Granny_Gruff's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:2.6
- Helpful Votes:22,850
- Reviews Submitted:883
- First Review:December 23, 2011
- Most Recent Review:November 23, 2022
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Help Aurora and Eratus in their fight to overthrow a tyrant and restore peace to the land in this match 3 adventure!
Overall rating
2
/
5
13 of 24 found this review helpful
Cut to the Chase. . .
PostedApril 7, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromI am still running through the list of hundreds of games purchased from BFG and still amazed at how much better some of the oldest games play out than what we see now! Check your catalogue!
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
It's another Match 3 game, much like the last Match 3 game that came out.
In fact it looks eerily like the last one I purchased, and I don't need another.
In fact it looks eerily like the last one I purchased, and I don't need another.
Please check it out for yourself.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you escape a utopian toy world before it’s too late?
Overall rating
2
/
5
39 of 54 found this review helpful
Haven't We Been Here Before?
PostedApril 3, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromAs I go through the older games in my collection, I am often surprised at the ones I've found that were well ahead of the curve. Several games have been happyily revisited!
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Stop me if you've played this before:
Loved one in accident, surviving family member/spouse tries to "make up for it," and it all goes wrong.
Wasn't that in another long running series' recent game? One that is surprisingly similar in character and environment appearance?
Surely there could have been some thought put into the game to make it less of a look/sound/play alike.
Loved one in accident, surviving family member/spouse tries to "make up for it," and it all goes wrong.
Wasn't that in another long running series' recent game? One that is surprisingly similar in character and environment appearance?
Surely there could have been some thought put into the game to make it less of a look/sound/play alike.
Sigh.
So, good stuff: All the usual game elements with collectible feathers, morphing objects, and coins (that look strangely like my favorite earrings!) as well as an assortment of CE bling.
Bad stuff: Once you've mentioned the plot and other details so like another series, you are left wondering why Grandma Games ditched the long-standing premise of the Guardians and their mechanical helpers in the Reflections of Life series to go off on such a copycat tangent. As I am at a loss for an explanation, I'll leave that problem lying where it fell.
Bottom line: Play the demo and make up your own reason to buy or not. I'm afraid I came to the conclusion that the team is no longer having fun, and this is what we are left with.
Sigh.
Please play the demo.
I don't recommend this game.
Send shivers down your spine... with this creepy-crawly Match-3 quest that will chill you to the bone and make your flesh crawl.
Overall rating
3
/
5
10 of 13 found this review helpful
More Bats, Hats, Mummies, and Skulls
PostedMarch 29, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromWe have still shortages, but hanging in there. Neighbors taking care of neighbors!
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Jewel Match Games are entertaining Match 3 games with lots of novelty pieces and hazards. Each level has two or more boards and there are "puzzle" boards every five or six levels. You earn coins to restore buildings along a dark and "spooky" river.
There was nothing I saw in the trial to rattle anyone's nerves, no matter how fragile.
The music was nicely done and there is no story, so no disappointment there.
It is a nice Match 3 to while away more of the time.
I would have been more enthusiastic if I hadn't had to "buy" the same item twice as they disappeared between levels.
I would have been more enthusiastic if I hadn't had to "buy" the same item twice as they disappeared between levels.
Please try the Demo.
Can you save a town from turning to ash in time?
Overall rating
3
/
5
34 of 44 found this review helpful
Better Graphics, Same Old Game Play
PostedMarch 26, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromBe glad you aren't in Kentucky, where it is impossible to buy toilet paper, paper towels, lunchmeat, margarine, and bottled water. Why? Ask the hoarders!
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
It is 2000 when the new Dark Romance story opens on reporter Louise being sent on assignment to Ashville. Back in 1985, the small town was hit by explosions in the underground mine owned by Jonathan Bradley, the local rich money-solves-anything businessman. Louise will find that researching an article on a 15-year-old story is not as simple as she might wish. To help the plot along, she does find a blank diary in Robert's apartment and, when she writes in it, Robert can read her notes in 1985.
