laurakay76's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.6
- Helpful Votes:723
- Reviews Submitted:156
- First Review:November 16, 2011
- Most Recent Review:June 28, 2025
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Phenomenon: City of Cyan
20 years ago a terrible accident destroyed most of Cyan City. Now, Monica returns to uncover the secrets of her childhood!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 3 found this review helpful
A hit and a miss, all in one.
PostedApril 1, 2012
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince
(159)Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Mine is a bit of a mixed review. There are many things I like about this game, and a few things I don't.
The dialogue comes across a bit stilted and wooden, and consequently, so do the characters. The voice acting is very good, and the performers obviously put forth their best effort. I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of the Old Man; Monica, on the other hand, spoke her lines a little too slowly for my tastes.
The graphics are very good, although the animation is a little dry; however, I do appreciate that the characters' mouths move when they talk. That was something that annoyed me about another game I tried recently.
I do have a lot of praise for the puzzles. Most of them are unique; I really had to think hard. I also liked the fact that within each hidden object scene there was often a second puzzle, many of which were connected with Monica's past.
One thing did make me angry, though: My trial ended while I was in the middle of a hidden object puzzle. I then purchased the game, but when I came back to it, the objects I had already found were still on the list - but had been removed from the scene. I could not continue and had to restart the game.
The story is intriguing, if a little convaluted, and I'm hoping that by the end I'll understand why Monica's mother took such a huge risk and went ahead with her very dangerous experiment. I'm also hoping I'll find out what happened to Monica in the years between the experiment and the time of the game, since at present I don't know how she got out of Cyan City or who raised her.
One final criticism: I am extremely disappointed by the lack of proofreading performed by the game makers with regard to the in-game journal and the written dialogue. I have counted numerous grammatical errors, including missing words in some sentences and extra words in others. It just looks sloppy when the finished product contains mistakes like these.
Overall, based on what I've experienced so far (though I'm nowhere near the end), I'd give it a 7 out of 10.
I recommend this game!
War Chess
Play chess in a fantastic world where epic battles are waged in 3D.
Overall rating
1
/
5
19 of 26 found this review helpful
Good idea, badly executed
PostedMarch 28, 2012
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince
(159)Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
I love chess, so when I discovered the existence of this game here on BFG, I downloaded the trial. I was profoundly disappointed. The graphics are poor, being rather tiny and pixellated; I suspect this was originally a DOS game. The real problem with it, however, is the complete lack of instruction.
I know how to play chess. When I clicked on the tutorial button, I expected an explanation of how to play THIS game - how to make the pieces move, whether to left-click or double-click or whatever. Instead, I was given a very rudimentary explanation of the ways the different pieces move, and how to execute the en passant and castling moves. Nowhere is there any information of how to actually get your pieces to move on the board.
I've since learned via the forum how to do it, thanks to other players who took the time to figure it out through trial and error. So if you want to give the game a try, go there and read the instructions that the game's makers couldn't be bothered to provide.
I don't recommend this game.
Escape the Museum
Solve a series of puzzles, find hidden objects, and search for a way back to your daughter in this great Adventure game!
Overall rating
2
/
5
20 of 21 found this review helpful
Very disappointing
PostedMarch 18, 2012
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince
(159)Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
This was one of the worst games I ever played. It wasn't completely dull; some of the minigame puzzles were enjoyably challenging.
The player assumes the role of Susan, an employee at a natural history museum. Susan brings her young daughter Caitlin to work with her one day and, as luck would have it, that same day their town is struck by an earthquake. Mother and daughter are separated by dozens of rooms full of debris, and Susan needs to work her way through the entire museum to reach her child while periodically receiving intel about what's happening outside. Her husband David, meanwhile, escapes police custody partway through the game and starts making his way toward the museum to rescue his wife and daughter. Unfortunately, the premise sounds a lot more interesting than it actually is. The cutscenes between puzzles are bland at best, saccharine at worst. The puzzles themselves are more interesting, but in some cases they get very repetitious.
The puzzles themselves have very good, realistic graphics. They definitely give the feeling of being inside a ruined museum. Extra points go to the fact that periodically, the screen shakes to give the impression of the earthquake's aftershocks. The cutscenes between the puzzles are again a disappointment, however; there's no animation at all, simply a flat drawing with changing word balloons of dialogue, and the coloration of the images is downright cartoony. For me, the biggest offender was the script. Susan talks to herself continuously as she makes her way through the museum - not difficult to understand, I probably would too, but some of the things she says are downright goofy. Even goofier are her moments of contact with others, such as when her boss tells her that David is on his way to the museum. "You know, your husband, David!" he says, as though she couldn't possibly have a clue who David is.
