kateblue222's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.5
- Helpful Votes:3,417
- Reviews Submitted:179
- First Review:May 6, 2014
- Most Recent Review:July 28, 2024
- Featured reviews0
Status:
The shadow of the Jabberwocky, a terrifying fantasy creature glides above Wonderland! Help Alice restore peace and harmony back to the land!
Overall rating
5
/
5
26 of 27 found this review helpful
Five stars for being different and beautiful
PostedJune 29, 2015
kateblue222
fromSecond star to the right and straight on 'til morning
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I’m rating this game a little higher than it deserves because it is so beautiful and different. Despite the annoyances listed below, I want to go on playing because I want to know what happens. I will be waiting for a sale, though, so this review is based upon the demo period.
The game is beautiful, as I said. Although the characters are not. The white rabbit looks particularly creepy. But the backgrounds, the scenery! I just want to keep gazing at this game. It's so pretty, and I love the artist's style. Such a nice change from all the dark and gloomy games.
Also, it is good that the plot, though based on “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass,” is different from the books. It's derived from the characters and possible situations that could happen after the books are over. Alice is called back to Wonderland to help because the Jabberwock has escaped.
The HOS weren’t as annoying to me as they usually are because, though cluttered, they weren’t just “junk piles.” For example, in a shop, there were mostly things that would be in shelves in a shop. Also the mini games were fun and unique, at least as far as I got.
Just so I don’t mislead anyone, here’s my list of annoyances:
1. Hints are not helpful. At one point, I thought I was going to have to quit because I was supposed to “Find the wild raspbird in the forest to free the rabbit.” The hint told me to find it over and over again. (I was more persistent in this game than I usually am when I get stuck and the hints don’t help because I thought the game was so beautiful. Usually I just quit a game that leaves me stranded.) Anyway, maybe I am just slow, but it turned out I already HAD the raspbird in inventory. I just didn’t recognize it for what it was—I thought it was some sort of a little toy on a stick or something. Also, it was unclear where the “forest” was.
2. Because the hints were so unhelpful, it would have been better if they reloaded more quickly.
3. Things operated oddly. For example, you had to already have the bread-and-butterfy net in your hand to get to where the bread-and-butterflies were.
4. Instead of sparkles, there were these big semi translucent icons cluttering up the joint. Arrows, a big eye, a magnifying glass. These icons distracted from the beautiful artwork.
5. Clicking seemed picky at times. You had to click right where something was supposed to be sometimes, but it wasn’t always clear from the graphics where the sweet spot was.
6. Click penalty—I hate these, and it was particularly annoying here where you had to click on fast moving pieces in a puzzle. I had to click over and over just to complete the puzzle.
7. The music was also annoying. I had to turn it off.
8. In order to start playing when you return to the game, you click “Play" and are returned to your profile. You then click on the profile to start. Confusing.
9. There are all these pocket watches scattered about. But they don’t DO anything when you click on them. They should be collectable.
10. Be aware--the little Cheshire cat faces that give the Lewis Carroll facts don’t come back. I am hoping that all those fun facts will be listed somewhere at the end of the game. My brain couldn’t retain them because I wasn’t in a mind set to be learning anything. After all, I was in the middle of playing a game!
Yes, it is an odd game. But oddly satisfying. Try it.
I recommend this game!
A reclusive star's darkest secrets are coming to light.
Overall rating
3
/
5
7 of 10 found this review helpful
Game's lack of clarity is fatal to a five start rating from me
PostedJune 28, 2015
kateblue222
fromIndianapolis, IN
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure, Word
Current Favorite:
Plants vs Zombies
(329)Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Many have already described the features of Final Cut Film Fatale CE, so I will not repeat them. I write instead to describe my increasing annoyance with the game as I worked my way through it. I have played the entire game, including the bonus, (which was an unconnected story except for a couple of characters, not too long, but long enough.)
Don’t get me wrong, the game is beautiful and has some great mini games and HO scenes. And I actually left the music on, which I often cannot stand to do.
It’s been hard to articulate exactly why this game fell short, particularly since I was recently saying it was my current favorite. But it began to wear on me after a while.
In fact, I would buy and play the game over again despite the annoyances I have finally decided to describe as a lack of clarity by the developers, which were fourfold.
