LogieBaby's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.6
- Helpful Votes:12,354
- Reviews Submitted:375
- First Review:December 24, 2011
- Most Recent Review:July 5, 2024
- Featured reviews0
Status:
The Lost Lands are in danger again... There's only one brave soul who can face the four evil horsemen to save it – you!
Overall rating
4
/
5
40 of 70 found this review helpful
how much of the game is borrowed from fantasy novels?
PostedJanuary 15, 2015
LogieBaby
fromWill a Legolas clone be next to appear in 4 Horsemen?
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Brain Teaser
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
My review title is based on first and succeeding impressions. When the game starts, a woman ( who by the way resembles Sarah Palin the ex VP candidate ) is transported to some strange foreign land and the reason for her arrival there is totally unknown. She meets a wizard Maaron, who is a dead ringer for Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings. . The first evil horseman brought into the story line is the Fire Horseman. This creature for those who saw the L of Rings films is reminiscent of the steed riding baddies pursuing Frodo Baggins. Later at the end of the demo we meet a hammer wielding dwarf who looks like the dwarf leader in the Tolkien books. There were lots of other things " borrowed " from Lord of the Rings. This isn't a complaint, merely an observation. Perhaps this is a case of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery. As to the game play itself, I am not totally enthused. Primarily there is an overload of travelling to and fro in order to acquire items needed to advance the game. A lot of the items gathered are very small and hard to see. In the demo there are no traditional HO scenes with a gathering list proffered to the player. They are all of the pick up an item and use it somehow to garner another item used again and so on and so forth. They are well done and require some thought by the game player. A couple of puzzles are novel yet most are those found in lots of other games.There are collectible pieces of a machine and some morphing objects as well.
I guess my primary objection is the very slow development of the story line. I used up most of the 90 minute demo time and still am in the fog as to where this game leads. Other than knowing there are 4 evil horsemen to dispatch, the player is left in the dark. This can be a good thing by allowing the story to evolve during game play. This Lost Lands for me personally does not have the wow factor I require to make a game a must have. I like it and will undoubtedly will wait either for a really good sale to get the CE or I'll wait for the SE later on. Given the dearth of quality new games in recent months, Horsemen is certainly a step up in quality compared to the terrible offerings we have endured lately. This is a solid 4 star endeavor.
I guess my primary objection is the very slow development of the story line. I used up most of the 90 minute demo time and still am in the fog as to where this game leads. Other than knowing there are 4 evil horsemen to dispatch, the player is left in the dark. This can be a good thing by allowing the story to evolve during game play. This Lost Lands for me personally does not have the wow factor I require to make a game a must have. I like it and will undoubtedly will wait either for a really good sale to get the CE or I'll wait for the SE later on. Given the dearth of quality new games in recent months, Horsemen is certainly a step up in quality compared to the terrible offerings we have endured lately. This is a solid 4 star endeavor.
I recommend this game!
Take a trip through a magical, snowy winterland in this frosty match-3 adventure.
Overall rating
2
/
5
13 of 62 found this review helpful
Bah Humbug !!
PostedJanuary 13, 2015
LogieBaby
fromChristmas songs in mid January???
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Brain Teaser
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Let me start by saying that I am not a fan of M3 games. I generally find them repetitious and boring. With nothing better to do this morning I elected to give this version a trial primarily since the teaser mentioned well known music as accompaniment. It turns out that the tunes are all Christmas songs and of a religious nature. For starters, this game should have been offered around mid December at the latest and not on January 13th. I am not one who enjoys holiday music, except for Santa Baby. Hearing this 2 weeks after the season ends is just poor timing as to when the game is offered. As to the game play itself, it's another repeat of all M3s. Make matches of 3 or more items, break chains, blow up things etc. As i said earlier.....boring !!
I doubt if M3 lovers will take to this game mostly due to the ill timed introduction of the game.
I doubt if M3 lovers will take to this game mostly due to the ill timed introduction of the game.
I don't recommend this game.
In this scarier-than-ever story, find out what really happened on prom night, 1964...
Overall rating
2
/
5
31 of 50 found this review helpful
This Phantasmat is not " Phantastic "
PostedJanuary 10, 2015
LogieBaby
fromPhantasmat is a Phailure
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Brain Teaser
Current Favorite:
Banana Bugs
(37)Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I do own a couple other games in this series yet I must admit they are not among my favorites. I find Endless Night to be a step down from its predecessors. Once again after yet another car crash ( lousy drivers in lots of games ) a mom is intent on finding and rescuing her daughter Aimee who has been abducted . Furthermore for some unknown reason the mom has been deposited via some form of time travel back to 1965 and has been situated in the ruins of a high school that was devastated by a gas explosion on prom night. The results was a horrific loss of life. Mom encounters a nerdy student in a chemistry lab who thinks he is responsible for the explosion because he messed up making what he thought was just a stink bomb. Mom does straighten out his thinking and POOF he disappears. The same essentially occurs with mom aiding a nurse in the school infirmary. Mom thinks she has rescued Aimee but alas some nefarious man in a trenchcoat keeps the daughter in his clutches and here the demo version ends.
