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:
A serial killer nicknamed “the Toymaker” is wreaking havoc on a sleepy town. Can the lead detective piece together clues left at the scene and stop him before he sets his sights on her?
Overall rating
2
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
TOO EASY
PostedAugust 10, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Except for the subject matter, this game would be good for kids and beginners. Way too easy for experienced players.
There is a storyline that makes no sense and is only used to move the game from one HOS to the next. After playing 5 or more locations, then there is a puzzle to solve, also very easy.
Because of the subject matter, this isn't even a good game to use to relax.
I don't recommend this game.
Robin Hood
Slip into the role of valiant Robin Hood, and bring justice to the kingdom of England! Experience all of Robin's adventures!
Overall rating
3
/
5
9 of 11 found this review helpful
ANOTHER VARIATION ON AN OLD TALE
PostedAugust 9, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I like games based on real stories, not pure fantasy. I played the demo but did not purchase the game. Kind of cute but definitely a game for kids.
Follow a team of young doctors and unravel a medical mystery by providing the key clues for treatment and diagnosis.
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
THE STORYLINE CARRIES THE GAME
PostedAugust 9, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is a fairly simplistic game; nothing is too hard, but some of the hidden objects were pretty small. Two of the puzzles gave me a hard time. The MRI one, where you have to follow lines between two points because the lines were very fuzzy and hard to follow. And the bacteria one, where you have to be fast and accurate at clicking on moving objects; not my cup of tea.
There are 3 cases to solve and they are all tied together in the end. I don't know if this is based on a TV show, but it has that feel. The characters had a lot of character, pun intended. Their conversations, of which there were many, were humorous. But that is a lot of reading and not that much playing. No voiceovers, which would have added a lot to the game, but probably would have slowed it down, as it is faster to read.
There is a lot of repetition; same hidden object scenes (different objects), same puzzles, so it got a little monotonous.
I did run into something I had never seen before; a hidden object scene where the list of items to find were based on audio clues. You have to have the sound on and you click on the clue in the list and a sound is played. Based on the sound, you then click on the object that makes that sound. Not hard, although some of the sounds were short and I had to play them a couple of times to figure it out. Kind of reminded me of the radio contests where a sound was played and you called in to guess the item and get a prize.
The game was pretty short, even with 3 cases to solve. There was a lot of medical information included, which was interesting, but, again, meant a lot of reading. It was kind of fun, but I'm glad I used a coupon to get it.
A Mayan god is turning people into jaguars! Can you stop him before the world falls into chaos?
Overall rating
4
/
5
6 of 11 found this review helpful
EXCITED TO BE IN THE EARLY REVIEWERS
PostedAugust 8, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Whenever I see a game that has no reviews, I immediately buy it and go for it, hoping to be the first one to send in a review. As usual, I didn't make it, even though I devoted most of a day playing it. But there were only 14 reviews ahead of me when I started my review, so that isn't too bad. I'm sure the reason I will never be the first to review is that I play the whole game, not just the demo.
So, as I said, my review is based on playing the whole game plus the bonus chapter. I will not waste time describing the game and all its elements as some of the reviewers have already done a good job of that. I will just hit on some of the items that caught my attention.
There is a lot of back and forth in this game but there is an interactive map to make this less painful. But even with the map, I got tired of going around the mulberry bush dozens of times. It always takes the fun out of the game for me. By the time I'm getting towards the end, I just want the game to be over.
I also never seem to be able to earn all the achievements. I didn't find all the birds or the morphs. By missing these two achievements, I also didn't win the achievement for having won all the achievements. And I even went to the trouble of using the strategy guide for a couple of the puzzles so I would be sure to win that award. But this is probably the closest I've come to winning all the achievements because they were attainable, unlike a lot of games where they are so hard, you don't even feel like trying.
It would be nice, though, with things like the birds and morphs, to be given a heads up if you miss one in a scene, or be allowed to go back to those scenes at the end of the game to find them. I was being so careful throughout the game that I was surprised that I hadn't found all of them. It would have been interesting for me to see how I missed them, particularly since the cursor changes from a pointer to a hand when you find the location of the bird or the morph. I did really like this enhancement, as I've seen lots of games that give you no clue about their locations and usually the morphs are very small and morph very fast or not very often. So kudos to whoever built in this help with the birds and morphs.
