alsteele28's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.2
- Helpful Votes:1,950
- Reviews Submitted:209
- First Review:August 5, 2012
- Most Recent Review:April 22, 2021
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Construct the iconic Roman Colosseum and learn ancient anecdotes in this fast-paced Time Management game.
Overall rating
3
/
5
7 of 7 found this review helpful
The horses are back!
PostedSeptember 22, 2013
alsteele28
fromYorkshire England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Arcade & Action, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This latest game in the series has had an overall, and the graphics and sound have been updated. The upshot of this however is that this game does not have a unique (albeit perhaps slightly old-fashioned) feel that others in the series had.
The game also differs in the fact that the other games gave actual facts with regards to whichever game you were playing (Titanic, Eiffel Tower etc), with the way this game was structured and the tongue in cheek way the game presented itself I couldn't actually ascertain which were facts and which weren't. The names of the characters whilst jokey may to some appear possibly slightly offensive, so again lost its authenticity slightly for me.
The graphics have as I said gone through an overall and are now on par with modern 'road clearing' games. The sound is not irritating enough to switch off, but you may want to turn the sound down as the 'workers' seem to only have about 4 phrases in their repertoire and thus this is then on repeat (but again this is on par with other similar games) so when you have 3 or 4 workers on screen then this can get a bit tedious.
One good thing with regards to this game (which I have bemoaned about the lack of in other reviews), is that in this game whilst you can't exactly 'stack' jobs, at least if the 'workers' are 'in the field' so to speak they don't have to go back to 'base-camp' to then come out again to do another job, which is good, as for me there was nothing more frustrating (and time-wasting), when you are on a timed level then the character having to go back to base camp to then come out and do another job.
Overall if you like others in the series please don't buy this 'blind' thinking that it will be like the others, as it is not. I would certainly recommend trying it, and only then I would urge with caution. I myself possibly only buy it either on sale (as we are now), or with a BFC.
I don't recommend this game.
It should have been a tremendous achievement, but the tunnel through the Ridge of Leviathan became the site of a great disaster. What really happened that day?
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 5 found this review helpful
All aboard next stop 'who knows where'!
PostedSeptember 20, 2013
alsteele28
fromYorkshire England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Arcade & Action, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game is more of a storybook game, in that the scene is set (mother loses husband and child) in a train 'crash' but all is not as it seems. The scene is set and you have to find your family.
The game as with others in the series had just the images of the characters and didn't really even try with voice synchronisation just the text/VO and the character, which for me was far better.
The game was very much story lead, with a few HO and mini-games thrown in, this I suppose is similar to other Surface games and the story is very absorbing and though this review is based on the hour demo it has certainly intrigued me enough to want to buy the full game.
The sound and music are the usual 'atmospheric soundbytes' and just occur at critical moments within the game. There is no on-going background music that detracts from the overall gameplay.
Overall the game was good but as was a mainly story-led game with a lot of dialogue it may not appeal to everyone, especially people who like it the other way round (more interaction and less passivity)
I have been on the 'hardcore' mode and didn't find any difficulties with either the mini-games that I played (though I must admit some were trial and error rather than actually fully understanding the instructions), or the Hidden Object games.
I would if you are unsure but have enjoyed others in the series certainly recommend the download, as I have not know an hour go so quick whilst demoing a game for a long time.
I recommend this game!
The Emperor’s son has a mysterious illness. As legendary healer Daiyu, you’re called to the palace to save him, but you end up having to save yourself!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Heal the boy, Save China!
PostedAugust 26, 2013
alsteele28
fromYorkshire England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Card & Board, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is based on full completion of the game.
This is good game and really draws well on the spirit of China and the culture and spirit of Asia.
As usual with these types of games there are several difficulty levels, which rather frustratingly (or not depending on your viewpoint), can be altered during the course of the game, therefore if you start of on the hardest (where there is no help/hints), but need one to help find a HO item, then you can just flick down and then back up again, thus not really much in the way of a challenge.