Good stuff: Once again the player will transition between two of the characters, Robert and Louise. All the usual game elements are present: HOPs with a Match 3 alternative, puzzles, a story, and artwork colored with a more restrained hand than we've seen recently.
There are collectibles amongst the CE bling.
There are collectibles amongst the CE bling.
Bad stuff: Domini has once again sent us in search of insecticide, needle and thread, pliers, keys, and a long list of items we all have search for, used, and lost in their other games. More confusing than seeing lights and water still turned on in Robert's deserted apartment after fifteen years, is switching back and forth between characters who have never met. What happened to the Romance part of the series title? And while the two main characters look close in age as we play, were they to meet, there is still a fifteen year difference between them.
Bottom line: The story premise should have been given better treatment than the same old game play. The underlying theme of the Dark Romance series should have received more than a passing nod from the writers. And I should tell you that I was not interested enough to buy the game. (I did throw in an extra star just for that improvement in the artwork as I’m that glad to avoid the headache from over-coloring!)
Please try the demo.
Can you clear an innocent man’s name in time?
Overall rating
2
/
5
56 of 68 found this review helpful
Stop Me Before I Have To Play This Again, and Again, and Again
PostedMarch 19, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromDon't succome to cabin fever - trot out the older games you don't remeber well and enjoy them again! Remeber BFG will let you download any game you bought in the past to play now.
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Your rich businessman brother has been arrested for the kidnapping and possible murder of his young and beautiful wife.
You rush down to the police station where you must present your ID. Naturally you have locked it in your car. You will run around playing with a mouse trapped in a newspaper vending machine and disassembling a bulletin board, among other tasks, before your can present your ID to the burly, angry officer guarding the door ahead of the gauntlet of press representatives you must pass through to get inside. You will present your visitors pass to the desk officer and will be allowed about 46 seconds of conversation with your brother before the officers on his side of the glass take him away and loudly announce their intention to leave for lunch. At this point you are left totally alone in the lobby of the police station while the entire staff leaves for lunch, giving you a clear field to search the joint and jimmy as many locks as you can reach.
You rush down to the police station where you must present your ID. Naturally you have locked it in your car. You will run around playing with a mouse trapped in a newspaper vending machine and disassembling a bulletin board, among other tasks, before your can present your ID to the burly, angry officer guarding the door ahead of the gauntlet of press representatives you must pass through to get inside. You will present your visitors pass to the desk officer and will be allowed about 46 seconds of conversation with your brother before the officers on his side of the glass take him away and loudly announce their intention to leave for lunch. At this point you are left totally alone in the lobby of the police station while the entire staff leaves for lunch, giving you a clear field to search the joint and jimmy as many locks as you can reach.
Good stuff: There are the usual game elements and CE bling.
Bad stuff: The lack luster story, the repetitive game elements, the same old everything, and the all-too-familiar CE bling. Especially egregious is the rapidly-becoming-standard "I can't find/have lost/locked up my ID" scene to begin the game play.
Add the fork as nail puller, various tools that do a single job and have to be replaced in a few minutes - see other comments about lock picks and keys, for instance - and you have a new low standard that games can sink to.
Add the fork as nail puller, various tools that do a single job and have to be replaced in a few minutes - see other comments about lock picks and keys, for instance - and you have a new low standard that games can sink to.
Bottom line: I'm running down the list of hundreds of games I already own. Any of them would be better!!
Try the Demo and see for yourself.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you catch a magical culprit behind a string of strange robberies?
Overall rating
2
/
5
22 of 32 found this review helpful
Well, It Had Potential. . . . .
PostedMarch 13, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromSometimes there just is no good news. None. At all.
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
A Leprechaun is behaving badly. Don't take my word for it. I'm sure the player is told that simple fact often enough in the beginning of this demo to pound it into our heads. I eventually felt as though there was some major misdirection going on, but I didn't care enough to stay awake for the whole demo!
Yup, that's right. This one is a real sleeper, folks. After being led around carefully from the beginning, I got so tired, I fell asleep till the end of the demo.
Believe me that was more fun than the game!
I won't say much about the sound, voice acting, or slightly fuzzy artwork and lack luster game play.
