broadly available, the game addresses a lot of our current and probably future problems.
I truly hope that Bigfish will offer more of this kind of games, even if you have to pull them from ancient resources, because I think there are also a lot of people out there who are less superficially minded.
What a pity that one has to go decades back if you want to find a game that has logic, a great real life story line without monsters or other paranormal stuff, and is a piece of art with great graphics and superb voice overs.
Nope, this game won’t guide you. And it won’t be finished within 4 or 5 hours unless you ran through it with a walkthrough in your hand. You have to think, put yourself in the shoes of the hero and try to find the solutions with all the trial and error troubles that life presents. The game is more dialog driven, more like a novel, but not boring by any means because the dialogs are so well written and spoken by actors in a way I have not seen in any other game yet. There are only a few items to be found which have to be used logically in context with the situation and story line. And like a real good book, this game has a message. Issued in 2004, well before the first smart phone or flat screen TV was broadly available, the game addresses a lot of our current and probably future problems.
I truly hope that Bigfish will offer more of this kind of games, even if you have to pull them from ancient resources, because I think there are also a lot of people out there who are less superficially minded.
I recommend this game!
Embark on an epic quest to build the greatest structure in the history of mankind, The Great Wall of China.
Overall rating
5
/
5
56 of 61 found this review helpful
A Top Time Management Game
PostedDecember 3, 2015
just_my_thoughts
fromUSA
Favorite Genre(s):Time Management, Large File
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game certainly is an upgrade in graphics, sound and story line compared to its first release. It also has some new features which put the player more on the plan-ahead management role. Most importantly, based on the earned incentives during the game progress the player has to decide which buildings can be upgraded to what level. This is crucial for finishing the rounds in best time. So, the player has to think about which buildings are most important for basic supply (such as wood and stones, whereas food is less important since there are also alternatives like pumpkins etc. available), and what buildings have a general impact on the overall earnings and speed (such as storage building, home base for man power, the building for saving supplies for the next level, or the building for power ups).
If the upgrade priority has been done right, the game plays smoothly without time problems. As a matter of fact, I found this game easier to play than the first release and would have wished to be somewhat harder to accomplish the 3 stars as the game progresses.
If there is one point for improvements, I would suggest that the building upgrade priorities can be recessed so that the player can make adjustments according to the learning curve.
If the upgrade priority has been done right, the game plays smoothly without time problems. As a matter of fact, I found this game easier to play than the first release and would have wished to be somewhat harder to accomplish the 3 stars as the game progresses.
If there is one point for improvements, I would suggest that the building upgrade priorities can be recessed so that the player can make adjustments according to the learning curve.
I actually do not like hidden object or action games, both of which are included in the game and cannot be skipped. However, they are easily manageable and did not take away from the overall experience of the game.
I recommend this game!
Utterly clueless, but full of good intentions, Robert and Laura set out to save their world in this bizarre and imaginative point and click adventure.
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 8 found this review helpful
Hilarious
PostedAugust 26, 2015
just_my_thoughts
fromUSA
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Kudos to Bigfish who seemed to recently have reached out to new developers for bringing a little diversity in the otherwise boring spectrum of offered games.
This game here is not only a gem in regards to story line, artistic creativity (astonishing how much expression can be put in a stickman) and brilliant voice over with its dry humor, but also its play ability. The built-in help feature should enable even the most spoiled gamer to progress in the game without getting stuck forever. Hopefully this will tempt more people to also look into some games of different genres so that developers are encouraged to work a bit more out of the box.
This game here is not only a gem in regards to story line, artistic creativity (astonishing how much expression can be put in a stickman) and brilliant voice over with its dry humor, but also its play ability. The built-in help feature should enable even the most spoiled gamer to progress in the game without getting stuck forever. Hopefully this will tempt more people to also look into some games of different genres so that developers are encouraged to work a bit more out of the box.
The Silent Age
Help Joe discover the truth behind humankind's extinction! Can a simple janitor and literally, "the average Joe," save humankind?
Overall rating
5
/
5
30 of 34 found this review helpful
Superb !