Having said that though the HO objects were clear and there was not may smaller ones thus making these scenes relatively easy, there were some interaction to get a HO item (i.e need a match to light a candle), thus added a bit of variety to these scenes. Whilst it was billed as an HO game and it is, there were not too many HO's that this detracted away from the overall game-play, indeed those that they were intelligently placed and enhanced rather than hindered (which is sometimes the case for these types of games).
The puzzles were good and variations on the usual puzzles in this genre (lights out, memory match, shuffle puzzle etc), but again whilst seasoned players will have played these types of puzzles countless times, they still had their place within the game, and again enhanced the overall game-play as they were placed intelligently in the story-line and not just randomly which is sometimes the case.
The puzzles were good and variations on the usual puzzles in this genre (lights out, memory match, shuffle puzzle etc), but again whilst seasoned players will have played these types of puzzles countless times, they still had their place within the game, and again enhanced the overall game-play as they were placed intelligently in the story-line and not just randomly which is sometimes the case.
The music fitted nicely within the theme of the game (China), and was suitably appropriate, both for the overall music and the 'sound bytes' that were played.
The VO was good and mouth movement and VO were of a higher quality (IMHO) than some of other HO games. There was a loading screen that said 'best played with sound on' and I would thoroughly recommend it for this game, as I know some turn the sound down, but in this game it did enhance the overall experience of the game.
The mouse movements were fluid and there was no jerkiness, it responded well even with the 'game cursor' rather than the standard system cursor.
There was a map in the game that was useful and signed posted you for where your current position was and what your current object was (and where), but that was all, it was not as detailed as some other game maps that indicated whether there were tasks left to do in certain game scenes, again this did not bother me as it enabled more exploration. In each game chapter in any case there was usually only around 4 or 5 different scenes so there was not much moving around anyway.
The 'extras' on the CO editon was to 'crane spot' and a Bonus Chapter. The game finished fairly satisfactory and the Bonus was just that just an added chapter that didn't really enhance or add anything extra, but was worth playing and added about 1 hour 30 to the overall gameplay.
I would recommend the game overall and I am looking forward to further games in the series, whether I would buy the others as a CE is doubtful unless like this one I got on a special promotion deal.
I recommend this game!
Help Hero and Ann wake up all of mankind in Lost in the City: Post Scriptum! Put an end to the curse and save the entire world!
Overall rating
4
/
5
9 of 9 found this review helpful
PC version of 1984
PostedAugust 10, 2013
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game reminds me of the old Noir games of the 1990's. I am sure that people could do a whole uni paper on this game and the questions that it throws up and the bridging of the gap between games and how they pose ethical questions both actually in the game and whether a game can actually merge the gap and make us think about our morals in the 'real world'.
For me this game did make me think and all the metaphors in the game such as the 6 billion 'monks' (people in the world), and the Chessmaster (mother Earth/God), etc made me start to question exactly what was important in my life and who was actually 'controlling' me and whether I did actually control my own destiny or whether I had a 'chessmaster' controlling it.
For me this game did make me think and all the metaphors in the game such as the 6 billion 'monks' (people in the world), and the Chessmaster (mother Earth/God), etc made me start to question exactly what was important in my life and who was actually 'controlling' me and whether I did actually control my own destiny or whether I had a 'chessmaster' controlling it.
Sorry to seemingly sermonise, but I think the whole point of the game is to make you think and ponder your own little world.
As for the game itself it flowed nicely, the HO screens were easy and didn't detract from the overall game-play. The puzzles in the game were various twists on tried and tested classics in the HO field, I did skip a couple one because I couldn't get the correct paint colour (even though I thought I had it spot on (obviously), so out of frustration) and the other out of confusion as I really could not understand the instructions given.
There were also short cut-scenes whereby you had to drive the story on yourself with various questions being asked as to what 'path' you wanted to take, I tried just for 'arguments sake' to take the wrong path, but on both occasions it just 'looped' so thus you took the 'correct route' as it were.
The music was mainly 'soundbyte' but it happened at key moments so did drive the game on nicely, the graphics overall were good and fitted in with the overall noir feeling.
