SynthpopAddict's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.8
- Helpful Votes:2,361
- Reviews Submitted:69
- First Review:November 20, 2011
- Most Recent Review:April 23, 2019
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Solve a series of devious puzzles to escape Arcana manor and uncover the dark secrets of the mysterious magician once lived there.
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
4.5 Stars - The Most Fun I've Had In a Long Time Getting Totally Mind Blown!
PostedApril 23, 2019
SynthpopAddict
fromHome on Derange
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
[review based upon completed game]
Pros: really cleverly crafted puzzles, great atmospheric graphics and music, non-obtrusive dialog, built in walkthrough and other extras (and in an SE!)
Cons: if you want everything handed to you in your games...leave the mansion now!
This is easily one of the best games I've ever played for how compelling it was - I literally spent all my free time outside of work playing until I completed the game in just a few days - sleep deprivation, missing my usual gym workouts, barely cooking anything - because I couldn't stop playing until I reached the end! This developer is new to PC games and really hit it out of the park with their first crack at making games which is truly amazing to me. If you are looking for HOS, don't bother as there are some hidden objects here and there to pick up, but this is all puzzles. If you've been playing casual games for a while you'll be taken down memory lane with the puzzle types you'll see. Not to worry, it's not totally 90s as the graphics and soundtrack are beautifully done and very atmospheric. I'm glad to see BFG changed their cautionary statement, as there is no graphic content to scare anyone nor is there any "explicit adult content", but there definitely is a lot of occult imagery which doesn't bother me; however I can understand how it's not for everyone. Loved how the storyline was worked into the game: instead of the usual cutscenes/voiceovers, you get Dr. Arcana's mysterious mask appearing here and there speaking to you just enough, and the rest of the story is worked into the rooms of the mansion as you're working on accessing the assorted puzzles.
The puzzles are varied and ingenious in their design and level of complexity. The difficulty is everything from pretty easy [if you get what the clue is telling you] to diabolically brain-straining, and there's a pretty good mix of hard and easy puzzles within each room of the mansion as you're going along, although there's a definite difficulty gradient that increases as you go higher up in the mansion. The very final underground room you access is either an awesome example of puzzles within puzzles, or a hair-pulling hard fiendish trap as you will have to solve a puzzle even to get the clue to be able to get into the rest of the room. Something I noticed while playing was the assorted clues and objects to collect weren't always needed right away - sometimes you won't be using them for quite a long while as you might have to do several rooms elsewhere before you can get to the spot where you need a particular object or clue. The clues themselves start becoming little puzzles of their own late in the game which I thought was truly clever. There are no sparkles or other giveaway hints so even early on you'll need to engage your gray matter. The in-game journal is great for checking on your found clues especially when you finally reach a puzzle for which you found the assorted clue or HO several rooms ago, but I'd recommend writing down other tidbits you come across in a notebook.
If you get stuck, there's a built-in walkthrough, but even if you only play for a little while, you'll notice Dr. Arcana has a dark, biting humor in his commentary. He saves his best shots for the walkthrough, which is a work of art IMO with how he ranges from patronizing, miffed, and very mockingly sarcastic. I actually read through the entire walkthrough after finishing the game just because I found it hilarious, but if you're one who's easily hurt and needs a lot of help to get through a game...this one isn't going to be for you.
There are even other extras which usually only appear in CE versions like being able to view all the artwork you've discovered in your travels, a music player, and hidden Easter eggs to find which don't affect the main gameplay, but those who have gaming OCD will be spending quite some time trying to discover all the hidden secrets. If you like to *really* be challenged in your games and want one where you can solve it with logic and not luck, I definitely recommend this! The only minor quibbles I have are that you can't replay the game on the same player once you've finished to try to improve your ranking or locate whatever missing artwork, journal entries, or secrets you missed, and some of the puzzles could have benefited from having an "undo" button instead of only a "reset" button. Oh, and don't press the Hint button as I found it nearly useless and it lowers your ranking when you've finished the game. These are really the only reasons I took half a star off my review.
I'm eagerly looking forward to more of this series. Puzzle lovers rejoice, you're seriously missing out if you haven't tried this game!
I recommend this game!
Embark on a journey through 180 totally new levels full of dragon scales magic!
Overall rating
4
/
5
14 of 15 found this review helpful
Nice installment, predecessor was a little better though
PostedJuly 16, 2018
SynthpopAddict
fromHome on Derange
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
[review based upon completed game]
Pros: untimed, steadier difficulty gradient than previous games in series, still not insanely hard
Cons: hanging storyline, repetitive
This installment of the DragonScales series is one long adventure mode of 18 levels, 10 boards per level [180 boards total]. The difficulty "selection" screen at the beginning is misleading because it represents your overall progress, not a mode of difficulty to play the whole game in. The difficulty level will go to the next one after every 6 levels completed.
