DrDavid's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.3
- Helpful Votes:2,837
- Reviews Submitted:246
- First Review:November 24, 2011
- Most Recent Review:July 12, 2022
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Find a kidnapped teenage girl and save yourself in Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek, a fun Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
7 of 10 found this review helpful
A very mediocre HOG
PostedJune 16, 2012
DrDavid
fromRaleigh, NC
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
After playing Time Mysteries: The Ancient Spectres and Nightmares from the Deep - The Cursed Heart both by Artifex Mundi, I thought this game would uphold the standard of excellence that the other two set. Unfortunately, Artifex Mundi laid an egg this time. This game really has nothing to recommend it over and above every other game out there. To be sure, the graphics are very good and the cut scenes are also very good. The voices are very appropriate. They captured the down east Vermont farmer accent. The HOS, however, are all over the board in difficulty. Some are very ‘cute’ about hiding items and others simply make everything too dark to see. They do have a wide range of items in their junk piles, and they will surely stretch your vocabulary and your knowledge of everything from occult to fishing and biology. One of the worst facets of the game is the travel. If I were the detective, I would charge my employer by the mile; my feet hurt from all the travel back and forth and back and forth ad nauseam. This was almost another really good game that took several wrong turns and ended up in the wrong part of town; the mediocre part. I thought that the puzzles, few as they were, were mainly very easy, or looked to be obviously worth skipping, but a couple caught my eye. The lock picking looked to be unique, but unfortunately it did nothing; I skipped it too
I recommend this game!
Dive into an epic journey as a museum owner in pursuit of an undead pirate who has kidnapped your daughter in Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart!
Overall rating
5
/
5
5 of 6 found this review helpful
A great HOG
PostedJune 13, 2012
DrDavid
fromRaleigh, NC
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I had just finished playing Time Mysteries: The Ancient Spectres from Artifex Mundi and accidentally started another Artifex Mundi game. I was thrilled and was hoping that the HOS would again allow the option of playing an M3. I was surprised to find out that in this game one can substitute mahjong for the standard HOS. Both the HOS and the mahjong are really good. It was a tough choice to decide which to play. Overall, the graphics are very good, the cut scenes are good, the voices are good and the plot is interesting. I think this is about as good as it gets; either Ancient Spectres or Cursed Heart deliver a real fun time and rather a long time at that. In the CE, you get to repeat scenes if you want to. The HOS also have the ‘sonar’ which shows the silhouette of the item you seek. Just a little hint.
I recommend this game!
Take on Time Mysteries: The Ancient Spectres, a challenging Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game! Stop the evil witch Viviana!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
A great HOG/M3 game
PostedJune 13, 2012
DrDavid
fromRaleigh, NC
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Artifex Mundi has delivered us a really great game with a story line that is interesting, very good graphics and HOS that really aren’t too difficult. And if you don’t want to solve the HOS as HOS, you can switch to an M3 game. I’ve seen this before, but in that game the M3 was too small to see well. In this game, both the HOS and the M3 are really good. I tried to play about 50-50 in each mode because I like them both so much. Additionally, the HOS have something called sonar; when your cursor stops on an object to be found, the silhouette shows up on the “radar” screen. Just a little “help” if you want it.
I recommend this game!
Help the secret organization of Mystery Trackers find 3 missing celebrities in the mysterious Void family mansion!
Overall rating
5
/
5
A very enjoyable HOG
PostedJune 8, 2012
DrDavid
fromRaleigh, NC
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Elephant has created a very enjoyable HOG with very good graphics and a plot worth following. The HOS are mainly easy enough with always a few harder to find objects, but well camouflaged objects, not just obscured with darkness. The game is not dark and macabre or gruesome, but is a mystery which unfolds through the play. The plot is not telegraphed way ahead of the ending, as is too common in the genre. Most of the puzzles were fairly straightforward, but some were long enough that I skipped them when I could.
I recommend this game!
Vivien Ambrose has just discovered how to travel through time! Set off through history in Time Mysteries: Inheritance!
Overall rating
4
/
5
10 of 14 found this review helpful
A light hearted and fun HOG
PostedMay 24, 2012
DrDavid
fromRaleigh, NC
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I found this HOG to be amusing and fun with HOS that were fair and puzzles that were varied. I think I only found one or two puzzles which I thought to be boring enough to just skip. The cut scenes were text without voices, therefore a bit long, but they were well done and the plot was actually interesting. Don’t play this HOG expecting to find it difficult. It is easy entertainment and still interesting.
I recommend this game!
Shaolin Mystery: Tale of the Jade Dragon Staff
Travel across ancient China and help Yu as she searches for the mythical Jade Dragon Staff. Save your wrongly imprisoned friend!
