DragonsBayne's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.3
- Helpful Votes:100
- Reviews Submitted:19
- First Review:August 9, 2012
- Most Recent Review:October 24, 2018
- Featured reviews0
Experience the world of top fashion! As the new assistant at Fashion Forever Magazine, everyday life is full of glamour for Julia!
Overall rating
2
/
5
6 of 10 found this review helpful
Could've Been Better
PostedJune 1, 2013
DragonsBayne
fromSo. Cali.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Storyline: So you're a new assistant for a fashion designer and her secretary. So you're like the secretary for the secretary. You have to do odds jobs and sort schedules etc.., etc... so you don't get fired. Isn't there a movie about this?
Graphics: Cartoony and colorful. Cute, but reminds me of how a little girl's room would be painted. It does presents some obstacles though. Some items are colored like the backgrounds but a fraction darker, just so you can make out its silhouette. If you relax your eyes a bit and don't strain too much you can make it out. But if you're playing for relaxation, it kind of defeats the purpose.
Sound: I don't listen to it because I play games at late at night when my husband sleeps. So I keep it off to not disturb him.
Fun: Cute fun but not enough to hold adults over. Maybe kids. I'm thinking 5 to maybe 11 year olds. Something for grandparents to do with their grandkids. Along that line. Because some puzzles may require and adult to help.
Fun: Low, but kids may like it better.
Gameplay: It can be frustrating because some items will be behind others. For example, I had to find a roller brush. I didn't see it right away. It was behind a row of seats, that you would find in an auditorium, and I thought it was a handlebar. Oh yeah, did I mention that this game is completely hand-drawn? So some items were not drawn precisely, I guess would be how I'd describe it. Also some items did not look like what they wanted. I had to find a muzzle, but this muzzle was actually a mask worn around the mouth. I don't know about you but the first thing I think of is what you use to curb a dog's bark. Another object was to find a harlequin, which was actually a jester's hat. I knew that once I figured out that there wasn't anything else to fit the description in the scene. But a child might not. And yet another object to find was a lion. No, not a standard African safari lion but it was actually the head of a chinese lion/dragon thing.
Challenge: Just your standard HOS, which can be a little difficult because of the shading of the objects blending into the same colors. There are mini logic puzzles, and I call them mini because you are presented with notes that you have to fill in a timeline on a sheet of paper. You drag these notes into specific spots by reading the clues so you can arrange them appropriately. I had a little trouble with mouse sensitivity. I thought dragging the note into the outline would be enough but I had to make sure the tip of the cursor was in the right spot or it wouldn't drop.
The beginning scene drove me bonkers because there was a mini tutorial that would keep popping up describing the functions or what to do. As I was searching, I'd finally click an object only to get a pop-up note explaining how I can use hints or skip or what to do with objects when I found them. The hint button recharges at a medium speed. I am not one to use hint buttons, walkthroughs or skips but since I couldn't make out some items because they were behind others I used it. Of course it would be on the last two or three items so I'd wait until it recharged which felt kind of lagging.
Dialogue: There is no VO's. You can read or skip. Which is nice.
I'd recommend this for kids but not adults. Or for family's who like to work together on things like this but don't want anything dark or demonic.
I don't recommend this game.
Master Wu and the Glory of the Ten Powers
Let Master Wu and the glorious sword of the 10 powers take you on a Hidden Object adventure through ancient China!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Not Bad
PostedMay 31, 2013
DragonsBayne
fromSo. Cali.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I only played about 30 minutes of the demo, but I plan to play more and possibly buy.
There is a little story that is in the beginning before you start the game. It travels upwards like what they do for movies, but if you don't want to read it you can click the screen to move on.
The graphics are not the best. The are a bit grainy and some blurring around the edges. But they're cute and not cluttered.
There isn't much of a challenge to the HOS. Some items are small but they are easily recognizable because the scenes are not cluttered. You can chose to play timed or not which is at the player sign in screen.
The minigames are simple and doesn't require too much thinking. For example, one puzzle had a safe with two knobs and four numbers corresponding to each knob with four lights below them. You had a piece of paper with four numbers for reference. You had to find the right combination of numbers that added up to each one on that paper. I think the first number was 20, so you click the each dial until you have two that equal twenty, press a button and if it's correct the first light below would light up green. You just rinse and repeat. Another puzzle had me matching elements such as fire, water, soil, etc.. to the corresponding circles on a piece of paper. Not too hard since the arrows were colored accordingly.
There was a mini tutorial at the beginning but it didn't hold your hand. Boxes popped up pointing to the different parts of the screen explaining their key points. You can just click through them without reading if you choose.