In fact, I would buy and play the game over again despite the annoyances I have finally decided to describe as a lack of clarity by the developers, which were fourfold.
To explain what I mean, I use examples from the beginning of the game.
1. Confusing Story. The game is a mystery, but the questions to be answered are not clear, and they definitely change during the game. I’m not a person who generally cares too much about the story in a game like this, but the lack of clarity here detracted from playability. For one thing, there was no journal or any other method of being able to go back and figure out what was going on. In the CE, you could go look at the movies again, but I wonder, for those who buy the SE, how they will ever figure out the story (if they want to).
The first film shows an actor named Audrey talking on the phone to an actor we don’t see named Veronica. Then something happens to Audrey, but we don’t know what. Next, a second film shows an unidentified woman hiring a detective to find out what her “friend” is hiding, stating that it must be something big. Well, if they are friends, why hire a detective? So I think this woman is the bad guy—I mean she’s hiring a detective to spy on her "friend," right? I never did figure out if she was a bad guy or maybe a partially a bad guy. It was all very unclear, though it turns out the this second woman is Veronica, the actor Audrey was talking to on the phone. Later, there are other people who seems to be badder guys. Plus, there's a man who I never did figure out--why he was even necessary, and was he good, or bad? He seemed to be both, at first a good guy, then not so good.
2. Minigame instructions. Some of the mini games had what I considered to be unclear directions. (HOS’s were clear and had some interesting features, though.) Minigames are my favorite part of these HOPA games, but I had to skip several because I just didn’t understand what to do from the directions. Then, after a puzzle solved itself, I went, “Oh, so that’s what they meant!” (So it’s a good thing I get to play them all over again from the Extra Features menu!) For example, there was a game with colored wires where you are supposed to "Recreate the symbols from the diagram. Connect the symbol parts using the colored wires.” But you could not attach the wires to the symbols. And there were many nearby circular holes you could put the ends of the wires in. I still haven’t figured that one out.
3. What’s next? I often could not tell. There is a map with active areas marked, and the hint button will give you an arrow to follow if you are in a place with no actions available. But sometimes I would go to the active area and still not be able to tell what to do.
4. Clicking too picky. Here’s an example from the second scene. You try to put a glass of water on the table in front of the girl who wanted it and it falls back into your inventory. But if you click on her face while holding the water, it settles itself down on the table in front of her. After she drinks it, she says. “Now, let me verify your pass. Here, take this and welcome to the festival.” But you can’t give her the pass to be verified until you “take this” (a map) even though she asked for your pass before she says “take this.” Next, the "take this" map opens up, obscuring the girl. If you click the “x" in the top corner to close the map, it just backs you out of the close up where the girl is sitting, and when you come back in, the map is still in the way. You have to click on the map and then it falls down to the bottom left of the screen for later use. After you finally get the map out of the way, you still can’t actually give the pass directly to the girl. If you try, it just falls back into your inventory. Instead, you must put it in a box that has opened in front of her.
None of these things bothered me at first, I just kept clicking away. But as the game continued, the annoyances continued. Halfway through, I was ready for it to be over. I ended up using the hint button pretty constantly. In fact, I used it so much, I was sorry the recharge time wasn't shorter than 10 seconds.
Though I still think the game was worth playing, there are lots of games out there that are more finely crafted and therefore not so annoying.
It is beautiful though, and the music is nice. Try it, I hope you like it.
I recommend this game!
There’s a secret in Queen Elizabeth’s court, and you must uncover it.
Overall rating
4
/
5
20 of 32 found this review helpful
Great games and HOPs but you can't ever play them again
PostedJune 25, 2015
kateblue222
fromIndianapolis, IN
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Other reviews here tell how wonderful this game is so I will not repeat all their excellent information. I rate this game lower for two reasons only. And I cannot recommend it for one of those reasons. I will be buying the SE instead. But I will DEFINITELY be buying that.
1) The story seems false to me. Too many things don't ring true. A very few examples are, the coach breaks a wheel and the coachman seems to believe it is serious, yet the coach continues to move forward at a rapid rate. Later, another episode with the coach results in the coachman riding off with the horse. What happened there? And though I agree the Francis Drake character is charming, I don't think that the relationship is one that would exist historically. Plus, why is the heroine a "maid of honor?" Isn't that a wedding thing? Shouldn't it be "lady in waiting" instead?"