I do recommend this game but would also recommend getting the first game as this is a proper sequel as the is like the second (and final part) of a trilogy (know that is for three but not quite sure what the word is for two). If you don't want to spend here you may be able to pick it up cheap on online shopping sites, it is well worth getting both though.
I recommend this game!
There are screams heard in Silent Hollow... Trouble at the Mystery Trackers headquarters means you're called in to help.
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 8 found this review helpful
elf is up to mischief again!
PostedJuly 21, 2013
alsteele28
fromYorkshire England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Arcade & Action, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Card & Board, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
These games are good and I have others in the series, however I think in my mind this seemed to suffer more with using 'real actors' within the game-play then others in the series. I felt it was perhaps and is a backwards step as it didn't allow the game to 'flow' properly, other games that I have played that are just computer graphics are more inclusive of the overall game play, these live action characters just seem to give the overall game a 'dodgy' early 90's feel (remember phantasmagoria!), The other thing with these type of live action is that they will be on a cycle of doing the same thing over and over in a particular scene (Jason in 'The good Shepherd' for instance where near the start of the game all he is doing is washing the same glass over and over, and if you watch carefully you can see when the clip ends and restarts, this happened in other games and was also one of my bug-bears in others.
Sorry rant for now over.
The game-play itself is good as usual from this series, this series (bar the above), can never get boring as there game developers can always create new crimes for the 'mystery trackers', and they have had diverse crimes thus far from helping 'celebrities' to this latest one of finding a missing woman.
If you have played others in the series then this game is pretty much set-out the same way in that you have 'elf' your ever faithful canine partner, the map where you can see what needs to be done and where, and also the task icon to indicate what current tasks need to be completed.
With regards to the main character you can gain several 'abilities' such as 'fire-starting' (always useful), which will be needed throughout the game, this again added to the game and made you think as to where you could use them in order to move the story along.
The HO scenes are intuitive as you have to use inventory items to help with HO scenes (this is an 'elephant special'), so this adds another dimension in that you have to think about what it is that needs to be done, and think it through logically.
The story-line is strong and the voice sync/actors I have already 'touched' upon. The music is ok and comes more in 'waves' then continuous music.
One final 'bug-bear' and this has been mentioned by others, is that if you did get the SO edition, then the 'collectables' (such as owls), would still be 'on-screen' as it were, this to me is a bit 'lazy' of the producers in that it didn't remove these for the SE version, especially when people may have not for whatever reason wanted the CE version and this 'constant' reminder throughout the game is not particularly fair.
Overall based on the free hour and the fact that there is an '2for1' offer this weekend then I will probably purchase this game as I do like the storyline and the intuitive way of using various
I recommend this game!
A doctor has mysteriously vanished from a psychiatric clinic, and it’s up to you, hypnotist Maya Anderson, to solve the mystery!
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
Medical Lara Croft
PostedJuly 15, 2013
alsteele28
fromYorkshire England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Arcade & Action, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This is definitely one of the strangest games I have played in a long long while. The game itself is more of an adventure than a HO game indeed there are no HO scenes at all. The game I would say is more for adults as some of the themes are quite heavy, and certainly the quotes are very adult (philosophers and eminent scholars).
The game itself is an adventure in to people's minds. The game starts strangely in that you are in a streetcar in your sub-conscious, and you have a little puzzle to do there before the main game kicks off. The game proper starts when you are to go to a Mental Institute where you talk to people and 'cleanse their minds' by having 'phobia battles'. The game is a strange though 'Victor York' for some reason to me looked a lot like Richard Branson (but that could just be me).
Part of the game (seemingly a major part of the game), are the 'phobia battles' now in the hour demo I managed to tolerate these battles but towards the end of the hour the 'novelty' was kind of wearing off, so I am not sure that should I purchase the game I will be skipping these completely and if I did so what the detriment of this would be to the game overall because as I say these seem to be a fairly major part of the game.
The sound and graphics were good and the VO was good, though as usual the lip-syncing was not overly impressive.