PostedAugust 17, 2015
just_my_thoughts
fromUSA
Favorite Genre(s):Time Management, Large File
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Finally a game that calls on your intellect and sets itself pleasantly apart from all those colorful, yet mindless HOG games which have flooded the casual gaming market for the last couple of years.
I played the game all the way through and enjoyed it till the last minute. The game is full of suspense with a story line as a mixture of political thriller and worries about future of mankind. And still, all of this done without the shooting, fighting and killing as usually found in action thrillers. It is a quiet and thoughtful game.
Sure, there will be many people out there who don't like this kind of more challenging game play but I would appreciate that their statements of facts would be correct - at least. For instance, there is not only a voice-over but also an excellence in voice acting that is hardly to be found in this genre. And there is very little on reading unless one clicks several times on a subject just to enjoy Joe's really smart and witty thoughts.
And - oh yes, the character moves fast if double clicked.
I played the game all the way through and enjoyed it till the last minute. The game is full of suspense with a story line as a mixture of political thriller and worries about future of mankind. And still, all of this done without the shooting, fighting and killing as usually found in action thrillers. It is a quiet and thoughtful game.
Sure, there will be many people out there who don't like this kind of more challenging game play but I would appreciate that their statements of facts would be correct - at least. For instance, there is not only a voice-over but also an excellence in voice acting that is hardly to be found in this genre. And there is very little on reading unless one clicks several times on a subject just to enjoy Joe's really smart and witty thoughts.
And - oh yes, the character moves fast if double clicked.
I recommend this game!
Rolling Idols
Down with the talks about the Apocalypse! To break the Mayan prophecy and save the world all you need is to defeat Nibiru!
Overall rating
5
/
5
18 of 20 found this review helpful
Not for the Average Match-3 Gamer
PostedFebruary 1, 2013
just_my_thoughts
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Time Management, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
The creators of the Montezuma series did it again. A very sophisticated and complex game that challenges your brain's ability in so many more ways than just matching some nice icons. At the first sight the simple board might fool you.
For the better or worse, the game does not have an elaborate tutorial. This will probably sort out a lot of players without even having discovered the beauty and diversity of this game. The learning curve is steep, and it took me about two thirds of the game before I figured all the different steps and strategies this game provides. It does not only have 6 power-ups based on the matching color, but the properties of the power-up also change, depending how often a certain icon has been matched. (I. e., if you match a blue stone the first time, this stone changes to a pull-stone for dragging the entire row but also keeps its ability for a simple exchange if just clicked, and not dragged. If you match the same stone a second time it becomes an icon that can trigger a change of all red stones to brown etc.). And the more you upgrade the power-ups, the more powerful they get. Wow, that simple board will be a firework of explosions and movements.
It really takes some strategy and thinking ahead on how to overcome all the obstacles and catch the one icon that finally counts - the one with diamond. And it takes some quick action if you want to score high and get or upgrade your power-ups faster. However, if you don't like the time pressure, you still can continue your game and still will receive a point reward for moving on.
All in all - one of the few match-3 games that does not just put some little pictures together. It has the challenge of a game and not a story.
For the better or worse, the game does not have an elaborate tutorial. This will probably sort out a lot of players without even having discovered the beauty and diversity of this game. The learning curve is steep, and it took me about two thirds of the game before I figured all the different steps and strategies this game provides. It does not only have 6 power-ups based on the matching color, but the properties of the power-up also change, depending how often a certain icon has been matched. (I. e., if you match a blue stone the first time, this stone changes to a pull-stone for dragging the entire row but also keeps its ability for a simple exchange if just clicked, and not dragged. If you match the same stone a second time it becomes an icon that can trigger a change of all red stones to brown etc.). And the more you upgrade the power-ups, the more powerful they get. Wow, that simple board will be a firework of explosions and movements.
It really takes some strategy and thinking ahead on how to overcome all the obstacles and catch the one icon that finally counts - the one with diamond. And it takes some quick action if you want to score high and get or upgrade your power-ups faster. However, if you don't like the time pressure, you still can continue your game and still will receive a point reward for moving on.
All in all - one of the few match-3 games that does not just put some little pictures together. It has the challenge of a game and not a story.
I recommend this game!