mharrsch's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.5
- Helpful Votes:49
- Reviews Submitted:17
- First Review:July 19, 2014
- Most Recent Review:October 4, 2017
- Featured reviews0
Journey to the mythical Nine Worlds to save the Earth!
Overall rating
3
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Beautiful graphics but convoluted story and confusing minigame instructions
PostedJuly 1, 2017
mharrsch
fromSpringfield, OR
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
As a fan of The History Channel's "Vikings" series, I couldn't resist buying this game. I found the graphics really beautiful but quickly discovered the straightforward goal of finding and defeating the marauding dragon dissolved into a confusing quest to find three companions and ultimately prove to Odin that Thor not Lokey had caused a war between the frost giants and the gods of Asgard. I played at the "Marauder" level and ended up using the Hint button quite a bit because some objects in inventory produce unexpected reactions.
The minigames ranged from really simplistic to fairly sophisticated but most were hampered by confusing instructions. I ended up playing them and watching the various interactions of game objects for a few minutes so I could figure out what I really needed to do. My favorite minigame required you to manipulate a handful of Thor's hammers in such a way that colored pellets would fall into the appropriately colored baskets. The tricky part was that once you arranged the hammers and released the pellets, the pellets all fell sequentially into the maze and each path was altered by the change in position of the hammer caused by the passage of the pellet in front of it. So you had to plan ahead for subsequent positions to get each pellet into the appropriate basket.
There were other games, though, that I ended up "solving" but I didn't even know what I did to succeed.
I would suggest to the developer that they take the beautiful graphics elements and try again with a story more straightforward like finding three companions to accompany you on a raid of a monastery in England.
I recommend this game!
Discover the Amazon`s untamed jungle and ancient civilizations while searching for hidden objects in this Adventure sequel.
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 3 found this review helpful
2 dimensional HO game with confusing puzzles and no instructions
PostedJuly 24, 2015
mharrsch
fromSpringfield, OR
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Large File
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
The first Hidden Expedition game I purchased was the Smithsonian's Hope Diamond and I really enjoyed that game so just went ahead and bought the rest of the Hidden Expedition games without checking them out first. (Sigh!) The Amazon game must be quite a bit older as it was almost all two dimensional HO with little adventure and the minipuzzles had few if any instructions and some could not be skipped. I ended up having to look up on the web for blog walk thrus just to get past a couple of them. The journal pages you pick up along the way seemed to be the ramblings of some bumbling old codger not a knowledgeable professor and offered little helpful information. Since they offered little information they were more of an irritating distraction than anything else. I also thought it was confusing to have the game tell you you had found everything at a certain location but you would still see it as an available location because you hadn't found something that would crop up later in the game like one of the animal symbols you needed to manipulate to solve a minipuzzle.
I did enjoy the South American and Mayan-themed graphics and beautiful birds and animals you encounter as well as the music. But overall the gameplay was choppy and not intuitive, the story lacked cohesion and, without at least some instruction or SKIP function many of the minipuzzles were just downright frustrating as I'm not a big fan of trial and error exercises.
I don't recommend this game.
Help Anna unravel an intriguing mystery that reaches as far back as ancient Egypt, all the way up to Victorian France.
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Static images and confusing story but gameplay interesting
PostedJuly 14, 2015
mharrsch
fromSpringfield, OR
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Large File
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This is an older game with rather crude graphics compared to more modern games but t I found the gameplay rather intriguing. Fortunately I used the tutorial for a change and was certainly glad I did. It sounds like some of the reviewers who said they were confused about what to do probably didn't.
The game is a combination of HOS, Find the differences and collect inventory, coins and pieces of a Pharaoh's mask. The coins are used to purchase objects that will help you in certain scenes. For example, in one of the HOS, fire breaks out and increasingly obscures the scene so you can't find anything unless you buy a fire extinguisher in the store (and you've got to have collected enough coins to do so). Even with the extinguisher, fire keeps breaking out and you have to keep going back to your inventory bag and clicking on the fire extinguisher to use it again and again. This activity really disrupts your concentration as you try to find the differences in the scene, the coins you are supposed to collect and the mask piece you're looking for.
If you click too many times in a scene just trying to find something without seeing it, you'll be penalized. The lights go out and you must use a limited area flashlight for a random amount of time.
Another aspect of this game I really liked was having to earn your hints. While you are looking for objects or differences, a little Anubis character pops up at random around the edges of your screen then quickly disappears. If you want to earn a hint you've got to spot him in time to click on him and it isn't easy!
On each level you have to find the pharaoh pieces to complete the mask for that level or you can't unlock the minipuzzle and proceed. The minipuzzles range from easy to somewhat challenging and there is no skip function (that I could find).
