laurakay76's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.6
- Helpful Votes:723
- Reviews Submitted:161
- First Review:November 16, 2011
- Most Recent Review:October 14, 2025
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Margaret needs your help once again! You must repair the railway across 50 time management levels and manage an enormous budget!
Overall rating
3
/
5
Okay, Margaret needs a new hobby.
PostedJanuary 11, 2021
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I enjoyed the original "Next Stop" - I liked that Margaret was the one to save her uncle's company, the game was fun and challenging and the banker was hilariously smarmy. The second one was also pleasant, with the addition of building a charming little town.
I'm less enchanted with this third installment. The storyline is incredibly weak; there's no clear reason why the banker is suddenly teaming up with Margaret and Uncle Steve, nor why they're allowing it. The challenge is not nearly as challenging. Building the new center of business is okay - not as pretty as the town, but functional - but Margaret claimed that the faster you meet your objectives, the more updates you can make. Yet no matter how quickly I meet my objectives, I can only ever make two updates at a time.
The clicker game is a terrible addition. I like the concept, but the actual practice of nonstop clicking to put the money into my 'bank'? It's tedious as heck! How is it fun to sit here clicking clicking clicking with nothing else to do? If that portion of the game added the money automatically and you just popped in every so often to add more factories and whatnot, it would be fun, but the endless clicking is tiresome and hard on the fingers.
All in all, it's okay, but the first two were much better. I think I can see why the series died with this game.
Haunted Hotel: Eclipse Collector's Edition
Should anyone ever check in to a place called the Final Journey Hotel?
Overall rating
5
/
5
So this is where James got started!
PostedJanuary 7, 2021
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I became acquainted with the character of James Blackthorne through the Detectives United series, and since then I've been picking at the Haunted Hotel franchise to get to know him better. Having finally learned that this was the game which first introduced him, I tried the demo, and I was barely ten minutes in before I knew this was a must-buy.
This is one of THE longest games I have ever played. I must have taken a good six hours at least to finish it. The mystery is compelling, the voice acting is good as usual for Elephant, and the graphics are terrific. It was a little weird to see the characters as static figures speaking through closed mouths, but considering the age of the game, that isn't too surprising. (James basically cosplaying as Sherlock Holmes made me smile. He's so cute.) The puzzles are remarkably good, and even though I consider myself an expert player at this point, I was really put through my paces and had to rely on the hint button more often than I ever would have expected.
Probably my only complaint about the game is the lack of an interactive map. I'm spoiled by Elephant's later games with their easy-to-navigate maps that cut out the tedious backtracking seen in this game. But as quibbles go, that's quite minor and easy to overlook.
I'm really glad I took this trip back through Elephant's history, because it was absolutely worth it! A+!
I recommend this game!
A mysterious invitation promises rare treasures but exposes dark secrets!
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
It started off well but then...
PostedJanuary 6, 2021
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I really enjoyed the demo of this game, so I bought the full thing. The story was interesting, if a little weak in places; the graphics are superb and the voice acting is excellent. Unfortunately, about halfway through it started going downhill for me.
Several of the puzzles are either mind-numbing or maddening. Some of them are actually both - boring, yet difficult. I hate skipping puzzles, but I ended up needing to do just that because I honestly didn't understand what some of them wanted me to do. (The biggest offender was the one where you had to turn the threads from purple to white by clicking on the correct numbers; the directions made no sense to me at all.) I gave up early in the first bonus chapter, where I was being directed to glue a doll together; nothing I did seemed to work, and I was too irritated to try anything else.
The game has a lot going for it and the developers clearly worked hard on it. I just wanted to like it a lot more than I ultimately did.
A new time management adventure with your favorite Gnomes! Help the queen defeat the Sea Overlord and rescue her friends!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
It's cute, but that's about it.
PostedDecember 31, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I bought this game on an intro sale because I enjoyed the previous one in the series. This is more of the same - it's your standard time management, with some interesting twists like driving off raccoons (who steal your resources) and devastation caused by krakens. It's very colorful and bright, the music is pleasant, and while the story is a little weak, it doesn't really hurt the game. All in all, a pleasant way to pass the time during the cold winter days.
I recommend this game!
The most perfect town in the world hides a terrible secret!
Overall rating
5
/
5
87 of 97 found this review helpful
Detectives Divided!?
PostedDecember 31, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
A new DU game is an automatic buy for me, and I actually waited up for the game launch so I could download it immediately before going to bed. I love this series, and have been waiting for the fourth game ever since Elephant Games hinted on Facebook that it was in the works.
Agent Brown is my absolute favorite of the three detectives, so I was immediately caught by the idea that the game centered around him being missing. My beloved Agent? What happened? I've watched the entirety of Mystery Trackers: Raincliff, so I already knew his family history (which has been altered slightly here, but it's not as much of a distraction as I might have feared) and I was eager to see the story unfold. I loved how Anna, James, and Agent Shade were all clearly concerned for their missing friend and how determined they were to find him and bring him home safely.
If I tried to list everything I enjoyed about the game, we'd be here for entirely too long. Simply put, if you're enjoying this series, you're going to want to play this next installment. I'm so glad it's continuing and I can't wait for #5!
I recommend this game!
Follow the brave warrior Alva on a fantastic time management adventure and help her find a kidnapped druid!
