AubergineSkies's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.8
- Helpful Votes:28
- Reviews Submitted:8
- First Review:March 17, 2016
- Most Recent Review:April 7, 2017
- Featured reviews0
AubergineSkies's Review History
Save the souls of prodigy children and their caretaker who disappeared during the fire in The Agency of Anomalies: Cinderstone Orphanage!
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Still Fun!
PostedApril 7, 2017
AubergineSkies
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I played this game years ago and thought it was really fun. I stumbled across it again while a big sale was happening, so I picked it up. I love creepy hidden object games, and I remembered this one being quite well-done in that respect.
This isn't as creepy as I remembered. The building is decrepit, but the screens are bright and well-lit. The ghosts aren't creepy or sad so much as... there for the story?
There are some interesting mechanics. When you help a ghost, they lend you their power, as this is an orphanage for supernaturally gifted children. Telekinesis, x-ray vision, bringing paintings to life, restoring burned/broken objects... it's a nice addition to the game and helps differentiate it from similar titles.
The story is fun until the end. To be honest, the end is 90% unsatisfying. Like... what the...? Whoever designed the end mechanics went a lame route too. Unlock the machine you've been working on this whole time and... it gives you a key to some little box outside that does nothing but end the game? Why?
Anyway, it's very fun while playing. It's just challenging enough to be amusing but isn't a true challenge. The story is fun but resolved in a very blase manner. The sound and visuals are quite good for the game's age. All together, I'd recommend it for anyone interested in this genre of HOGs. It stands the test of time pretty well. Good length, decent game design, fun creepy story... I've played far worse (and I'm sure you have too).
I recommend this game!
Help a detective explore a rampant briar growth in Scotland, and discover the true tale of the real Sleeping Beauty!
Overall rating
2
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Depends on What You Enjoy
PostedApril 7, 2017
AubergineSkies
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Personally, I don't enjoy wandering back and forth over and over. I dislike hidden object screens all over the place with no logic as to where a new item will appear either. This game pretty much requires the use of an "Inspect" button to show you where there is an active hidden object screen, as there is no logical reason for you to go back to 6 screens ago (i.e. there is no find-object, use-object-6-screens-ago, find-HOS... it is completely random). Well, you either need to use "Inspect" or wander through a bazillion screens to figure out where there's an active one.
The frequency and illogical placement of HOS drives me crazy, particularly as the HOS are not interactive or interesting. Equally annoying are the puzzles which require no parts or work on your part to start (and no work to complete them either-- child-like easy). I played for roughly 30-45 minutes and felt like I did nothing but wander through some 20+ screens, playing no-brainer games and redoing lame HOS every two seconds. In that time, no interesting story emerged either. It hints that the King and Queen are involved in Sleeping Beauty's curse, but nothing piqued my interest there.
Would you enjoy this game? That depends on why you play HOGs. Personally, I don't care at all about HOS and puzzles, though the latter can be fun. I like finding objects and figuring out how to use them... if that occurs in an immersive story that is visually appealing, has good audio, and runs smoothly, then I'm a happy camper. This game is certainly not that! The music is obnoxious, every click provides an annoying sound effect, the screens freeze up and even give a "loading" page at random, and there was very little of that 'what's this object for?' aspect.
Another major issue for me: There is no difficulty setting. Sparkles all over the place! What little enjoyment there might have been from the finding-and-using of objects... utterly destroyed. Sparkles tell you where to pick up items, while the black bar hints tell you exactly what needs to be used in any given place.
If you like no-challenge click-thru games with pretty fantasy themes, you might enjoy this. If that sounds boring to you, avoid this game. I bought it mostly because I enjoyed Dark Parables: Rise of the Snow Queen and keep hoping for another like it. Thus far, Briar Rose is just another poorly crafted entry in the series. The only others that I have played are the Cinderella and Red Riding Hood games, both of which were weak. Briar Rose is the worst of those I've played, and I do believe that I have officially given up on this series. I wont waste my money again.
I don't recommend this game.
Act as Adam Wolfe, an investigator of the paranormal. Discover an occult world hidden in modern San Francisco!
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
All Style, No Substance
PostedFebruary 11, 2017
AubergineSkies
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Based on the finished game.
