arnold1049's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.8
- Helpful Votes:4,545
- Reviews Submitted:555
- First Review:February 24, 2012
- Most Recent Review:December 24, 2024
- Featured reviews0
Status:
When minotaurs attack, only you can save the day.
Overall rating
3
/
5
7 of 13 found this review helpful
STRONG STORYLINE
PostedNovember 1, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I played the trial until it ended, which did not take me the whole 90 minutes. I played at the easiest level because I don't like to have to guess where to go next and only at the easiest level does the map show the areas that have available actions.
But once you get to a given location, the game play is the same regardless of how you get there, and I found the game play to be pretty easy. The puzzles were straight forward and easy to solve. The HOS were also not challenging. I did not have to use a hint at any point.
There are achievements to be obtained, and fairies to collect. And as with all CE's, there is a bonus chapter and a built-in strategy guide. I have not played any of the other games in this series, so do not know if this one is much different from the others.
The storyline is strong and certainly held my interest. The gameplay is consistent with the story and the actions are logical within the story,
I did not play with sound except for the voice overs, which were good, although the faces did not move with the dialog.
I am on the fence about whether this will be a buy for me. At this point, I believe there are better games out there for my money.
Lift the curse off the abandoned estate and help rescue your friends!
Overall rating
4
/
5
56 of 63 found this review helpful
TIME TRAVEL TO AFRICA
PostedOctober 30, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I played the whole one hour free trial on the beginner mode and I'm glad I chose that mode. This game is not easy and the hour seemed to go by very quickly.
The premise behind the game is that you inherit an old mansion haunted by a black devil and somehow you must save your family from this devil by going back in time to fix something bad that one of your ancestors did. The time travel takes you back to Africa. Once the game moved to Africa, it got more interesting. There was even a meerkat to contend with, one of my favorite animals.
The HOS were not easy and I actually needed to use a hint or two. I only ran into a couple of mini puzzles and they weren't that hard.
There is an interactive map, which is unusual for an SE game. There weren't that many locations on the map so hopefully there won't be a lot of back and forth.
The hint button also worked well outside the HOS, which is a great plus in my opinion.
The graphics were clear and bright but the items in some of the HOS were extremely hard to separate from the background.
I did not use any sound, so cannot comment on that part of the game. I also don't have a feel for how long the game maybe, based on just the hour I played. Probably depends on how many times you return to the same location.
This looks like a good solid game to add to your collection.
I recommend this game!
A fire breaks out during a concert, and now your daughters are both missing. Hurry to track them down – their music may hold the key to life and death!
Overall rating
3
/
5
34 of 38 found this review helpful
AVERAGE GAME
PostedOctober 30, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I played the complete hour of free play in casual mode and did not see anything that sets this game apart from any other comparable games out there. And there were a couple of things that were annoying enough for me to give it a lower rating.
First, the hint button was almost completely useless outside the HOS, often giving only the very annoying phrase of "Nothing more to do in this location". At other times, it would light up an area in the scene or an arrow to leave the current scene to continue. This lack of standardization in the way the hint button works is unbelieveable in this level of a game.
There were times when the map also failed. At one point, when I went to the map to find the next active location, it showed all locations locked and no location with an active objective. Yet when I left the map, I was able to move out of the current location into a supposedly locked location to continue play.
With the hint button virtually useless and the map not always correct, that leaves the strategy guide to find out where to proceed. This is not something that I like to be forced to do. Going to the strategy guide completely breaks the flow of the game. Plus, I don't like to use the strategy guide unless I am completely stumped, which isn't often.
I play games for relaxation and fun. Not being able to progress through the game because I don't know where the next active location is takes all the fun out of a game for me and makes me grind my teeth. I also play the casual level for the same reasons.
The HOS were average and did not contain very many items to find. They were interactive so you had to often use some item to find another. As far as the game went, I did not find any truly challenging puzzles/mini games. I also had part of the plot figured out already. And since good has to conquer evil, the ending of the game is pretty obvious.
There are achievements to obtain and collectibles. Whenever I start a new game I always check the extra items first because there are often collectibles that are never mentioned when you first start playing. That is the only way I knew there were books to be collected somewhere during the game.