The thing that threw me off was the girl who popped up once in each scene to give you a brief dialogue which you can read or skip by clicking. She was a cartoon but the scenes were real. It was weird seeing the two combined.
I found this game relaxing. I think this would be good for beginners because there isn't much complexity but advanced players who want a break may find this relaxing to kick back if they feel like fooling around outside of the box.
I recommend this game!
A thrilling Hidden Object game full of intrigue and mystery, stunning environments and visual effects, investigative tools and cunning puzzles.
Overall rating
3
/
5
17 of 18 found this review helpful
Nothing to Keep You Here nor There
PostedMay 31, 2013
DragonsBayne
fromSo. Cali.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I only played 10 minutes of the demo and I was bored. But I think it might be a good game for beginners. Or torture for advanced players. Could go either way.
You play as detective Carrie Chase and it's your first day and of course you get a case right away. This affluent fashion designer is strangled to death while driving and crashes into a telephone pole. You and the chief start to investigate. The chief apparently likes to hear himself talk and doesn't listen to what others say. Chase gets a few words in here and there but only if they pertain to the subject he's talking about. The characters have more character than the HOS.
The graphics are grainy and outdated with the shadowy parts making some parts of the scenes dark. Some items were really small and hard to find. The first HOS I played wanted me to find 5 ammo. Since this was taking place in the detective's office, it was easy to know you had to look for bullets. What they don't tell you is that it can be ANY type of bullet. They don't all look the same and they are all tiny.Another problem I had was I had to find two red pens. Seems easy enough except that they were small and you had to click them in a specific spot before the game recognized you were clicking the pen. For example, the first pen I found I clicked on the top part of the pen. No problem. The second pen, I clicked on the top and it didn't register. I click again, still nothing. I click on the middle bottom edge and FINALLY it reacts! Kind of irritating especially since the scenes are timed. I don't mind time limits, but only if I didn't have to find a needle in the haystack with a few objects.
I usually don't listen to the sound because I play late at night before I go to bed and I turn the sound off so I don't disturb my husband. But I did hear the opening and it irritated me before I turned the sound off. Something about it just didn't seem to scream fashion murder mystery with it.
The level of challenge is finding some objects. Since the graphics are a bit fuzzy or items too small it could be easy or hard depending on how good your eyes AND patience are. Once you do find an object it pops up in the middle of your screen in a photograph for a couple of seconds before disappearing and marking off the item list. That I hated because it obscures your view, and since it's timed, I'm trying to look for the next object. Last thing I need it something to distract me.
The hint button also irritated me. It was like seeing an invisible UFO send down a beam of bright white light straight down the screen to highlight the edge of the object. By the time I got over my blindness, I still had to hunt in the general area to find the object. It's not the normal let's highlight it or encircle it with pretty glows. Nope, let's just make them go blind so they can waste more time fumbling to search for objects.
There is no tutorial. Which isn't needed. It's kind of entwined with the dialogue. There are no VO's. You read it. You can click to speed it up, but there's also a nice next button or cancel button so you can read it at your own leisure or skip it altogether.
This is a game I will NOT be buying. Might be good if you get it on sale though to kill time. But definitely not for advanced players. Like I said I got bored 10 minutes into the game.
I don't recommend this game.
Escape from Shady Pines and save the other patients! Explore the mysterious hospital and stop the psychotic doctor!
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
It's Different, Unusual Story
PostedApril 17, 2013
DragonsBayne
fromSo. Cali.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Storyline: It wasn't actually 100% clear. It was built off of a good premise but it doesn't really go into too much depth. Just enough to let you know there was something going on but not exactly what and and how it pertained to the main character because of the other characters. You wake up from a coma of three years in some shady place that you do not recognize.trying to make head or tails of your situation. You end up chasing this doctor around this "asylum" trying to find answers.
Graphics: Like someone else said not clear but wasn't sure whether that was supposed to be because of the story.
Sound: Can't comment, had it off because I play late at night and I don't like to disturb my husband sleeping.
Gameplay: I played it within 5 hours on Expert, but it can easily be beaten in less time.(I tend to get distracted because of my kids) The puzzles weren't all that challenging and there wasn't a variety. For example, with each patient you encounter you have to adjust the yellow wavelengths on their monitors to match the green wavelengths by adjusting the dials until they match, they will turn blue, then you can turn the handle to enter a dream state and solve puzzles pertaining to that character. Then you get an audiotape that gives you a bit more insight into what is going on.
You do have to travel back and forth between scenes to obtain items that you will need for the room you are in but they do not become available until you encounter that room. Such as I had to visit the garage at least three times I believe. I didn't know I needed an axe. Well first I had to get a key from another room that required that I get a hammer from yet another room to break this key out of a compartment, then later I had to go back to the garage to use the key to get the axe, then later I had to go back to the garage yet again to get an oil can to lubricate a door handle, etc... Kind of tedious in some ways.Why couldn't I have just gathered all the items in one go and then use them when I got to that area later?