The game truly has great style with comic book cut scenes, excellent writing, and good sound design. Sadly, this didn't even feel like a game. Given the insanely high ratings, I felt that this was a no-brainer purchase, especially as I've enjoyed many series from Madhead, but this was just... boring?
Pros:
- Best dialogue and characterization I've ever seen in an HOG
- A few new game mechanics that make interaction with the game unique
- Interesting format with the different "Acts", two stories that you can play in each game.
- An interesting card game puzzle (I do love unique card games)
- Best dialogue and characterization I've ever seen in an HOG
- A few new game mechanics that make interaction with the game unique
- Interesting format with the different "Acts", two stories that you can play in each game.
- An interesting card game puzzle (I do love unique card games)
That's about it, in my opinion. Many of the game mechanics will be extremely familiar to those who have played other Madhead games: Cadenza, Nevertales, Rites of Passage, etc. There were only a few that I hadn't seen before, so the hype over the "freshness" is questionable.
Unlike other games that incorporate cut scenes and click-through conversations but still provide some level of challenge and, well, a GAME, the first entry in the Adam Wolfe story was just a story. Most of the interaction was pointless (e.g. climbing a ladder that requires 4 clicks to get to the top... just wasted energy). It felt as though the devs would think, "Oh wait! They haven't had to DO anything for a while, let's toss in a couple clicks here... maybe a few over there. Okay, time for a new cut scene/convo!"
The hidden object screens were few and far between, which suits me just fine. One of them even required finding a bunch of objects to break into a box, trying item after item to find something that would work. I like that type of logic... have me find this list of junk for a reason please. Sadly, the game was also very light on the find-object-figure-out-how-to-use-it aspect of these games, which is the entire reason that I play them.
There was, essentially, no challenge whatsoever. I played on the hardest setting, and if that was hard, I can't even imagine how pointless the easier settings would be! I imagine it would be akin to watching a boring movie because, while the dialogue and characterization of Adam Wolfe were exceptional, the actual stories and extended plot are just derivative and dull. Some of the conversations you have to click through (they seemed endless) are just repeating information that you've already gathered as well.
In short, this game took no skill, no thought, and only about an hour and a half to complete (and that included watching all those cut scenes and listening to-- or atleast reading-- all the conversations). If you skip the cut scenes and rapidly click through dialogue, I imagine this game would be 20 minutes or so start to finish... in total for both Acts. I don't entirely regret purchasing both Flames of Time and Blood of Eternity, but if the next two acts aren't a whole lot better than the first two, I will be quite annoyed. Even at $2 each or whatever I paid for them, it's not enough game for the money at this point, beautiful though it may be in some respects.
I don't recommend this game.
Investigate a virtual reality program that’s turning some players comatose.
Overall rating
4
/
5
7 of 8 found this review helpful
How Rare... a Scifi Horror Game!
PostedFebruary 10, 2017
AubergineSkies
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Alright, I love science fiction. I love horror. I love them separately or together. I had a whole lot of fun playing this game primarily because I love the genre and want to see more of them. As an avid hidden object player, the audience for this game is ME. I wish there had been a bit more horror mixed in, but it was enough to add flavor. I give it 5 stars for style... and 4.5 for the entire game.
I will say though, if you like this game... check out Eternal Journey: New Atlantis (by far the BEST scifi HOG ever created... can't rate it highly enough!) and Beyond: Light Advent (very memorable, fresh game mechs, long play time, well done). If you haven't played these two games yet and love the genre, spend your money on New Atlantis and then Beyond. Both are easily 5 star games. Now, back on track...
Challenge
The hardest settings did not quite make the game a challenge for me. There were some moments in which 5 screens ago, there was one thing left undone for so long that by the time I got the object needed, I'd forgotten about where it was needed. Sometimes, that can add to the fun and challenge, but I think for this game, it didn't really make a difference. It's such a linear, stage-based game with so few screens available (7 maybe tops?) that you just click back until you have your "oh yeah!" moment.
There is some creative use of objects. There is also a fair bit of figuring out how to make these scifi gadgets work. I absolutely loved that.