Once again players find themselves with a trite and hackneyed story line, one we have seen over and over again. I sometimes enjoy a game with a fair degree of creep factor however this Phantasmat is way over the top resulting in my dislike of the story on yet another level. To its credit, the game has some interesting HO segments and puzzles.
These elements do not in any way induce me to enjoying the game. If there are collectibles ( which seem to be a must these days in CE versions ) I didn't find any. The same can be said for morphs although one Ho scene was locating 5 morphing items. For me and me alone, this game's redeeming value was the end of the demo so I could uninstall it and throw it in the recycle bin. A definite pass for me.
These elements do not in any way induce me to enjoying the game. If there are collectibles ( which seem to be a must these days in CE versions ) I didn't find any. The same can be said for morphs although one Ho scene was locating 5 morphing items. For me and me alone, this game's redeeming value was the end of the demo so I could uninstall it and throw it in the recycle bin. A definite pass for me.
I don't recommend this game.
A dark wizard awakens the ice queen using your daughter!
Overall rating
4
/
5
31 of 48 found this review helpful
a good but not great game
PostedJanuary 8, 2015
LogieBaby
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Brain Teaser
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Love Chronicles: A Winter's Spell is a decent game, one we have seen many times in the past. The names change and the scenery changes but the story has been told in the past via other games. A dark wizard with a totally unimaginative name
( Mister X ) has kidnapped 8 year old Princess Lerione. He wants to turn the world into one where everybody is a scoundrel with hearts seemingly of ice. X obviously has no compassion. The king has been frozen solid and Lerione's mom is tasked to save the princess, defeat X and return all back to normal. There is a good wizard, Lucio, who assists the mom in her quest. As in all HOPAs the player must gather items and use them in various places to further the quest. There are no traditional HO scenes using an objects list during the demo. There are plenty wherein one item must be located then used to open or complete another part and be given yet a new item to use elsewhere etc. The best part of this game is some novel puzzles. A few require some thinking as they are challenging. I did skip a couple in the demo. Included are some mini stories designed to further the game and sections of things such as a heart, star, etc. must be found by either picking them up or moving another item to locate a hidden piece.
The game is quite cartoonish which is something I generally dislike yet it is appropriate in this game what with the extreme fantasy nature of the game. There are collectible items which when found are parts of jigsaw puzzles. When assembled a chapter of the story is told. The game scenery is somewhat grainy and I think the mouse movement is a bit clunky. As I always do, I opted for no tutorial yet in some areas instructions were still given. I never need any hand holding so I found this annoying. It's a game that youngsters may enjoy if they do not find it too difficult which may be the case. Personally, I will avoid this game as a CE because I just don't like it enough to spend the extra dollars. When the SE is offered I will consider it then. A definite improvement over all but one of the 2015 games so far.
( Mister X ) has kidnapped 8 year old Princess Lerione. He wants to turn the world into one where everybody is a scoundrel with hearts seemingly of ice. X obviously has no compassion. The king has been frozen solid and Lerione's mom is tasked to save the princess, defeat X and return all back to normal. There is a good wizard, Lucio, who assists the mom in her quest. As in all HOPAs the player must gather items and use them in various places to further the quest. There are no traditional HO scenes using an objects list during the demo. There are plenty wherein one item must be located then used to open or complete another part and be given yet a new item to use elsewhere etc. The best part of this game is some novel puzzles. A few require some thinking as they are challenging. I did skip a couple in the demo. Included are some mini stories designed to further the game and sections of things such as a heart, star, etc. must be found by either picking them up or moving another item to locate a hidden piece.
The game is quite cartoonish which is something I generally dislike yet it is appropriate in this game what with the extreme fantasy nature of the game. There are collectible items which when found are parts of jigsaw puzzles. When assembled a chapter of the story is told. The game scenery is somewhat grainy and I think the mouse movement is a bit clunky. As I always do, I opted for no tutorial yet in some areas instructions were still given. I never need any hand holding so I found this annoying. It's a game that youngsters may enjoy if they do not find it too difficult which may be the case. Personally, I will avoid this game as a CE because I just don't like it enough to spend the extra dollars. When the SE is offered I will consider it then. A definite improvement over all but one of the 2015 games so far.