There were a couple of other things to do during game play. Collecting 3 of a specific item opened a chapter of the story that was both verbal and written. There is also another button that records music found at various scenes and these notes are used to open various locks.
Because this game has a musical theme, I did play the music, but I put it down really low, yet it still started to annoy me by the end of the hour. As usual, the music is repetitive which increases its annoyance factor.
I did like the fact that I could shut off everything but the voiceovers, which were OK.
As I said, I played the whole hour and during that time, the task never changed; find a blank sheet of music.
I don't think this game is worth the money, even on sale.
I don't recommend this game.
Tragedy strikes a popular Parisian cabaret when their star dancer is murdered! Gather the suspects and unmask the killer.
Overall rating
5
/
5
46 of 55 found this review helpful
ANOTHER WINNER
PostedOctober 24, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I played 73 out of the 90 minutes of free play and reached the end of the available play. The trial actually played like a demo or the playing of a beta game, as it ended and there was nothing further to play, even though I had time left.
This is another excellent game in the Danse Macabre series. This game centers around the murder of the star dancer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. You play a female detective hired by the famous artist Toulouse LauTrec to find out who murdered Sophie. The janitor is arrested for the crime. There is another dancer who appears to have been a friend of the victim, although they had grown apart because of jealousy. Other potential suspects include a stage hand and a rich patron. Another character dressed in a cloak and wearing a mask appears at the various locations with no explanation.
The graphics are excellent; very realistic and appropriately colored. The accents in the voiceovers are right on and the mouth movements are done extremely well.
I played the casual mode which included objectives and active locations in the map, which allows you to skip to any given location. The HOS were not hard, but were varied and non-repetitive. I had no trouble with the mini-games and did not need hints for either the HOS or the puzzles/games. I did use the hint for help in figuring out what to do in some of the scenes, as moving the cursor over the scene didn't always provide enough information. The hint button worked well.
I played with the music, because I wanted to give the game a fair review, and I found it appropriate to the game. But music and sounds always start to annoy me after a short time so during any future play, I will turn it off.
I have already purchased the CE of this game as that is what I usually do as I prefer the CE of any game. But if you don't want to spend the money for the CE, this game is excellent in the SE.
I recommend this game!
Help Lily break the spell to bring life and color back to Fairyland in this charming puzzle game.
Overall rating
3
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
WORST OF THE FOUR
PostedOctober 15, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
This game is the worst of the 4 Rainbow games. It is pure Match 3 only and does not have the other types of play that would make it more interesting, like finding letters in the puzzles, finding hidden objects, etc.
The story really makes no sense and the graphics are very wooden. The puzzles got harder as the game progressed. I played the timed mode throughout and ran out of time on many of them. Whoever set the Expert Time on these must have never played the game.
The other two modes of play are Casual, with no time limits, and Duel, where you play the computer. I would imagine you could play this game over and over and never see the same board twice, but after a couple of walks through the trail, I was bored.
Untangle the web and save Rainbow Village in this exciting Match 3 game!
Overall rating
5
/
5
BEST SO FAR
PostedOctober 10, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This third game in the Rainbow Web series is the best so far. It has more varied game play than the other two and a lot less dialog that the 2nd game, which really spoiled that game for me.
The storyline is the same; save the Rainbow Kingdom from the Spider. The locations are the various shops in the village that have been stripped of all their furnishings while the townspeople hide out from the spider. Completing puzzles earns you rainbow dust which you use to purchase furnishings for the various buildings. At the end of every set of puzzles, you go to the Spider's lair where you play a Match 3 game to clear a mirror of dirt and webs. This Match 3 requires the removal of all the game pieces from the board. Again, lots of variation in game play.
Game play consists of Match 3, fragmented HOPs, modified Hangman and jigsaw puzzles that are the swap pieces type. With this variety, you are always doing something different, which keeps you interested. As in the other two games, the puzzles get more complicated and difficult as the game progresses. The Match 3 puzzles end when you have cleared all the letters of a given phrase.
There was something new that I hadn't seen before. The jigsaw puzzle pieces were all rectangular but were of different sizes. When you switched two pieces, they resized to fit the size of the place they are moved to. Interesting and made it a little harder to figure out which piece went where. The 4 corner pieces can be identified if you look close enough; a small part of the frame around the puzzle can be seen in each of the four pieces. Good thing, as otherwise it would have been extremely hard to know where to start.