Overall rating
3
/
5
Just finished after several days
PostedDecember 19, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
This was a nice long game, I can say that for it. The graphics were adorable and the music was pleasant, if repetitious. As a TM game goes it was definitely challenging; I ultimately ended up playing many levels on relaxed mode simply because I couldn't see how to reach the goals during the time limit.
I enjoyed the game overall, but I did have some issues with it:
~ Collecting the four main staples of the game - stone, wood, food, and gold - was simple enough, and the counter at the top of the screen kept track of how much I had. However, whenever I would acquire items (rubies, special tools, etc.) that were not one of those four, they would be counted in little circle icons on the left side of the screen. That's fine, except that sometimes there were items or objectives on the left side of the screen which would become obscured by these circle icons. They weren't unclickable, but I didn't always realize they were there.
~ The graphics were, as I say, adorable; however, a lot of the things I needed to find were extremely tiny on my laptop screen. And this is a full screen game! As a visually impaired player, this was sometimes very frustrating.
~ The to-do list at the top of the screen was helpful, but sometimes a little counterintuitive. Certain objectives have to be met in order to then meet other objectives, and it's not always clear in which order they should be done.
~ The basic premise was okay, but the actual story was pretty bland and the ending was unsatisfying.
As TM games go, though, it was a good addition to the BFG stable of options. If you enjoy TM games, it's worth trying; just don't expect a lot from the story.
I recommend this game!
Can you save Camelot from an evil spell book in time?
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
This was fun!
PostedDecember 16, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I've tried a couple of the Yankee games, but never really got past the demos. This one encouraged me to try it based on the stellar reviews, and of all the ones in the series I've played, this was definitely the best.
I don't know much about the characters (Mary came as a surprise, since the other Yankees I've played didn't include her) or their prior adventures, but the story was not hard to pick up. It was a real trip to bounce around between Camelot, ancient Greece, and ancient Egypt. The cast is great, the humor in the writing is engaging, and the graphics are bright and colorful. The music and sound effects were repetitious, but not irritatingly so. The choice of modes is always nice, as I sometimes don't feel up to the challenge of a timer and find the relaxed mode to be more to my tastes.
I wasn't too keen on some of the mini-games included. The 'Flying Dutchman' episodes were a little difficult to play on my laptop, and the 'tournament' ones were just odd. But I liked the pirate mini-games based on the game Battleship, and the bonus levels were very enjoyable.
On the whole, this was a worthwhile purchase and a nice long game, and I definitely encourage TM fans to try it.
I recommend this game!
Can you traverse the Underworld and make it out alive?
Overall rating
2
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Out of the Underworld? I didn't even make it out of the demo!
PostedDecember 8, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This was... honestly, the best word I can give it is boring. It's not a bad game, just an incredibly dull one. I've never played the other Mystery Tales games, so I can't comment on how this compares to them, but for me it was just very tedious and kind of corny.
The visuals were beautiful, although the animation was a little stilted. The music was fine and the voice acting was good. But I felt altogether unchallenged. It had a syrupy quality that didn't appeal to me, like it was sort of oversaturated somehow. The whole 'stolen bridegroom' plotline reminded me entirely too much of the movie Corpse Bride. I like that movie a lot - but it didn't quite work for me here.
On the whole, I just didn't find it appealing enough to hold my interest. I uninstalled after about fifteen minutes.
I don't recommend this game.
Mystery Trackers: Winterpoint Tragedy
Answer a distress call at an arctic research lab where scientists have made a chilling discovery!
Overall rating
4
/
5
One of the better Mystery Trackers installments
PostedDecember 4, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I run hot and cold on the Mystery Trackers. I've played maybe six or seven of the games in the series, and don't care for most of them; Silent Hollow is probably my favorite. I only started playing the series at all because I adore Agent Brown in the Detectives United series, but he doesn't really feature in anything except Raincliff (which I found unplayable). I always love Elf, though.
However, I also really like Agent Shade, so I decided to give this one a go since she's an important figure in it, and I was not disappointed. This was actually a very impressive game to me. The story is a little odd, but compelling enough to keep me moving forward; Cold Stalkers are apparently an ancient race of something like humans, with incredibly advanced technology and abilities like shapeshifting and mind control. It's wild. The animation is done well, the voice acting is excellent (as usual for Elephant), and the music is particularly good - I found the intensity of the background instrumentals to be very well suited to whatever was happening on the screen. (And Elf's winter gear is precious!)
The Winterpoint Tragedy is of the level of quality that I wish more games would reach.
I recommend this game!
Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink Collector's Edition
The quaint mountain town of Hochwald hides a deadly secret. Defeat a mechanical mastermind and save your friend before another earthquake strikes!
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
I want to know more about these characters
PostedDecember 4, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This is an engaging game. I love the steampunk world Artifex Mundi has created for us - the idea that even the religion of the game world centers around science, as shown in the bonus chapter, amuses me greatly - and want to see more of it. Evangeline Glass and Dr. Ink may have weird names, but they're very likable characters and I want to know more about them, about their relationship and their past. They've clearly known each other since Evangeline was a child, but how are they connected? I love Matthew the mechanical bird too.
The game itself is well constructed. The animation is smooth, the story is complex, and the voices are enjoyable. While the villain's motivations are something of a question mark, the whole thing was just really well done.
Basically, I want this to be the first game of a new series.
I recommend this game!