As for the puzzles, most of them were good; made you think some but not frustrating. However, there were about 3 that I had to refer to the strategy guide to solve. I think that any puzzle that requires 94 steps is ridiculous. And this was a puzzle where all you had to do was swap 2 sets of 4 items from one side of the board to the other. I like to be challenged, but a puzzle like this is not worth the effort or time needed to figure it out. And I like that the strategy guide is included, but I hate to break the rhythm of the game to refer to it to solve a puzzle that is beyond hard just to win an achievement.
The hidden object scenes were repeated although with different items to be found each time. I'm ambivalent about this practice. Would I rather have a new location every time or would I rather find more of the items in a given scene? I'm undecided.
I started out this game very excited, but I didn't end up that way. I will say it is a long, complex game that is well worth the money.
I recommend this game!
Sort through suspects, weapons, motives, and evidence as you aide Inspector Parker in solving the mystery of Misanthrope Manor.
Overall rating
5
/
5
19 of 21 found this review helpful
FOLLOW THE CLUES
PostedAugust 6, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is one of the most unique games I've ever played. Basically, you need to answer the questions of who killed whom, what room the murder was committed in, what weapon was used, how the body was disposed of, what was the motive and what evidence, if any, did the killer leave. While you help Inspector Parker investigate and as he trains you, you are promoted through 4 levels of police titles.
I played the entire game on the easiest setting but it really wasn't that easy. If you only play the free hour, you will not really get a good feel for how complex this game can be. For the free play hour, the only murder victim is Aunt Agatha, but that changes as you get further into the game. By the end of the game, you will end up with 36 rooms, each of which contain a variety of people, evidence, motive, weapon, method of disposal and extra evidence. Using the 20-30 clues provided, you must answer the 7 questions concerning the murder. You can only make X number of errors or you have to start over solving the murder. If you have to start over, all the options are shuffled, so you are not replaying the same game as before. By the time I got to the end of the game, where only one error was allowed, I had to replay one murder 3 times before I got it solved without making more than one error.
With all the possible combinations of items as well as the ability to select the hardness level, this game is very complex. It is a game that you can never finish due to the endless possible combinations available. The level of difficulty increases within each game in addition to the increasing difficulty levels you can choose each time you play.
This is a great game that requires you to use logic in applying the clues to solve the murder. A great exercise for the brain that should appeal to all levels of players.
I recommend this game!
Castle: Never Judge a Book by Its Cover
Solving murder has never been so much fun!
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
TOUGH PUZZLES
PostedAugust 5, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I skipped more puzzles in this game than I have in all the games I've played before. Or at least it seemed like it. I only have enough patience for a few attempts and a limited amount of time to spend on any given puzzle before I'm bored and ready to move on. The puzzles in this game were certainly not run of the mill.
With 129 reviews, there probably isn't much I can say that would be different. I always enjoy detective games and this one did not disappoint. There is an excellent map that saves a lot of time in going back and forth.
I've not seen the TV show this is based on, but from the looks of the game it sounds pretty good. The description of the game seems to indicate there was another game before this one, but I've searched and can't find it, if there is one. I would like to see more games like this; they are a great relief from all the fantasy games.
I recommend this game!
Should anyone ever check in to a place called the Final Journey Hotel?
Overall rating
3
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
ANOTHER PET PEEVE GAME
PostedAugust 3, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I would have rated this game much higher if it didn't contain the one design flaw that drives me crazy. It made me go back and forth over and over again until I was dizzy. I would be in one location, pick up something that was needed in another location, go to that second location for an item, only to be sent immediately back to the first location.
Of course this makes the game a lot longer, so I'm sure it is a tactic used by developers to make the players think they got a lot of action for their money. To me it just seems like the developers put in a lot of busy work that serves no purpose. The only saving grace was that the game had an interactive map, but I got really tired of clicking on it after every location to jump to the next location. Since the inventory items were not used right away, there was really no other way to figure out the next step without using the map. This type of play takes the enjoyment out of a game for me and makes me want to just get it over with. Come on developers, stop this; the redundancy is not necessary and is exceedingly irritating.
This game had some neat features which would have made it a close to a 5 star game. There were achievements, items to collect, and a bonus chapter. The bonus chapter was long, but again, it was because of the back and forth, In addition to the bonus chapter, there was additional game play in the bonus section called the Secret Room. This play sent you back to various locations to replay some of the hidden object scenes and the puzzles in order to find relics to reunite with the characters in the game. So there was actually two bonus plays.