Overall rating
2
/
5
5 of 8 found this review helpful
Mediocre HOG
PostedMay 15, 2012
DrDavid
fromRaleigh, NC
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
The cut scenes are pretty good, the voices excellent. The artwork is OK and the HOS are OK with always a few items that either I did not recognize from their name or I knew them but they were too small or too dark to see. The story was OK, but the logic of the game play was nearly zero. I needed the walkthrough after almost every HOS. The mini games were an eminently forgettable lot. The skip needs to recharge much faster to get by those games. Even the ones that worked either were terribly boring or just confusing. Not a very well done game, but not so bad as to merit a recommendation against buying.
I recommend this game!
Gardenscapes: Mansion Makeover™
Welcome back to Gardenscapes! Turn the hall into a masterpiece!
Overall rating
5
/
5
9 of 11 found this review helpful
Pure HOG, no mini-games
PostedMay 12, 2012
DrDavid
fromRaleigh, NC
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is likely to be a polarizing game for many people. There are those who have hated it and those of us who love it. Different strokes for different folks. I strongly suggest that you play the demo for a while before deciding which group you fit into; that’s an advantage with Big Fish membership. I played the demo for about 20 minutes and realized that, unencumbered by those frivolous puzzles or mini-games, this purely HOS game was exactly to my liking. Now in this game there isn’t the back tracking common to most games, but then it doesn’t develop as an adventure, either. To play this game, one finds objects which are traded for money and money buys improvements for the house. This still provides a goal to achieve, and therefore a reason to play on, despite not being a true adventure. The game lasted me an entire Saturday. I really enjoyed being free from the mini-games. This is not a detective mystery and it does not have a dark death related theme. This game is rather light hearted and humorous.
I recommend this game!
Unlock the secret rooms in the Howard’s mansion and restore a precious antique collection hidden there.
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
A good little game.
PostedMay 5, 2012
DrDavid
fromRaleigh, NC
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This is a real well done little HOG with light, bright HOS and many different types of puzzles. It isn’t macabre or dark. Most of the time the game play flows well with sufficient clues to keep one headed in the right direction; when that fails the walkthrough is excellent. The puzzles have some guidance as to what is needed to solve them, although that wasn’t quite enough in a couple of cases where I still was guessing at first. The story line is like an adventure game where it unfolds rather slowly during the game. Animations were fairly good; rather than voices there are short exchanges of text to read. The exchanges with the grounds keeper are kept brief, however. Interestingly most of the HOS give you multiple items for your inventory.
I recommend this game!
Step into the shoes of a detective who has been approached by the FBI to take over a terrifying case and stop a Dark Ritual!
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Middling and rather boring
PostedMay 5, 2012
DrDavid
fromRaleigh, NC
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Dark Ritual is a very mediocre HOG. Many of the HOS are very good but just as many are dark with virtually invisible items. The good news here is that random clicking is not punished and therefore does work well on the impossible to find items. The artwork is well below average in many of the HOS so the authors simply made everything very dark in those HOS. That contributes to the overall feeling of mediocrity. The game is long and very often boring. I found it easy to leave it after an hour or less and come back another day. Working only until bored, it took me 5 days to finish the entire game. The puzzles were fairly simple and I worked out most of them. The bright spot in this HOG is that the puzzles all come with instructions; you actually are told what the objective is, rather than blindly try to figure out what you are doing. That made the puzzles much better than several of the HOS. I skipped one long puzzle that seemed pointless, and accidentally hit skip rather than the objective on another. I wish every HOG puzzle clearly defined the objective up front. The cut scenes were stills rather than animations, so you had to click through them. The sounds and music were annoying, so I turned off the sound completely. If there were voices, I didn’t know it. This isn’t a bad game at all, just long and boring.
I recommend this game!
Journey into the mythical Snowfall Kingdom and investigate the disappearance of children in Dark Parables: Rise of the Snow Queen!
Overall rating
5
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Head and shoulders above the rest
PostedApril 28, 2012
DrDavid
fromRaleigh, NC
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This HOG seems to have it all. The graphics are excellent, as are the cut scenes. The story line is very interesting to follow. The voices were well done, except the King, which was overplayed. The HOS are well drawn; they involve matching fragments of an object you need. The fragments are grouped into three sections which, after all three groups of fragments are matched, merge into one object for you to keep. No more finding items unrelated to the story line. All of this combines to create a very fun game. There is a lot of back and forth, but the built in Guide and Map make that simpler. The hint always seemed to be there when I needed it, recharged and ready. I did have to use the guide on a few occasions when I was a bit lost. The puzzles were largely worth doing; it always surprises me to have to say that as I dislike puzzles. Overall, I can find no significant faults.
I recommend this game!