There are a few new twists to the gameplay such as having more bonus items and powerups even being hidden, and some boards with spaces that move the scales placed upon them in a sequence, requiring careful timing of moves for setups. However, I found myself missing the battle boards from the last game, and playing becoming monotonous over long periods. The syndrome of having one really hard board somewhere in the middle of a bunch of easy/medium ones has been fixed. But I honestly couldn't appreciate much more difficulty in the "heroic" mode compared to the "normal" mode as all the boards this time around seem to have one "trick" to manage or solve compared to earlier games often having more than one problem to figure out in a board.
There is hardly any storyline at all this time around, and what is there leaves you hanging badly at the end, leaving me hoping there will be a sequel where they continue the story and flesh it out a bit more. I also miss the "there's a star here" text whenever there's a hidden star...hidden stars are now much easier to miss if you're not paying attention to the top of the screen!
I still love this series, but DS3 was better IMO for challenge and variety.
I recommend this game!
In Mundus: Impossible Universe, dynamic gameplay meets a captivating plot with a plethora of levels and unique match 3 variations to explore.
Overall rating
4
/
5
7 of 7 found this review helpful
Yes, it's *hard* but good if you give it a chance
PostedApril 5, 2018
SynthpopAddict
fromHome on Derange
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
[review based upon completed normal and easy modes]
Pros: cleverly designed levels and building elements, multiple language feature, zen [relaxed mode] implemented in latest update
Cons: normal mode is for the PROS! You've been warned!!!
221 levels with assorted goals and three difficulty levels [normal limited moves, easy with more moves, and zen unlimited moves]. The building element looks sort of ho-hum at first but if you spend time watching the animations it's quite amusing. Too bad "upgrades" remove many of the things as you go along! Soundtrack did nothing for me so I shut if off almost immediately although I usually play games with music on. Crisp, easy to see playing tiles. There is an opening "storyline" video when you open the game for the very first time, but otherwise there is no story at all. I liked that you can change the game's language in the options; that's something you don't see often and I didn't notice any typos or other errors in the Swedish version at least.
Even if you're an experienced M3 player, be prepared to have to replay levels a lot if playing in the normal mode. The moves counter is set very tightly and appears unfair in a handful of levels. For such a well designed game otherwise, this is the only thing I feel the developer didn't consider well. There are a few timed levels here and there in which the timer isn't very generous either. Easy mode is quite doable for experts, but average players will still be challenged. This is not a game where you can buy your way out of levels all the time with extra moves or powerups, so you have to carefully manage your gold supply if you don't want to get hopelessly stuck later on. Bottom line: if you don't like having to redo levels all the time, stick with playing in zen or easy depending on your skill level. It'll grow on you if you don't let frustration get the better of you!
I recommend this game!
A Canary is lost! Assist a grandmother and her funny cat Leonardo on their investigation into the mysterious kidnapping.
Overall rating
2
/
5
10 of 11 found this review helpful
Flying Fish Quest is a better clone of this
PostedJanuary 10, 2018
SynthpopAddict
fromHome on Derange
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
[review based on completed game]
Pros: really challenging, only 25% of game is cloned from elsewhere
Cons: eyestrain factor, limited moves only, horrible story and HOS, minor tech issues
When I first demoed this several months ago I wasn't willing to buy due to the dark green tiles against the dark background being hard to pick out. Desperate for a M3 fix I finally took the chance. This is the least cute looking of all the games Intersol's done which I don't mind as all their games are definitely for adults [the cartoonish graphics in their other games are deceiving]. Definitely not much of a nannying factor here either once you get past the first few levels with very basic instructions. Why they continue to include the extreme basics on how to make matches and not provide many hints on the real secrets to playing well mystifies me. The difficulty curve is pretty steep with the moves counter getting pretty tight by around level 55 of the 210 levels.
I will say that *most* of the levels are new, which is great considering how much this developer copies levels over and over in all their games. However, the HOS introduced here are terrible with really tiny, often mis-named or oddly shaped items to find. I noticed a glitch with one HOS where one item didn't appear unless the game was set in windowed mode. The storyline is a complete disaster - even giving the devs a break for not being native English speakers, the story barely makes any sense.
I noticed a minor glitch with the game closing on me if I toggled between fullscreen and windowed mode, and this would also sometimes occur when turning off powerups or trying to replay levels.
I'd bought and completed Flying Fish Quest, which I think is the next game Intersol released after Mystery Loss and even though FFQ is pretty much Mystery Loss minus the HOS, much prefer FFQ over this for its better interface and easier to see graphics [even if they went back to the kiddie look]. To sum up, great for a M3 challenge and a *relatively* new game, but even the cute ghost voices aren't enough for me to recommend it with the other issues.