While these things may seem to be quibbles, the story here is pretty prominent and very wordy. It needs to not jar the player.
Because of these things and others, I was not able to get into that immersive mindset that games must achieve to really be superlative. Perhaps if it had been more of a fantasy setting, they would not have bothered me so much. Like, the coachman could have "magicked" the wheel somehow, making the fast forward movement more sensible.
2) These are great puzzles. And these are great hidden object games. I don't really even like hidden object parts of theses games that much, I like the adventure and puzzle parts much better, but I loved these. The problem is, you cannot ever play them again. I am confused about why developers don't always put in a menu in the CE bonus and extras to allow you to play the mini games and puzzles again. And if this is not present, I will buy the SE instead.
Well, unless there's a two-for-one sale, maybe.
(Oh, yes, obviously, because I am not buying the CE, this review is based upon playing the demo only.)
Conclusion--great gameplay but not good features. So despite my high opinion of the game, I cannot recommend it.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you help the City of Artists find their lost inspiration?
Overall rating
1
/
5
9 of 16 found this review helpful
CE games should always allow minigames to be played independently after the main game is over
PostedJune 24, 2015
kateblue222
fromIndianapolis, IN
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure, Word, Card & Board
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This is a beautiful game. I have played very little of it, but I already know I will buy the SE for that reason alone.
I rate this game so low because I think every CE game these days should allow you to play all the minigames afterwards. And this one doesn't, or at least you can't tell from the menus. That's my main deciding criteria . . . if I like a game and this feature is present, I will buy the CE. Devs take note!!
(And when I read reviews of CE games, I am mostly looking for info about the CE special features. Big Fish reviewers take note!!)
I will rate the SE after I play it. Stay tuned.
I don't recommend this game.
A warm hearth, children's laughter and adorable pets all await you in Holiday Jigsaw Easter!
Overall rating
5
/
5
10 of 11 found this review helpful
Pretty darn good jigsaw puzzle game.
PostedApril 5, 2015
kateblue222
fromIndianapolis, IN
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Arcade & Action, Adventure, Card & Board, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Plenty of pretty and interesting pictures with good ability to adjust them to your difficulty level. It was the pictures that convinced me I had to buy.
There are some "cons" despite my 5 star rating.
The game needs a little longer "snap" because you have to put the piece exactly where it needs to be in order to get it to lock in. This is hard for old elbows and eyes, and I can find no adjustment for this. It makes my mousing elbow hurt if I play too long.
Also, the box to put your spare pieces in won't hold them if you put two together. They fall back our onto the main playing surface. So that means, you must put the pieces you DON'T want to work on in there instead of the ones that you want to put together first. This is a bit awkward, IMHO.
Nonetheless, nice pictures and fun. And better mechanics that some jigsaw puzzle games I've tried. A definite buy, though not as good as Jigsaws Galore, the best jigsaw puzzle game ever--also available from Big Fish
I recommend this game!
From all-time classics to brand-new favorites, your solitaire is here.
Overall rating
1
/
5
24 of 28 found this review helpful
Arbitrary limits ruin Klondike
PostedAugust 12, 2014
kateblue222
fromIndianapolis, IN
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Witch Hunters: Full Moon Ceremony Collector's Edition
(47)Fun Factor
1
/
5
I have been looking for a solitaire game for my 93 year old mother ever since Mac systems got upgraded and the LavaCat freeware won't work any more. Well, I had high hopes, but unfortunately, this isn't it.
She only wants to play Klondike, she wants to page through the cards one at a time, and she wants to page through them over and over, until she decides she is stuck. And so do I.
This game has two versions of Klondike in it, and both will allow you to page through the cards one at a time so that's good (some games will only allow three at a time). But neither of them let you page through them more than twice. Why?
Paging through the deck is something that should be unlimited if that is what the player wants. You can limit yourself to twice if you want, but knowing that there is a black 8 to put on the red 9 if you could just turn the cards over one more time is frustrating.
Also, all the card faces are too artsy and thus hard to look at. There should be a plain set of card faces, or at least something not so antique. I have a friend who is legally blind. I have not asked him, but I bet he could not use any of these.