The graphics were great; very clear and not too dark. The hidden object scenes were standard fare, as were the puzzles and the achievements. I was able to hear the voiceovers with the sound and music turned off, which is a big plus for me. I enjoy voiceovers but find the music and background sounds annoying, so I always turn them off. The characters' lips did not move with the voiceovers, so that was a little disappointing.
The detective who was working with the protagonist was very handsome until you saw his profile. His profile was truly ugly and was a huge surprise considering how good he looked when he faced forward. Luckily, I only saw the one profile, but it was enough. Just something silly that caught my eye.
This is a great game if you can tolerate meeting yourself coming and going. If that irritates you as much as it does me, then I would recommend you avoid this game.
Criminal Minds
Join an elite team of FBI profilers who analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds!
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
TWO FOR ONE
PostedAugust 2, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I believe this game is based on a TV show, but since I don't watch TV, I can't be sure.
There are 2 separate cases to solve; each case is independent from the other. The characters were believable both visually and conversationally. There are a lot of hidden object scenes and puzzles, none of which were too hard.
In each hidden object scene, the name on the list for 3 of the items was scrambled. To unscramble them you must find the three ? marks in each scene. If you can't find all the ? marks, then you can try to unscramble the word in your head to find the name of the object you need to find. I thought this was a neat idea and added to the variety of the game.
I had to refer to the walkthrough once because I couldn't get the code to a telephone entered correctly. The walkthrough confirmed that I had the right code, but I guess I was entering it too fast.
I never play with sound, so I can't address that part of the game. The graphics were great and applicable to the locations. The hospital was bright while the alley was dark.
The hint button needed to recharge after each use, but was totally different when used from any other game I've played. Instead of the hint showing an arrow or sparkles of where to go next, or being useless outside the hidden object scenes by saying something as inane as "nothing to do here", it actually brought up the list of tasks and for each task gave a step by step list of the things that needed to be done, in the order they needed to be done. This is the best, most comprehensive hint system I have ever encountered and I sure would like to see its use expanded to lots of other games.
So this game had a couple of unique factors; the scrambled list words in the hidden object scenes and the unique hint system. If this game is based on a TV show, it would be great if more games could be created using this same theme. I could see the potential for lots of "chapters".
I recommend this game!
Peeking Town`s got Election Day fever! Join world-renowned mystery writer Teri Tale as she plies her unorthodox polling methods!
Overall rating
5
/
5
7 of 8 found this review helpful
SLEEPER HIT
PostedAugust 2, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game is by the same developers as ph-Pure Hidden. It has lots of hidden object scenes, interesting characters and a storyline with a sense of humor. I played the timed version and had no problem with that limitation. I did use several hints for the hidden object scenes because they were pretty challenging.
The puzzles weren't too difficult. There was enough variation in them to make them interesting.
Collecting up to 3 clovers in each scene added to the available hints. I ended the game with well over 50 unused hints. There was no recharge time on hints; as long as you had a hint available you could use them back to back. I liked this setup better than a timed hint button.
At times you could tell the game was not written in English. I believe it was written in French, then translated. This created some head scratching when I couldn't find an item and the hint showed an item that was actually something completely different. Wish I could remember an example, because they were kind of funny, as well as exasperating.
There was even an Epilogue chapter, just like a CE. It was not very long, but was a nice addition to the game.
This game is actually a sequel and also has a sequel, so there are 3 games in this series. I have been unable to play the other 2, but you might not have the same problem. I would recommend all 3 of them to you.
Don't let the cartoonish aspects of the game put you off. This is a great game with great graphics.
I recommend this game!
Find out what the mysterious secret kept in the marvel’s cavern is in Aladin & the Enchanted Lamp, a fun Hidden Object game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
ALLADIN DOESN'T GET THE PRINCESS IN THIS VERSION
PostedJuly 30, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Funny twist to the pauper becomes king story where Alladin doesn't end up with the princess. And two genies are involved, one in a ring and one in the lamp, setting up a good genie/bad genie scenario.
This game would appeal more to kids than adults. Very simplistic play and way too much dialogue. Simple puzzles and simple hidden object scenes. Scenes were revisited several times, resulting in a lot of back and forth that was aided by an arrow in every scene directing you to the next location. After finishing a hidden object scene, there was always one last item to find and this last item sparkles immediately, thus eliminating any challenge,
There were two levels of play, timed and untimed, The timed option was impossible to play; even if I could find the objects that fast, I couldn't move and click fast enough to beat the clock,
Not a very good game; use a coupon if you really think you want to play it.
I don't recommend this game.