A once beautiful and bright lagoon has gone dark. Help underwater characters find the culprit in this match 3 adventure!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
If you don't mind it being mostly Mystery Loss all over again...
PostedJanuary 10, 2018
SynthpopAddict
fromHome on Derange
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
[review based upon completed game]
Pros: extremely cute graphics/animation, good challenge level
Cons: pretty much exactly the same as other games by this developer with using exact same levels, limited moves only, can't make moves all the time
When I first played this, I thought Intersol had only copied the first third of the game from all their earlier ones. Upon later buying and playing Mystery Loss all the way through, it turns out it's more like 75% of this game is a straight up copy with the first 50 or so levels being cloned from early Intersol games and most of the second two thirds being copied from Mystery Loss. I will say the fish and their animations are so cute that I would often stop playing just to watch them instead. The map with occasional HO to find interface Intersol typically uses was brought back for Flying Fish Quest along with easy to see playing tiles which I much prefer compared to Mystery Loss' dark playing tiles, odd map interface, and horribly done HOS. The storyline is also much better, although I noticed a glitch at the very end of the game where I couldn't see the very end of the story. :(
As with pretty much everything else this developer's done, it's limited moves only and you have to carefully plan your moves and combine your powerups strategically to do well. There's also still some of that waiting factor with not being able to make moves constantly and having to wait for all your bonus points to rack up at the end of every level but the design seems to be slightly improved from very early games so that extremely long cycles of powerups going off by themselves don't occur anymore upon finishing a level.
I'm glad I didn't play Mystery Loss first before getting to Flying Fish Quest or else I would have been really bored with all the identical levels. If you don't have either game and are trying to decide between the two, I'd go with the fish. Even though this looks like a shorter game at 150 levels compared to ML's 210, you're not missing anything and this game is way easier on the eyes with a much more coherent story.
Join the snails on an around-the-world trip to find their missing friend in their latest hidden object adventure!
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
It's only *half* a new game :(
PostedNovember 24, 2017
SynthpopAddict
fromHome on Derange
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
[review based on completed game]
Pros: super cute graphics, good challenge level
Cons: limited moves only, can't make moves all the time, second half of game is cloned from previous games
I have nearly all of this developer's games and enjoy that they're all extremely cute and challenging. Pretty Snails 2 is no different in that regard. The first 20 levels were toned way down in difficulty here, but the learning curve picks up rapidly with level 21. There are 150 levels to play and a decent storyline to follow. The HOs aren't really hidden in this game since they are typically huge and obvious. Still not a lot of instructions on how to play or giveaways on the game's secrets [you still have to figure out the tricks of combining powerups on your own].
An improvement from the first game is that you can create player profiles now so can replay without doing a file folder workaround. Still no relaxed mode which I wouldn't use anyway, but can see that being a deal breaker for some as the game gets really hard.
I enjoyed the first Pretty Snails so much that I bought PS2 with 28 minutes left on the demo. Sadly I discovered that by around level 80 all the levels were copies of ones that appeared in previous games. Not only that, many of the levels were taken from the first Pretty Snails, and one level even appears twice within 10 or so levels! I'm tired of clones of games from this dev and am glad I didn't pay full price for half a game this time around. Worth it if you like hard M3s and don't have anything else by this dev, otherwise pass on it. With them copying more and more in every game, I'm probably going to pass on anything "new" from them from now on.
Gather balls of the same color in increasingly difficult levels in this action brain teaser.
Overall rating
3
/
5
4 of 6 found this review helpful
Remain calm and pop on
PostedSeptember 11, 2017
SynthpopAddict
fromHome on Derange
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
[review based on completed game]
Pros: easy to see marbles, more challenge than the first game, no timers or move counters
Cons: challenge level tops out around level 25, still no frills at all
Another 150 levels of stationary marble popping puzzles as in the first ClearIt. You still need to only match 2 marbles to pop them, and there are never more than 4 colors in a level. The powerups are now randomly placed in the marbles or playing area instead of appearing along the sides. The levels are a bit more tricky with many of them having marbles go all the way to the edges of the playfield to limit your available shooting area and/or having sneakier placements of brick walls. There is also a new anti-powerup which adds marbles into the playfield if you don't avoid it. The difficulty curve pretty much stopped at level 25 IMO with only a handful of the very last levels being a little harder than that.
The interface is extremely minimalistic - the game background never changes and just like the first game there are no frills at all. I couldn't stand the soundtrack and shut the music off almost immediately. Don't know if it was just me or a quirk of the game, but I noticed that after playing 15-20 levels some of the powerups would stop appearing and would not come back until I closed the game and reopened it.