The HOS weren't always clear. Most objects were hidden pretty well behind other objects. You might have the handle of some shears peeking out behind a tire and not even realize that they were shears until you decided to click just because you thought what the heck and got them out of sheer luck. In another scene there was a foggy window of a car that was supposed to be the rear windshield with objects decorating it. I couldn't find a compass and of course it was behind a teddy bear in the foggy window! There was at least on object from each scene like that. But it wasn't overly frustrating, just kind of made you go, oooookay....
It's not a bad game but I like the Haunted Halls games better. But by no means pass this one up. It has a happy ending. And it passes the night away in a relaxing way.
I recommend this game!
Discover a small village of fairy creatures and embark on a fascinating adventure! Help the inhabitants to restore their world!
Overall rating
4
/
5
8 of 8 found this review helpful
Quite Enamored with This!
PostedApril 13, 2013
DragonsBayne
fromSo. Cali.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
The graphics are beautiful and if you like mythical fantasy then you will love the visual appeal of this game.
I actually like the sound of this game. It was not harsh and fit this genre perfectly. It doesn't distract nor make you want to turn it off.
Storyline: You have inherited an antique gift shop from your grandfather that has a surprise left behind for you. There is a tree growing in the back and at the base of the tree is a tiny village that you must nurture back to it's "former splendour" because of something your grandmother did.
Gameplay: You have gnomes, dryads, leprechauns, etc... that have different skills that you need to utilize in order to restore the village. Some faery folk are better in certain skills (nature, knowledge, music or exploration) than others at first but you can train them in all areas if you so choose though you don't really need to. You do have to drag and drop your folk to do certain tasks or to move them around the map. The object is to rebuild the village by lifting the fog around the areas in the map by getting rid of wistful spirits who reside there, bringing back lost villagers by holding banquets (which I totally forgot about and actually made the game harder by not bringing the villagers back which could have helped me and made my game easier, but now I know), rebuilding certain areas that will help your village grow (questing), etc...
When you quit the game, your faery folk will still continue the task you assigned them until you open the game again. You can change the game speed to slowest or fastest (5 levels) though. What I would do is train my characters in certain skills or have them build something before I went to bed and by the time I played the game the next day, they were practically leveled up completely or done building. So you don't really have to babysit this game.
I found myself looking around at the village as I waited for my villagers to complete the tasks I gave them.
You earn Enchantment points by completing quests or completing collectibles. You can use those points to upgrade: Harvest (how fast you harvest food), Movement (how fast you move and how resilent you become to spirits), Enchantment (increases enchantment points you get), Morale (how characters affect others). It may seem like this doesn't help but it does later.
If you like games that you don't have to babysit and like to work at your own pace then this game is perfect. And if you forget about your game, they don't die which is a plus. Nothing irks me more than doing all this hard work only to come back (and there's no option to pause the game) and finding my workers had died in the process. Their morale may go down and they may be hungry but they pretty much will take care of themselves.
After completing the game I found myself wondering why there wasn't more to do. I have played this two times and am playing a third, which is a first for me.
I recommend this game!
Unveil the drama in this Sim masterpiece of love, betrayal and ultimate creativity. Inspire artists as they perfect their craft!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
My Kind of Game
PostedApril 13, 2013
DragonsBayne
fromSo. Cali.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
If you like not having any time restraints and want to relax while taking your time, this is a good game for you. This game runs at the pace you set which I love.
Storyline: You start out with two characters who are trying to restore a colony made specifically for artists and return it to its former glory when your father ran it. Eventually new people will show up with their own storyline and it's up to you on how you train them and when so you can progress the story.
Graphics: I thought they were cute. Not the absolute best there is but that's what gives this game its charm and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Sound: I actually don't play with the sound up as I play late at night, so as not to disturb others in the house. I can't comment on this aspect.
Gameplay: There is a lot of clicking on characters and dragging them to certain studios in order to upgrade their abilities or dragging them to the residence hall for sleep or to the kitchen to eat. All characters have two abilities that cap at level 10. You also have to watch their needs, such as hunger, aspiration, and sleepiness. This affects their motivation to do any training, working around the park or creating masterpieces. You can fall in love but it's not really necessary. All that does for your characters is bring their aspiration up.
This game is a bit slow, as I mentioned it goes as fast or as slow as you want. You can have your artists level up in the studios, such as the painting studio or the dance studio in any order you want as long as they have those abilities. If you want, you can level them up completely in one area before you move on to the next one. You can only level them up so far in the story before you "upgrade" to the next though.