I recommend this game!
Great Britain needs your help! Explore 6 uncharted islands. Solve 120 new and unique puzzles from great captains of the past!
Overall rating
2
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
it would have been OK 5 years ago ,,,,,,but....
PostedJanuary 7, 2015
LogieBaby
fromthe pirate ship has been scuttled !!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Brain Teaser
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
.....now that we have seen the gold standard in grid games with Fantasy Mosaics 4 and 5, everything else pales by comparison. This fill and cross game is by 8floor and this company hardly ever delivers really good games. They gave us one a few days ago that was nothing short of horrendous. This nanogram has some interesting grids but without providing any post completion caption for the grid and the lack of multiple colors ( which make FM 4 and FM5 so appealing ) I found the game boring and left after about 15 minutes of the demo. I suppose diehard grid game lovers will enjoy this effort, but for those of us who favor other genres as a rule, this is a no-go.
I don't recommend this game.
Characters from classical literature are coming to life!
Overall rating
5
/
5
54 of 72 found this review helpful
2015 starting off with a BANG!!
PostedJanuary 3, 2015
LogieBaby
fromCAW !! CAW !! CAW !!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Brain Teaser
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The Midnight Mysteries series is one of the better collection of HOPA style games that have come along over the years. I particularly enjoy that real life people are involved. Prior games include Mark Twain, Harry Houdini, Edgar Allan Poe and Abraham Lincoln as main characters. From there the developer takes lots of twists and turns in the stories and the game player must realize from the outset that there is a fair degree of "poetic license " utilized along with story development bordering on the occult. The Midnight Mysteries do not deviate in maintaining this theme. Some players might get turned off by the strange events in these tales. I find them utterly fascinating. In the latest version,Ghostwriting involves famous authors. During the demo the player encounters Charles Dickens who via a letter from Washington Irving is teleported to New York in order to save his friend Irving who has been captured for some unknown reason by a masked man who is obviously the villain of the piece. Finding items via the usual hidden object segments and picking up others randomly lying around and using them furthers the game action. Some interesting puzzles need completion as well. As in the prior MM games, we have our friendly raven as a gatherer of out of the reach items. I generally dislike animal helpers but in this game the bird fits in fine. There are 56 clovers to find as collectibles and there are coins to be amassed to purchase things to adorn a room created primarily for our raven friend. I found no morphings in the game. The demo ends with the player learning the Dickens novel Oliver Twist becomes the second phase of the journey. The graphics of Ghostwriting are clear, the story development is crisp and the game play is fantastic. As long as the player is committed to suspending belief as is the norm with the MM series, a fine time is at hand. There are many such series which have stood the test of time ( Awakening, Dark Parables, MCF to name a few ) and Midnight Mysteries is among the best. For me personally, the last couple of months offered very little entertainment in BFG offerings. Ghostwriting is I hope a harbinger of better things to come in 2015. I overwhelmingly endorse this game.
I recommend this game!
Castle Secrets: Between Day and Night
Explore a castle full of secrets and save the world!
Overall rating
1
/
5
47 of 88 found this review helpful
At year's end BFG saved the worst for last
PostedDecember 30, 2014
LogieBaby
fromNothing secret here............it stinks !!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Brain Teaser
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
There have been some horrendous games this year. I realize that not all can be gems when there is a supposed " new game every day ". I can state with a fair degree of certainty that Castle Secrets is without a doubt the most asinine effort of 2014. This abyssmal effort cannot have been developed this year as it has old game written all over it. The Hildegard family has a castle that is overrun by all sorts of nasties which we as the player must remove. Our guide of sorts is the butler Richard. He is everywhere all of the time in the form of a never ending tutorial. No one needs to be told to find items in the kitchen or the library and other areas over and over and over again ad nauseum. Whenever the player is in a room to gather items, there are only 4 of them. What kind of hidden object segment is that? I guess the player gets to acquire items useful in vanquishing the baddies that occupy the castle. I never got that far. I generally give a demo 20-30 minutes, even in the lousy games, in the hope some improvement is in the offing. This game set a personal record of sorts for me in that I deleted this awful game after about 10 minutes. It took me that small amount of time to realize there is absolutely nothing redeeming about Castle Secrets. Avoid this mess at all costs.
I don't recommend this game.
Banana Bugs
Banana-hungry bugs are ravaging the village food supply and you’re the only monkey brave enough to take them on in Banana Bugs!