I will say that this is another example of the worst that HOPA games have become and we need to get someone's eyes on the problem
I will say that you need to play the demo BEFORE purchasing only games you really enjoy. That pay off, or lack of same, is the ONLY way we have to get the attention of the Devs and their companies. They will need to feel it in their wallets before they decide to treat us as adults and go back to turning out the games that lured us to HOPA games in the first place.
Please try the demo.
I don't recommend this game.
Could you survive a deadly game where your opponent knew your secrets?
Overall rating
1
/
5
42 of 57 found this review helpful
Stop Them Before The Black Hole of Their Logic Swallows Us!
PostedMarch 5, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromSometimes there just is no good news. None. At all.
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
You play as Will, a NYPD counselor sucked into a case by a seeming madman. He is aided and abetted by Det. Cortez and left in the lurch by a story that should have been left AWOL.
Will's one claim to fame is the secret ability he has to look into other people's minds. The Devs took this sucker and killed it right off: Will "reads" a victim's mind, including the special touch of a reflection in sunglasses sticking out of the bad guy's pocket as he stands over the victim. That reflection leads Will to a deserted factory district. - You know, somewhere the bad guy can wreak havoc without being noticed.
The only problem is ** Spoiler Alert** the man who's mind Will is reading is the bad guy! So how could he have a memory of seeing himself standing over his own body with that special touch of the sunglasses' reflection? There were more of those moments, but I will leave you to it.
The game play is boring; the artwork well drawn, but bland; the characters lifeless; and the whole process is a waste of your brain cells. Luckily the Demo is very short. I ran as soon as it was done.
I recommend you do the same!!
Will's one claim to fame is the secret ability he has to look into other people's minds. The Devs took this sucker and killed it right off: Will "reads" a victim's mind, including the special touch of a reflection in sunglasses sticking out of the bad guy's pocket as he stands over the victim. That reflection leads Will to a deserted factory district. - You know, somewhere the bad guy can wreak havoc without being noticed.
The only problem is ** Spoiler Alert** the man who's mind Will is reading is the bad guy! So how could he have a memory of seeing himself standing over his own body with that special touch of the sunglasses' reflection? There were more of those moments, but I will leave you to it.
The game play is boring; the artwork well drawn, but bland; the characters lifeless; and the whole process is a waste of your brain cells. Luckily the Demo is very short. I ran as soon as it was done.
I recommend you do the same!!
I don't recommend this game.
What's more important - the fate of the world or the destiny of your family? Find out in this amazing hidden object adventure game!
Overall rating
4
/
5
38 of 58 found this review helpful
Maps, Maps, and More Maps
PostedFebruary 28, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromI choose to look at this as a chance to explore thirty one different scenes and welcome back a great lead character.
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Goods news: The seventh game in the Lost Lands series has finally arrived with some richly layered HOPs, plenty of puzzles, those great morphing collectibles among the CE bling, and another trip between worlds for our heroine, Susan.
Bad news: Every note I've ever made on the Lost Lands games complains about the endless maps and the equally endless travel back and forth between them. This time there are 31 locations across five maps. I can only shudder.
Good news: The collectibles are more numerous and varied than before, with the addition of piles of gold coins hidden under piles of leaves or other unassuming places in an occasional scene. And the puzzles and HOPs are a step up from the last game in the series with some nice twists on the game play.
Bad news: Maps, lots of maps, so many I get lost and confused! And I take away one star!
Good news: The team at Five-BN has included that diary that helps sum up the action and keep you on track - well, it helps anyway!
Bottom line: Even as I read through the notes on the earlier games, I knew I'd be buying this one! Lost Lands presents intriguing stories wrapped around a main character that has just that - character. I hate the maps, but I love the game play and story more.
Try the demo.
If maps are your thing, have I got a winner for you.
If they aren't, well there is this woman named Susan. She keeps finding herself "called" to help the people of the Lost Lands and, while saving them, she saves Earth. And somehow the Devs can do it all without any bees, broken zippers, and actual keys instead of a billion amulets, or pieces thereof! You won't paint by numbers, mix potions, or decorate for your pet! And you will keep and reuse a tool instead of finding a replacement for it every few scenes!