I didn't find any of the levels mind-bendingly hard even with lacking powerups on occasion, and with the game just going to the next level immediately after finishing one, playing started to feel more like an endurance chillout contest after a while. It's OK for just wanting to relax, but I would have liked a bit more challenge or at least a bit more of a break in between levels to mix things up a little. Try before you buy to see if this is for you.
Mystery awaits in this Match-3 puzzle adventure! Special tools transform the board, giving you the power to change your game in new ways.
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Liked the first one more
PostedSeptember 6, 2017
SynthpopAddict
fromHome on Derange
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
[review based upon completed limited moves game]
Pros: good challenge level and storyline, lots of powerups, casual/limited move options
Cons: graphics downgraded from previous game, slightly clunky play action
100 levels with endless mode unlocking after you finish. This game is a continuation of Antique Shop: Lost Gems Egypt with the conclusion of the storyline begun in that game. The game now picks the powerups for you at the beginning of each level instead of you having the choice, which is sometimes frustrating. There is also the added twist of some powerups not working on certain spots of boards. I only played the limited moves mode, which starts out really easy for the first 30 levels but gets seriously hard by the time you get to level 60 or so.
There are 3 different graphics settings but I didn't see much of a difference between them. To me the visual quality looks poorer than in Lost Gems Egypt, and it was hard for me to distinguish yellow/green and pink/red bombs. The soundtrack is quite atmospheric and well done, as was the story. I didn't have the tech issues some players have reported in the game forum, but did notice a slight clunkiness in moving the tiles while using the Frenzy powerup - sometimes it seemed like the tiles wouldn't move unless I dragged on them twice.
The levels start getting repetitive after the first 50 levels because for some reason you no longer have to collect "lost gems" after the halfway point, only clear tiles. I have to wonder if the 1 million gems trophy was a programming error as it appears one would have to replay the entire game around 30 times on the same profile to win it. The rest of the trophies are also of the "playing long enough" sort but are attainable in one run through the game. Not a bad sequel, but didn't pull me in as much as the first game.
Help find the kidnapped owl pupils in this Match 3 adventure!
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
"We Ran Out of Ideas"
PostedAugust 15, 2017
SynthpopAddict
fromHome on Derange
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
[review based on completed game]
Pros: cute graphics/music, good challenge, powerups readily available, a few new features as compared to earlier games by this developer
Cons: no playing instructions, limited moves only, can't make moves all the time, all levels starting at level 105 are cloned from earlier games
If you haven't played either Penguin Rescue or Pretty Snails, this game is the best of those games. 150 levels with some additional features added into the first 100 levels of the game. The powerups are also more readily available and you can now create separate player profiles and restart the game over and over without having to do a file folder workaround.
For some reason, there are no playing instructions, so if you don't like to figure out what all the powerups do on your own or you haven't played any other games from this dev you'll likely get confused since it's limited moves all the time. A key part of the strategy is to use the powerups carefully and also to combine them for better effects at the right time.
I found the interface and music really cute, but the music is on a short loop and got monotonous after a while, so I ended up shutting it off about halfway through the game. However, my biggest disappointment with the game was finding that all the levels after 105 are exactly the same as in Penguin Rescue and Pretty Snails! I can't figure out the logic behind this, as it would have been much better to simply end the game after 105 levels if there wasn't going to be anything new by that point. I made myself finish the game, but am not going back to get all the rest of the stars since I pretty much know how to do it already. If you don't have the earlier games, this is definitely worth a look, but if you do have the other ones, it's up to you whether you want to keep on doing the same thing. I'm keeping quiet on the "recommend" button.
The birds and cats are back in an all-new puzzle adventure!
Overall rating
4
/
5
12 of 13 found this review helpful
4.5 stars - A little overdesigned IMO but still fun.
PostedAugust 13, 2017
SynthpopAddict
fromHome on Derange
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
[review based upon completed game]
Pros: really challenging puzzles, updated trophies, new level goals, updated move mechanics
Cons: *really* challenging puzzles, playing fields often dark
I loved the first 2 Claws and Feathers games and couldn't wait to get this one. The move mechanic has been changed so you now make 2 clicks in order to move things around instead of dragging...would like to thank the developer for that, as it's much easier on my carpal tunnel. :) It's enjoyable if you like puzzle solving, but several of the levels, especially the ones where you have to solve in X number of moves for the gold medal, seem a bit overdesigned. I have to wonder about some of the level goals near the end of the game as well, as some seem more designed to frustrate the player than be fun.
About half of the "planets" the birds travel to feature boards with rather dark playing spaces, which made it hard for me to tell what was a hole and what was a playing space. The birds' quips in between levels are still amusing, but the storyline overall didn't make me chuckle as much as the ones in the earlier games.
I did enjoy playing (most of the time) and hope the developer continues to make more games in this series, but would like to see more of the fun factor brought back for future games. I'll recommend this, but only if you really want a challenge.
I recommend this game!