The difficulty level is rather variable. Some of the puzzles are at least interesting; Susan must acquire a number of items from the room in which she finds herself and use them together in order to engineer her escape into the next room. The mouse pointer changes to a question mark or a magnifying glass to indicate where an item is found or action must be taken, but the player must use his or her own wits to actually solve the puzzle.
Other puzzles are more of the standard hidden object variety. These, for me, ranged from frustrating to impossible. The placement of some of the items is eyestrain-inducing; finding a blue seahorse on an equally blue globe gave me a nasty headache. The good news is that you have an unlimited number of hints on this type of puzzle, although using a hint or clicking on the wrong item will lower your reliability rating, which is how the game keeps score.
A third, less frequent type of puzzle involves replacing torn pieces of a painting back into the picture where they belong. These range in difficulty depending on the detailing of the painting in question, but can get downright annoying when it comes to the smaller fragments.
On the whole, this is probably a good game for elementary or middle school students, but adults will find it anywhere from boring to an outright chore.
I don't recommend this game.
Agency of Anomalies: Cinderstone Orphanage
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
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Definitely worth checking out
PostedMarch 17, 2012
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince
(159)Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I really enjoyed this for the most part. The graphics are excellent, and much of the gameplay style and difficulty reminded me greatly of the "Echoes of the Past" series of games, which are among my favorites here at BFG.
One thing I particularly enjoy is the 'reverse' hidden object games. After collecting your usual oddities from one scene, you are then called upon to put the objects in their correct places in another scene. This makes the hidden object puzzles actually somewhat relevant - like you're cleaning up the place. The minigames are fun and interesting and really do require some thought.
The story is good for the most part, but I have to take off points for the ending. I like a twist as much as anyone, but this story's twist ending doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and isn't explained particularly well. I would have appreciated an extra minute or two spent clarifying just what exactly happened at the end.
On the whole, a worthwhile game and one I recommend.
I recommend this game!
Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek
Find a kidnapped teenage girl and save yourself in Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek, a fun Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!
Overall rating
5
/
5
59 of 73 found this review helpful
Purely brilliant
PostedNovember 26, 2011
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Brain Teaser, Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy
Current Favorite:
Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince
(159)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
This game grabbed me from the very start. You play a detective left with a mild case of amnesia after a car accident, and she must retrace her steps to remember why she's in the quaint hamlet of Maple Creek, what progress she's made on the case she's investigating, and what she found that terrified her so badly.
I found it to be a genuinely creepy game, at times full-on scary. It's expertly animated and the puzzles were the perfect level of challenging for me. The more I played, the more I wanted to know the resolution. I found myself fervently hoping that the missing girl would be discovered alive - and not entirely convinced that the detective would get out of Maple Creek!
The best thing, of course, is that the ending strongly implies the eventual release of a sequel. I can't wait. If the second "Enigmatis" game is as good as the first, I might grab the Collector's Edition.
I recommend this game!
Echoes of the Past: The Citadels of Time Collector's Edition
Travel from the Dark Middle Ages to the present to save the inhabitants of the Orion kingdom in Echoes of the Past - The Citadels of Time!
Overall rating
5
/
5
22 of 29 found this review helpful
Third time's the charm
PostedNovember 16, 2011
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Brain Teaser, Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy
Current Favorite:
Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince
(159)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
I've played all of the existing Echoes of the Past games, and they are all wonderful. The latest installment is a worthy successor to the first two. The same witch continues to make trouble for the kingdom of Orion, dragging you into the past once more with the intention of trapping you between eras. You must find and repair five clocks in order to restore five former residents of Orion Castle to their proper lives; in return, they will supply you with the missing fragments of the great clock that keeps you stuck in limbo.
The puzzles are excellent. Plenty of hidden object scenes, but not too many, and there are lots of other puzzles to solve. Make stained glass to repair a broken window, find and reassemble castle artifacts, break into the royal mausoleum, and even venture into the long-forgotten torture chamber. The story is compelling and woven beautifully with the challenges.
All in all, another great addition to this series, and I can't wait for the next one!
I recommend this game!