Try the demo!
Bad news: Every note I've ever made on the Lost Lands games complains about the endless maps and the equally endless travel back and forth between them. This time there are 31 locations across five maps. I can only shudder.
Good news: The collectibles are more numerous and varied than before, with the addition of piles of gold coins hidden under piles of leaves or other unassuming places in an occasional scene. And the puzzles and HOPs are a step up from the last game in the series with some nice twists on the game play.
Bad news: Maps, lots of maps, so many I get lost and confused! And I take away one star!
Good news: The team at Five-BN has included that diary that helps sum up the action and keep you on track - well, it helps anyway!
Bottom line: Even as I read through the notes on the earlier games, I knew I'd be buying this one! Lost Lands presents intriguing stories wrapped around a main character that has just that - character. I hate the maps, but I love the game play and story more.
Try the demo.
If maps are your thing, have I got a winner for you.
If they aren't, well there is this woman named Susan. She keeps finding herself "called" to help the people of the Lost Lands and, while saving them, she saves Earth. And somehow the Devs can do it all without any bees, broken zippers, and actual keys instead of a billion amulets, or pieces thereof! You won't paint by numbers, mix potions, or decorate for your pet! And you will keep and reuse a tool instead of finding a replacement for it every few scenes!
Try the demo!
I recommend this game!
A mysterious fog hides a small town’s secrets… and something even darker!
Overall rating
2
/
5
23 of 26 found this review helpful
If Immitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery....
PostedFebruary 16, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromFamiliarity breeds contempt. Is that why this oh so familiar game leaves me cold?
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Someone should be really pleased - I'm just not sure who.
The opening of the story started around the campfire was so like another game - the actual artwork should be credited to the artist in that other game. Then we have another mist and another monster in it. Somehow there is an irritating sameness between this Bonfire series game and an older one. If only I could remember....
Oh, wait. Maybe that's why this game is story super-light! We might recognize the source if we had any idea of who, what, when, where, why.
So where does that leave us?
Lost with Caroline, our player in the game. There will be some good HOPs, failed mini-games, and a little CE bling, along with a story that is lost beyond telling. You will hop between locations and learn nothing, except that liquid nitrogen seems to be all over this town!
Play the Demo.
Please play the Demo.
Do not proceed until you play the Demo.
You have been warned.
Please play the Demo.
Do not proceed until you play the Demo.
You have been warned.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you save your beloved from a dangerous sculptor’s obsession?
Overall rating
3
/
5
40 of 51 found this review helpful
Since When Is ...
PostedFebruary 15, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromHow many reoccuring items can YOU find?
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
This may sound familiar: People disappearing, bad guys in medieval masks and long robes, translucent collectibles and morphs, and a talking artifact that needs to be fed some item to talk to you!
Since when is a copycat game a good thing? Apparently it happens when you use the same gimmick for games in different series as long as you put them out every two weeks or so! You can use as much or as little of the previous games as you want because no one will notice. (Or we aren't supposed to see it.)
Two weeks ago we had a Living Legends game with a clock that demanded crystal tears and now an artifact that wants crystal tears - red this time. You start the game as you are arriving from a journey and recap for the player what they need to know - just like the Living Legends game - and shortly you are being chased by the bad guys, an evil order of masked and robed artists instead of the evil Cinderella of Living Legends.
I kept having a sense I'd done this before - and we have!
After complaining for so long about copycat games, someone has figured out a way to put a spin on it to make it seem like a good thing! Not just for this game, but for multiple series' games!
After complaining for so long about copycat games, someone has figured out a way to put a spin on it to make it seem like a good thing! Not just for this game, but for multiple series' games!
So we have an average game with much that is overly familiar. I'm trying to talk myself into buying the new "spin," but not having much luck.
Please play the demo. If this is your very first 4 Friends/ Friendly Fox game, you may find it different.
Please play the demo. If this is your very first 4 Friends/ Friendly Fox game, you may find it different.
I don't recommend this game.