One thing that irked me was when your characters create their masterpieces, buyers didn't seem to want to show up to buy them. So that time was wasted waiting because you can't create another masterpiece even if you have other artists with max aspiration because it stays there until it's bought. Also made it hard to get money to complete a task. I easily sat there for 20 minutes waiting. And I was done training, so I couldn't do anything else.
Overall, I like that there is no time constraints. I want to relax at my own pace and this game is great for it. I really enjoy seeing my characters develop and make masterpieces that keep getting better and better as they level up. Plus it helps that I love art so maybe that's why I took to this game so fast.
I recommend this game!
Build your medieval kingdom and protect your people, explore, trade, gather resources, learn magic and spells in King's Legacy!
Overall rating
2
/
5
22 of 24 found this review helpful
Looked nice...
PostedApril 11, 2013
DragonsBayne
fromSo. Cali.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
The basic story is that a king passed away (or rather killed) who was kind and kept the land prosperous. The king's brother takes over and leads the land to ruin. The deceased king's son is taken away by a knight and raised until he is old enough to bring peace and prosperity back to the land by challenging his uncle.
This is like any other TM game where you build farms, resources, houses, etc... Pretty standard.
The graphics are actually pretty cute.
Gameplay is awful. You can only point and click to make the character walk. Which if you need to get to the other side of the screen is painstaking. Basically, click, wait for character to move to said spot, click, and rinse and repeat. Building is easy. You just click on an available designated spot and click on the building you want. Picking up items was a pain too as you would click and the character would over shoot the item which resulted in clicking a couple more times just to get 2 gold for example. And sometimes the character wouldn't move towards the object even though the item was obviously highlighted.
I didn't pay attention to the music as I turn it off since I play late at night and don't want to disturb anyone.
I only played 5 mins of the game before getting frustrated by the point, click and wait and the missed items.
It has potential if you could side scroll when the cursor touches the sides of your screen and picking up items should be easier.
Don't waste your time with this one. There are plenty of other games, even if the graphics aren't the best, that are better with this type of gameplay.
I don't recommend this game.
Follow the rabbit into its rabbit-hole and help Alice find her way in a wonderful world, populated by whimsical characters!
Overall rating
2
/
5
6 of 9 found this review helpful
Meh....
PostedAugust 9, 2012
DragonsBayne
fromSo. Cali.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This follows the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. About the only good thing about the game.
Hated the voice overs. Wanted to skip them and I did.
The graphics are really grainy and objects are hidden behind other objects so finding them is hard if you don't see them peeking out behind. Hate the movement from side to side with the mouse just to find and object. (Which you really didn't need to do most of the time anyways.)
Didn't listen to music much. Which is a good or bad thing? You judge.
Overall hated the game and felt like I was going blind looking for the objects.
Always try the trials first as everyone has different tastes.
I don't recommend this game.
Save the souls of prodigy children and their caretaker who disappeared during the fire in The Agency of Anomalies: Cinderstone Orphanage!
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Different than other HO's
PostedAugust 9, 2012
DragonsBayne
fromSo. Cali.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I actually like the concept of this game. I usually don't write reviews nor do I go by any depending on the game. I usually play the trials to see for myself if it is my type of game because we all have different tastes.
Now this game was different for me. You gain powers from the different ghosts in the game once you find their special items that are dear to them. These powers help you progress in the game. Found a toy axe? There's a place that is overgrown and needs to be cut? Well use your growth power and now the toy axe is a regular axe.
Granted it's not perfect as it's still sometimes corny the way the powers are used but I was drawn in because it wasn't like other HO's where you find objects in scene A, return to scene B and use objects found then return to scene C to get past an area and get another object.
The story is okay. A fire destroys and orphanage and kills the the children and their caretaker who are now trapped because some paranormal power keeps them trapped. You are there to help them "move on and gain some of their power back so that their powers will help you advance in the game."
I didn't really listen to the music. Which is good in my case because it takes very little for music to annoy me. And believe me I like music but certain games like Farm Girl on the Nile made me want to throw my laptop across the room. At least the music in this game was integrated well and did not distract (at least me in any way).
The graphics were fine. Yes some games have grainy graphics but not this one. And the objects are not so tiny and integrated into the HO scenes that you feel you'll go blind soon. Or want to burn your computer.
Overall a different twist on HO games and one that keeps you interested. I did the one hour trial and actually bought it because I wanted to finish the story. Most games don't draw me in too well, their just bearable, but this one was a keeper for me.
At least try the trial, I don't think you'll be disappointed especially if you're looking for a different twist to a timeless genre of games.
I recommend this game!