Whilst this was a good game and certainly very different one slight thing bothered me and that was the fact of the main characters attire, they seemed to have got the idea of an early 'Lara Croft' in attire, and the other clothes you could have Myra wearing were of the same ilk. Now this could have been just me or they could have been a game reasoning behind it, (this review is based on the hour demo), I doubt this is the case though and I think this detracts from what is for me a very strange and unique. I am now in two minds whether to purchase the games based on this. Another 'quirk' of the main character was the fact that she had different colour eyes (one blue, one green), thought this was a tad strange but hey I suppose some people do have different colour eyes (would love a colour changing torch though :)).
The themes are strong though and do make you question yourself (well they did me), and for a 'casual game' this is to my mind a good thing.
I would certainly recommend the hours trial, I think it is probably one of those 'marmite' type of games (you either like it or you don't).
I recommend this game!
With great new graphics, unlockable videos and even more exciting challenges, you’ll love every minute of this amazing adventure through architectural history!
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Architectural History made 'fun'!
PostedJuly 14, 2013
alsteele28
fromYorkshire England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Arcade & Action, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This game is exactly like the others in the series, in that it gives you the story of the construction of the building as the game unfolds.
The gameplay is the same in that there is a lot of clicking with regards to moving the horses, and debris on the road. The way the levels are and the overall game is exactly the same as others in the series only this is about the Notre Dame. If you like others in the series and would like to learn more about this great cathedral then I would recommend this game as whilst you are building you are learning exactly went on during the actual original construction of the cathedral.
The gameplay is typical of this genre in that there are objects to fulfil in order to complete the levels, as usual the first few levels are fairly easy to complete in the ‘gold’ time without too much strategy involved, however after around level 4 or so you will need to think exactly what you need to do in order to complete the levels and how exactly to go about completing the levels in the ‘gold’ time. There are several ways (as is usually the case with this type of game), in completing the level, but it is finding the optimum way in completing to gain the ‘gold pass’ that is the challenge. This is where this series stands up for me as having the others, I can complete the levels just outside the ‘gold’ time the first time through, but I know how I can improve the level so that I can complete on ‘gold’, others in this genre are so frustratingly hard that no matter what you do it is sometimes nigh on impossible (for me anyway) to complete the level anywhere near the ‘gold’ time, whereas in this game providing you strategically plan the level and your role in it I feel that the ‘gold’ passes are perfectly achievable, this is kudos for the developers, as they have made it so that it is a challenge that is not impossible to achieve but just needs a bit of strategy to complete, which is what the game is all about, which for me makes for a good game.
Even though the game style is the same the graphics have had a MASSIVE overhaul and look fresher and more impressive than others in this series (where all looked the same, just the structure that was different), this made me even more determined to purchase as heralded in a new dawn (as it were) for the series and this was not before time. It makes me think that if they had gone to the effort of doing such a massive overhaul that there are possibly others in the series to look forward to.
If you have others in the series then you will know what to expect with this one as it is the same but just with regards to the Notre Dame and not the Titanic (for example). I recommend this game but only if you have and enjoyed the others or if you have a particular interest in finding out about how the Notre Dame was built, if you like this genre and think this will be similar to others in this genre then you may be disappointed as this series is kind of a sub-genre all of its own, it is possibly a series that you either ‘get’ or don’t and if you don’t ‘get it’ then it will possibly not be worth downloading the game (even for the free trial). I personally recommend it but then I have others in the series and enjoyed them all.
I recommend this game!
Challenge the darkness with your swift orb-matching skills, mighty magical enchantments and earthshaking power-ups!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Once you pop can you stop?
PostedJuly 14, 2013
alsteele28
fromYorkshire England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Arcade & Action, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Card & Board, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
This genre being possibly my least favourite genre, but being bored and wanting to try something different I thought I would utilise the free hour that BF very kindly gives us. This game is much like any other marble popper game, so the if you like the physics of this type of game then you will probably like this as a marble popper is exactly that, I don’t suppose there can be much variation on the theme.
As I say I don’t normally play these games so I can’t really comment on whether this is a better or worse game of this genre type, what I will do is just give some observations from my perspective.
The graphics were good and served their purpose and what I did find really good was that there was a ‘colour-blind’ mode which put symbols on the spheres so that if you couldn’t ‘see’ the colours then you could still play the game, I thought this was a nice touch to try and include all.