Developers, come on, think about it. Give the games the most flexible controls you can. That way, we can all get the gaming experience we want, personalized for us. Give us the flexibility of a real deck of cards.
Too bad about this one. There are a bunch of games in the package that I haven't tried, and now am not going to. I figure there are other arbitrary limitations in other games, and I don't wanna have to deal with them.
I don't recommend this game.
Witch Hunters: Full Moon Ceremony Collector's Edition
Defeat the evil witches and save the world from eternal darkness!
Overall rating
5
/
5
41 of 50 found this review helpful
A great way to spend a few hours
PostedAugust 9, 2014
kateblue222
fromIndianapolis, IN
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Witch Hunters: Full Moon Ceremony Collector's Edition
(47)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Maybe I am too new at playing these types of games, or maybe it's just because my favorite part is looking at pretty games, but I disagree with the negative reviewers. I found this game to be quite enjoyable after I decided to ignore the mini-movies.
Hidden object puzzles were not too annoying and many minipuzzles were excellent. I particularly liked playing pool, Being able to just go back and play the minipuzzles is a real bonus when I like them.
The artwork was beautiful.
I am torn about giving this four or five stars, but to offset some of the bad reviews, I will give it five. It was not as immersive as a true 5 star game where you get sucked in and suddenly it is three in the morning, but it kept my interest.
It seems that the negative reviews mostly complain of the story. Yes, the story is pretty stupid.
For one thing, the beginning leads you to believe that the game will require great actions on a large scale because the heroine has to "save the world" (as is usual in these games). But actually, the game is somewhat claustrophobic--you never leave the heroine's house and yard. (How scary can these witches be if they are only hanging around one house?)
And the little troll guy. I hated the little troll guy, too, just like many of the reviewers. But I am not really so much about the storyline, so I ignored him and skipped his little movies.
I actually laughed when there was a Tic Tac Toe game. I ignored the morphing objects because I am more of an adventure gamer than a HOS fan.
Other cons --
1) The music was over-dramatic and too orchestral for the theme. Wooden flutes playing spooky minor scales would have been more appropriate (and probably cheaper)
2) I hated the upstairs hall. You couldn't go straight forward--you had to move the cursor to the right or the left side all the time. Annoying.
3) As usual with these types of games, sometimes you have an object that should work to do something but it doesn't, or you just had an object that would work to do something, but it disappeared, or there was something in an HOS that would have worked, but it's not in inventory. These are pet peeves of mine, though, and it's not just this game.
1) The music was over-dramatic and too orchestral for the theme. Wooden flutes playing spooky minor scales would have been more appropriate (and probably cheaper)
2) I hated the upstairs hall. You couldn't go straight forward--you had to move the cursor to the right or the left side all the time. Annoying.
3) As usual with these types of games, sometimes you have an object that should work to do something but it doesn't, or you just had an object that would work to do something, but it disappeared, or there was something in an HOS that would have worked, but it's not in inventory. These are pet peeves of mine, though, and it's not just this game.
I totally forgot there was a bonus chapter until I started writing this review. I just ran the intro and it looks beautiful, so I am going to go play it right now.
I recommend this game!
Solve the mystery that spooked a young girl into silence!
Overall rating
2
/
5
27 of 35 found this review helpful
It just could not keep my interest
PostedAugust 9, 2014
kateblue222
fromIndianapolis, IN
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Witch Hunters: Full Moon Ceremony Collector's Edition
(47)Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I played it for 56 minutes, as it turns out. Then I decided I was too bored and quit. I almost made it through the free hour! But I wish I had my 56 minutes back.
I really liked the music. Usually I turn music off, but I liked this. The art was ok, clear, but not that pretty, and way too dark and grey in a couple of spots. (I am one of those people that like the pink and purple and blue and green games. I figure why not? It's pretty and happy and therefore more fun than a depressing-looking game.)
If you like the hidden object part of these games, some of these are different (and better I think). In some of the games, you find an object and then put it back where it belongs. For example, glasses in the glasses case. In one, you have carried objects in inventory to the hidden object location and you put them where they belong, along with finding some hidden objects in the more normal way. And there seem to be more hidden objects that need more than one step. The whole process requires more thought than usual.
I liked the minigames, too. They seemed a little more complicated than most. The minigames, and the placing of items into hidden object scenes, kept me playing as ling as I did.