The webs used for the Match 3 play were very diverse in size and shape. One layout used a spiral design that took some getting used to and even at the end of the game, I was still confused as to exactly what was considered a curve.
There is no choice of timed or untimed play and no way to skip any of the puzzles. You can turn off the suggested moves in the Match 3 games which is a great improvement. But again, if you do keep the suggested moved active, 9 out of 10 times, the suggested move will be totally worthless and will take you on the opposite side of the board from where you need to be. Hints were generous and did not have a recharge time. The graphics did a good job of evoking the feeling of a fantasy land, although some of them were still a little washed out.
This is a game that can be played over and over again and never get boring.
I recommend this game!
Rid the Rainbow Kingdom of evil by matching gems, finding hidden objects, and solving puzzles.
Overall rating
4
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
NOT AS GOOD AS THE FIRST
PostedOctober 8, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This game combines Match 3, HOG, and a hybrid Hangman puzzles. The spider is back at the Rainbow Kingdom and all the webs must be eliminated. The Match 3 board is a spider's web of various designs.
Each puzzle has a phrase that must be filled in with letters that are in the web. By matching three balls of the same color that contain a letter, the letter is released. Once all the letters of the phase have been removed from the web, the puzzle is over.
The game play is in the Rainbow Kingdom Palace, which has been striped by the spider. Each location has multiple puzzles that once solved, adds some item to the room. The last puzzle adds a rainbow to each location. Also, at the end of the set of puzzles for that location, there is a fragmented HOS to complete.
All these steps are used to remove the spider's web from the palace and add furniture, windows, etc. to each room. There are lots of rooms, because the palace is 4 stories high. The HO item is the location of the bits of the incantation that must be completed in order to open the time portal between worlds.
I played the timed mode and as the puzzles got harder and harder, I ran out of time quite often. The very last puzzle in the wizard's tower was the hardest. I had to quit and come back the next day to finally finish it. I thought I could switch to non-timed mode to help me with this one puzzle, but if you do that, it starts the game over at the very beginning.
I did not like this game as well as I did the first in the series. There is much too much irrelevant dialogue to read. I also don't think the times allowed for the puzzles were as long. The graphics were somewhat brighter. But it still pulled me in and kept me interested and wanting to finish it.
I recommend this game!
People have been disappearing in the town of Ridleton for the past 15 years... Can you weather the storm and solve the case?
Overall rating
4
/
5
13 of 17 found this review helpful
GOOD, BASIC GAME
PostedOctober 5, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Mahjong
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This game doesn't have any WOW factors. It is just a good, solid, basic HOPA game with all the nice extras you expect from a CE. You play a detective trying to find out why the town is burning down and why people are disappearing; good vs evil as usual.
There is a red panda helper, a built in strategy guide, an interactive map, achievements, and flames to collect in each location. The nice thing about the flames is that there is a status bar that tells you how many flames you have left to find in that location and when you have found all of them.
There also seems to be a purpose in collecting the flames, which isn't always the case with some games. According to the information, once you collect all the flames, you are then given additional information about the story. Maybe this is the way you unlock the hidden chapter.
I purchased the game but did not play the trial. I have played several hours and I think I'm into Chapter 4. There are 10 chapters, counting the bonus chapter and the hidden chapter, so this is going to be a long game. There is one achievement for finishing the main game in under 5 hours. I don't think that is going to be obtainable for me.
The graphics are colorful, but not necessarily realistic. The mouth movements with the voiceovers are not in sync at all.
I played the easiest mode, because I like a map that shows you not only where you are but where there is something available to do. There are sparkles for the HOS, but no sparkles for other active areas. You just have to move your cursor over the scene until it changes to a magnifying glass.
This game has some back and forth, but not enough to distract from the play. Once everything is completed in a given location, the map shows this location as closed. That is definitely a plus for me.
The HOS are varied; lists, silhouettes, etc. None of them are very difficult; I haven't had to use any hints. So far I have been able to complete the mini games without having to skip any, although there was one that had me scratching my head for awhile.
As I said before, a good solid game worth the money.
I recommend this game!
A new mind twister that trains your logical sense and ability to think under pressure.