The music was good and there was a VO which for an SE game was not usual though for this type of game it may have been, it was however not that impressive and the ‘acting’ was not good with the inflections in the voice not as good as they could have been.
The sound effects were good and did what they were meant to with regards to the game-play.
The game-play itself was good and there were plenty of power-ups along the way that could be utilised to help with the game-play, this was good as it meant that you could move the game forward.
The game had five ‘keys’ to collect, in an hours play I had collected two of them and had got to day 26, as I say I don’t know whether this was good or bad as I have no ‘bar’ to set myself with for this game genre.
I personally wouldn’t recommend this game as I don’t normally play this style of game, but I can see the attraction and that it would fit nicely in to a collection for people who do play this genre. I am giving it three stars as whilst I wouldn’t purchase the game I did enjoy the hour I played but it didn’t convert me to this genre (I may possibly buy though if there is a BOGOF or if this is a DOD or COW.
Mount your horse and join world-class equestrians in jumping, 3-day eventing, and dressage competitions in this equestrian game.
Overall rating
4
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Galloping good fun!
PostedJuly 1, 2013
alsteele28
fromYorkshire England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Arcade & Action, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Having found this game by chance (was looking for something else and this came up), I am glad I found it. I have never ridden, would never ride as I am nervy around horses, and personally think that the equestrian element is perhaps a tad cruel, like horse simulation games and have played a lot such as the Mary King and the Pippa Funell series and throughly enjoyed them. This is going back to 'grass roots' as it were and offers a Equestrian simulation with no storyline which the Pippa Funnell Series offered. The game was in-depth and the voice-over was good, and as a tutorial said what you had to do, and that he was 'disappointed' if you had not done well or congratulated if you had, whilst yes the words were on the screen it kind of added a little extra if the speech was there also.
The music was unobtrusive but fitted in with the overall game-play. In the hour session I only just managed to enter one competition as you had to go through the training preliminaries before you could enter a competition, this added authenticity to the game-play which was good. The way that you controlled the horse was one of the best I have seen in this style of game not only did you have to control the gait but also had to control the 'lean' so that you didn't over-balance.
The music was unobtrusive but fitted in with the overall game-play. In the hour session I only just managed to enter one competition as you had to go through the training preliminaries before you could enter a competition, this added authenticity to the game-play which was good. The way that you controlled the horse was one of the best I have seen in this style of game not only did you have to control the gait but also had to control the 'lean' so that you didn't over-balance.
Overall I thought it was a good well-executed game, that whilst possibly has been a game translated to English (some of the speech and wording was slightly irregular for native English), I wouldn't let that detract and would highly recommend this to both horse-lovers and those with a passing interest in the genre.
I recommend this game!
A chance discovery sends Arizona Rose on a new life of adventure and it’s up to you to help her decipher Blackbeard's treasure maps!
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Ahoy my picross hearty's!
PostedJune 29, 2013
alsteele28
fromYorkshire England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Arcade & Action, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Card & Board, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This game is billed as a mix of genre's between a HO and a picross game. In reality its main focus is that of a picross game.
The HO scenes are fairly easy if you are a seasoned HO player (even if you aren't they are not that difficult),the graphics are ok, but the main focus of the game was that of picross grids. If you are new to this genre then there is a tutorial which will take you through the basic premise of the game (if like me you have played this type of game before but need a 'brush-up' then I would also recommend the casual mode to start off with).
Other reviewers have stated that some of puzzle solving was down to 'guess-work', I am not sure about this as if you followed the puzzles logically and deleted the blank as well as filled in the ones that needed to be filled in then I didn't have guess work, maybe it is just how you methodically went through the puzzles.
There were other mini puzzles interspersed in the game as well, one was a 'tangram' style of game.
Overall this was a good solid game and surprisingly for this genre the storyline was relatively good (considering the genre), the music and soundbytes were usual for this genre.
Overall I would recommend this game if you are a fan of puzzle games, if you have never tried this style of puzzle or if in the past you have found them too difficult then I would defiantly give this one a go.
I recommend this game!