Overall rating
5
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
this is crazy good fun
PostedDecember 30, 2014
LogieBaby
fromDon't get stung and don't get bitten by nasty bugs
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Brain Teaser
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I have had Banana Bugs for 2 years + yet I have never reviewed it until now since I recently dragged it out of mothballs so to speak. Hogs and Hopas are my favorite yet every few months I revert back to BB and never tire of it. There are 476 levels in the game so I do not tackle it in one sitting. The early levels are rather simple. I am at the stage where garnering the most points is the aim. My personal high is somewhat over 9.2 million. I don't know if achieving 10 million is possible. Here are some strategies for getting lots of points:During powerups, only use the casino one time as it is not a big help. There are couple other powerups that are relatively useless as well. The best ones are the 4 monkey helpers, the parrot and most importantly ZUMA. When used appropriately, lots of points can be gained since each bug that is zapped by the assistant incrementally adds to the score. Isolate the largest number of bugs in the smallest space possible before even zapping one of them. Lots of points gathered by doing so. When the red ants are introduced ( around level 57 ) keep them grouped with as many other bugs as possible to maximize scoring. After acquiring Zuma do not buy powerups as they are relatively useless. This game can be played in two ways, one is to just keep on blasting bugs and the other is to utilize strategy to maximize points. Either method is sure to be entertaining with this silly yet addictive game. Banana Bugs is firmly entrenched in my personal top 10 all-time games.
I recommend this game!
The Smithsonian Castle’s secrets lie in a Civil War past.
Overall rating
5
/
5
128 of 154 found this review helpful
The game is MAGNIFICENT in every way possible.
PostedDecember 25, 2014
LogieBaby
fromIn whichever way you may celebrate... Happy Holidays to all !!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Brain Teaser
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
There are lots of really good games that come out every year and there are some terribly bad ones too. This episode of the Smithsonian chapter of the HE series is astounding. The story progresses in the way a terrific novel does. This game is a " page turner ". Every time I learned something new in the game I definitely wanted just a little bit more. This doesn't happen in every game, even among the better ones. Graphically this version is certainly up to the standards of its predecessors. The interactive hidden object segments and the puzzles are all fantastic. One aspect I found particularly noteworthy is in the story. Far too many games lay out the entirety of the story in the early part of the game. In the Castle everything is piecemeal, that's why I referred earlier that the story is a page turner. It turns out that time travel will be an important element in the denouement of this game. I found one minor typo when a book was introduced exhibiting important people in the creation of the Smithsonian. There is a man first name of Frances, should have been Francis as the e in the name denotes a woman.As I said, a minor typo. A 1000 kudos to the creative genius that is Eipix, these folks have rarely stumbled when presenting a new offering. This HE just may be their finest effort. For those who enjoy finding them, there are some morphing objects and I really liked the devices within the castle wherein pressing a button provides some wonderful information about the Institute itself. Learning something while enjoying a game can only be a good thing. Smithsonian Castle will be added to my collection posthaste. It's a wonderful present during this holiday season.
I recommend this game!
Venture inside the beautiful hidden world of Japan, as a young apprentice Geisha. Discover mysterious secrets, ancient arts and heart-breaking love.
Overall rating
3
/
5
17 of 21 found this review helpful
Love the story.......hate the game
PostedDecember 18, 2014
LogieBaby
fromI did enjoy the samisen music
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Brain Teaser
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I like most things Oriental, particularly the food !! When I saw Runaway Geisha being offered my enthusiasm level perked up. I found the story to be very compelling. A woman abandons her infant daughter for reasons unknown. As the girl becomes a young woman we learn she is the daughter of a famous geisha in Kyoto who gave up the baby since the mother gave birth out of wedlock. The young woman is now compelled to be reunited with her mother. She enters a geisha training facility to become part of what has always been a vital form of entertainment in Japanese society. Unfortunately the game glitched out a couple of times and that is a warning sign to me. I won't buy a game that has apparent technical flaws. The game is beautifully drawn and the hidden object sections do offer challenging finds. There are also a couple of imaginative puzzles along with others that are fairly run of the mill. The characters have zero movement and the dialogue doesn't sound to me like anything that would be spoken in Japan in the 1920's. While I understand English is being used for a western audience, I think the actual dialogue should be much more formal that what is provided. The game moves along in a very clunky manner and I didn't seem to be able to get away from a form of tutorial which I never use in any game. I don't know if this is an older game being foisted upon us by BFG as a new one or if it's an amateurish effort by a new developer. Nevertheless while I could have easily gotten into the story development, too much of the game itself leaves me cold, especially the glitches. Too bad, I wanted to like this.
I don't recommend this game.