Overall rating
5
/
5
9 of 12 found this review helpful
TWO GAMES IN ONE
PostedOctober 5, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This game is an interesting combination of a hybrid Hangman and Match 3. There is a spider looming over a fairy kingdom and your job is to get rid of the spider and restore the rainbows to the kingdom. The spider theme is reinforced by the fact that the Match 3 game board is actually a spider web.
The semi-hangman part of the game comes into play with a phrase that is shown for each puzzle that must be filled in by removing the relevant letters from the web by the Match 3 process. Once all the letters have been removed, you are done with that puzzle.
The game moves you from the valley floor to the top of the mountain. Solving the puzzles for each step adds a graphic to the location scene. The last graphic in each set of puzzles is a rainbow. For instance, in one set of puzzles, you are building a bridge over a river. Each puzzle solution adds something to the bridge; flooring, guard rails, lights, etc.
Although the location scenes are beautiful, almost picture perfect, the added graphics are rather dark and dull. Even the rainbows are lack lustre. But that is not enough to detract too much from the fun and challenge of the game. To me, good game play always trumps graphics.
As you advance through the locations, the puzzles get harder. The phrases get longer, meaning more letters to find. There are more colors added to the bubbles making it harder to find 3 to match. And sometimes there are parts of the web missing, making some letters extremely isolated.
At the beginning of each set of puzzles, you have 3 lives available to lose during play if you play the timed mode, which I did. Each time you fail to complete the puzzle in the available time, you lose a life and have to restart the puzzle. If you lose all your lives, you are taken outside the puzzles and you have to click back through the menus to get back to where you were. Thankfully, you are returned to the puzzle you were playing when you ran out of lives, not to the beginning of all the puzzles for that location.
This game makes you think and keeps you on your toes. In order to clear all the letters in the available time frame (which is generous), you must think ahead so that you don't miss any matching plays and that you make moves that set up future plays. It takes a lot of concentration, which is why the mediocre graphics are not that big a deal.
There is a non-timed choice of play that would be much less challenging.
I enjoyed this game so much that I kept playing it until I got too tired to make good moves or my eyes gave out. And I couldn't wait to get back to it. As a result, I am purchasing the other 2 games in this series, hoping they will be as entertaining and challenging.
I hope you have as much fun playing this game as I did.
I recommend this game!
Without warning, a group of mysterious figures arrives and reduces your village to flames and rubble. What do they want... and who is controlling them?
Overall rating
5
/
5
14 of 19 found this review helpful
UNIQUE
PostedOctober 2, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I played the whole 90 minutes of the demo and this is a definite buy for me. I did play the easiest mode because I always do. I also rarely give 5 star ratings, but this game deserves it.
The graphics are amazing. I particularly loved the part at the end where the dragon smashes everything on the screen; the inventory items, map, journal, hint button, etc. Too cute; made me laugh. The characters were lifelike and the mouth and facial movements matched the voiceovers perfectly.
I only had to use the hint button once, outside of a HOS where I needed a little help finding the next active area. I think the map failed me at this point. Otherwise, the map was perfect.
I listened to the music, something I rarely do, but decided I needed to give the game a fair trial. The music was very appropriate for the game, but I will still turn it off when I go to play the complete game. I do like to be able to still hear the voiceovers without having to listen to all the other sounds, another definite plus for this game.
I did not have to refer to the strategy guide so cannot voice an opinion on it. I did accidentally find one morphing object in a HOS, but not sure how many others may have been available during the time I played. I personally don't like to look for morphing objects because it distracts me from the game play. The fire symbols were easy to find. I won two achievements during the demo. Most of them seemed to be attainable, although some of the descriptions left me scratching my head; for example, "finish a HOS in the least amount of time". Exactly how is that achievement going to be measured?
I played two list-type HOS, if I remember correctly. But there were other HOS that were truly unique; things I had never seen used before. The same with the mini-puzzles; none of them were too hard, but they were certainly unusual.
The storyline is the basic good vs evil of most of these types of games. This one flowed smoothly and there was very little running back and forth to spoil it. Again, I always appreciate a good map, so that I'm sure I haven't missed anything important that will trip me up later. I hate going way back in a game to find a missing item.
This game has taken all the best things from all the games before it and blended them into an outstanding package. I'm heading over to buy it right now.
I recommend this game!