I would like to see some of the features of this older game incorporated into some of the newer games - especially the activities that disrupt your concentration on the HO or find the differences scenes, penalize you in some way if you're just clicking to get through the scene and the requirement to earn hints as opposed to just having the hint function refill automatically.
I recommend this game!
Why has the Everlast returned after twenty years at sea?
Overall rating
5
/
5
7 of 9 found this review helpful
Seafaring adventure with action and mystery keeps you interested
PostedJuly 7, 2015
mharrsch
fromSpringfield, OR
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Large File
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Rite of Passage: The Lost Tides gives you sort of a Bermuda Triangle experience with HOS and mini-puzzles thrown in. The game combines beautiful graphics, immersive music and sound effects and quality voice acting with enough action sequences throughout the game to keep you on your toes - explosions, cave-ins and a frightening shipwreck.
I particularly enjoyed one of the challenges that required a bit of trial and error to figure out how to make necessary adjustments to the controls in the engine room so you could start the ship. I always appreciate an opportunity to figure things out rather than have a diagram showing you exactly what to do.
It even had an arcade type minigame where you had to sail your ship around a changing pattern of rocks and just when you thought you had finally succeeded a pirate ship shows up and blows you out of the water.
I would have preferred fewer "assemble the picture" type minigames but I assume those were included to provide a range of difficulty so the game would appeal to both beginners and more advanced players.
I definitely look forward to playing more "Rite of Passage" titles!
I recommend this game!
Explore the vastness of a ship lost in time, what mysteries will you uncover amidst its Mayan idols, menacing sea creatures, and exotic treasures? Find out in this exciting new Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game on the open seas!
Overall rating
5
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Immersive adventure with just enough challenge!
PostedSeptember 16, 2014
mharrsch
fromSpringfield, OR
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I just finished Mayan Prophecies: Ship of Spirits and felt exhilarated by successfully completing the mission without having to skip any of the minipuzzles even though I found them intricate enough to make me think carefully about my strategy while solving each one.
The environments were immersive and cut scenes exciting. The voice overs were good and I felt genuine sympathy for the poor possessed cabin boy and eager to free him from the Mayan demon.
I definitely recommend this game!
I recommend this game!
Nat Geo Adventure: Ghost Fleet
Travel the world and explore underwater scenery while solving the mystery of your missing father in this Hidden Object game.
Overall rating
2
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Game apparently designed for children
PostedAugust 31, 2014
mharrsch
fromSpringfield, OR
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I will qualify this review by letting you know that this review is based on the 1 hr preview. I was interested in this game because it sounded similar to a great game I have for my Wii console called Endless Ocean: Blue World. Unlike that game, however, the graphics in this game (with the exception of the fish) were grainy and rather primitive. I played in normal mode and the instructions were so simplistic they drove me crazy. Perhaps in expert mode that irritation would not have been present.
I did like using sonar to find a dive site if the irritating voiceover help had been absent. Some of the hidden object items were misnamed - a ship's wheel is not a rudder - and were drawn so crudely it was difficult to tell what some of them even were. The minigames were of the simplistic jigsaw puzzle or find the matching tiles type with the exception of the photograph the target fish minigame which was fun.
Although you are given a rudimentary story (find your missing father), the game appears to be nothing more than HOS with a few minipuzzles. There were no animated cut scenes or any attempt at immersing you into the story so someone like me that prefers HO adventure games to purely HO games became quickly bored.
I would recommend this game for the 8 -10 year old age group but not adults.
I don't recommend this game.
Fly to Paris to cover the opening of Paris's hottest new restaurant, Le Roi Soleil! Help discover who murdered the restaurant's famous chef!
Overall rating
3
/
5
8 of 13 found this review helpful
Text dialogue only and no recognizable scenes of Paris
PostedJuly 19, 2014
mharrsch
fromSpringfield, OR
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This review is based on the trial demo which I played to the end. This game has only text dialogue between the characters and minimal animated cut scenes so I had the impression it was a budget title. I was interested in this game because it takes place in Paris, a city I have visited personally, but in the demo I did not see any scenes of iconic landmarks in Paris. Except for the names of the characters there is really nothing that would indicate the game is set in France. The HOS were clearly drawn and there were no items hidden in dark corners or blended into the background which is a plus. The minigames were quite easy, though, and required very little effort to complete which I would consider a negative. There were few if any background sounds that would have made the environments more immersive and the music played during the HOS was rather repetitive. Overall, the production values of the game did not live up to an interesting storyline.
I don't recommend this game.