Unfortunately, these puzzles were not enough to keep me interested. After 56 minutes, I had still only investigated six (I think) locations. Part of the reason for this was that the hint button took a long time, a minute or maybe more, to recharge, even on casual. Because I use a lot of hints--my real interest is walking around and looking at the pretty pictures and playing the minigames--this was way too slow a recharge for me.
The hint button did always offer you locations where there was something to do if you were somewhere where there was nothing to do. I would have quit much sooner if it had not.
But the hint button was not much help in many cases. I can't remember many examples now, but the one that made me quit was the task of entering a computer password. I had no idea what the password was, yet the hint kept telling me that was the next step. There was no object to pick up in that closeup of the computer. I couldn't figure out why it kept taking me there. So I went to the Strategy Guide, but I got tired of paging through it to figure out what I had done and what I hadn't. The pictures in those strategy guides are always so darn small! That's when I quit.
The characters' discussions at the beginning and movies were not interesting or pretty, either. And the cursor did not operate properly during those times, so it was hard to skip them. Sometimes during gameplay I had a bit of trouble clicking on the right spot, too.
Another thing that kept me playing was the promise of jigsaw puzzles, even simple ones. I believe this might be a collector's edition feature. There was a gallery of paintings, and when you found all the pieces you got to put the painting together. I love jigsaw puzzles--(l loved one game recently where you got to play them instead of the hidden object puzzles). But jigsaw puzzles alone are not enough to convince me to buy. I never did get to put one together because I never found a complete set of puzzle pieces, and the game will not allow you to put a puzzle together partially.
Really, my recollection of this game is of waiting a lot while listening to pleasant music. Sort of like a doctor's office waiting room, or an elevator experience.
Try it. It has some interesting features. It is just too slow for me.
I don't recommend this game.
Find mystery, magic, and romance in this Hidden Object game! Play as Dela Reese and escape China with the love of your life.
Overall rating
1
/
5
7 of 7 found this review helpful
Eyestrain, mostly
PostedMay 6, 2014
kateblue222
fromIndianapolis, IN
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Arcade & Action, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
In order to explain why I do not recommend this game, I do describe some of the first scene. So slight spoiler.
It is too bad that my first Big Fish review has to be so negative.
First scene. You are in an alley lined with shops. You are looking for objects from the perspective of standing at the end of this alley. You cannot zoom in on any of the shops. So, because of the perspective, the objects’ sizes are from small to tiny. And I have a 27-inch monitor, so they are REALLY tiny.
Initially, you are looking for 5 gold statutes, which are not gold, but brown, 10 bladed weapons, which are dark gray and dark brown instead of metallic and shiny, and a very small gold key. The backgrounds of the shops are neutral colors, like brown. There are often overhanging archways/roofs that the shops sit under. And these overhangs make the neutral colored shop walls dark and shadowed. So, the items you are looking for are 1) tiny, 2) dark, 3) not the colors that their titles say they are, and 4) nestled into areas that are similar colors.
Even though I prefer hidden object puzzles where you find related or similar objects as opposed to a whole list of unconnected things, this was no fun, only eyestrain. I would never have found the key, even, if the game had not gratuitously offered me a hint that I could pick up useful objects and pointed a bouncing arrow at the key as an example of such an object.
Also, the click penalty is more annoying than most. Bad planning, I think, when objects are practically invisible. And the hint system is one of those ones where you start with some hints and earn more (very slowly) as you go along. I used three hints in the first round, and you only start with five.
Plus, objects did not look the way I expected. For example, sheet music was rolled up like a scroll. I knew where that roll was, but did not recognize it as sheet music, and so wasted a hint to find it.
Second scene. When you complete the first round, you are whisked away to a discussion with an old Chinese woman who promises items you can obtain to help in your quest (whatever that was supposed to be, I never did figure that out.) “Oh, good,” I thought. But instead, I was taken back to the same exact alley from the exact same perspective as before to look for the objects the old Chinese woman promised. That, fellow gamers, was it for me.
Unfortunately, I bought this game on one of the 5-minute special deals. I think I better not indulge in those deals any more even though I did look the other reviews here before I bought it. After playing, I am surprised at the overall high rating of 4. Deleted.
I don't recommend this game.