Length
It was sufficient? I rarely time myself. I'm more of a "feel" person. This felt satisfying to me. I know that technically, it took over 5 hours because I left it on while doing other things, but I would guess that I spent about 4 hrs on the game play itself? It didn't feel too short. That's good enough.
Storyline
Meh. I actually am working on a virtual reality training program right now in real life, so it was amusing to see the dev's vision of VR. I also appreciate any scifi game released, since there are so few in the HOG genre. Otherwise, the story didn't do much for me. It felt insubstantial and derivative to me, but then, I read scifi like it's going out of style.
How I'll end this review... an observation: I had some free time today and decided to play Virtual Detective... I didn't. I was confused to see that it was already downloaded (which means that I certainly played it). The game is so unmemorable that I forgot what it was until I saw the screen shots. Fun at the moment but empty calories, I'd say. Still, genre fans will have a good time. Who doesn't want to wander around a space ship or futuristic lab?
I recommend this game!
When a young woman is found comatose by the side of the road with a bloody knife beside her, it's up to you to unravel her story!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Replayable for Sure
PostedFebruary 10, 2017
AubergineSkies
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
2017 replay!
I played this game years ago and decided to dust it off and give it another try, along with Surface: Soaring City and the newest Surface game... Virtual Detective. I purchased the new game on a whim and decided to replay the only two GOOD Surface games before trying the latest.
Some of the artwork was great in this. Very creative and unique. Some of the cut scenes were a bit lower quality than the game itself, but it was still good for its age.
The level of challenge is really where this game falls flat for me. I am exceedingly good at hidden object games and tend to look for three things: High level of challenge (complete with logic and lack of tedium), length (4-5 hrs minimum), storyline (not obvious or stupid or derivative).
Challenge
The challenge is lower than I'd like. Occasionally, I'd get stuck for 1 minute or less because I'd have missed something on my first pass, but otherwise, the game was easy as far as location and object use. In part, this was because it's a stage game... go to a new area, work your way through a handful of screens.
However, the use of items is creative at times, which I appreciate. You never had to think about what goes where, but you did have to think about "where could I USE this?" That sounds like the same thing, but it's not. For example, you're not always going to get gardening shears and have to remember where those pesky vines were. You would obviously remember that, given the accessibility of few screens. However, you may need to use those shears in a less obvious way with no vines or plants involved. That is where many games drop the ball. Perfect matches (key to lock, piece to puzzle, doorknob to door, knife to rope) don't give one a feeling of resourcefulness... or reality.
Length
I'm not sure how long it took to complete, but this definitely feels like a "long" game. It is definitely not the longest I've played, but it is satisfying. Playing on the hardest difficulty with not skips/hints/etc, I'd guess that it took me 4 and a half hrs or so. For a casual player, you can expect to spend a good long while on this one!
Storyline
Personally, I didn't think the storyline was AS good as many other reviewers... or that original or clever. However, everything in this game relates back to the story. Everything. The hyper focus on the story (and the creativity and strangeness derived from the story) are what makes the game memorable.
In addition to the usual three variables, I also prefer games that are dark or creepy (Fright, Phantasmat, Maze, etc). If a game feels like I'm inside a horror movie, I am thoroughly happy! Very rare though, sadly. This game has a bit of the run-down look that I prefer... overgrown and abandoned at times. It's not nearly dark enough for me to consider a "dark" game, but people who prefer horror games wouldn't be turned off by it. I know that I hate purple-pink glowing flowers and forests and whatnot... fantasy type games are not for me. Despite the fantasy-like premise here, the game rarely looks or feels that way.
I recommend this game!
Your brother is kidnapped during an air show. Search for him in a beautiful world where the sky is as wide as your imagination.
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
An Older Game But Still Fun
PostedJanuary 15, 2017
AubergineSkies
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I completed this game shortly after it was released, and it was impressive at the time. Even compared to 2016-2017 releases, it's a good game. I'd give it 4.5 stars. I prefer dark and creepy games with decent jump scares and disturbing stories (few and far between, I know), so when a happy/pretty game is of any interest to me, it is definitely something special.
The storyline is unique for an HOG game. The characterization is particularly good. It actually takes the time to make you care about a character before you spend the entire game trying to find/rescue/help him. Imagine that! The final "win" at the end seemed anti-climactic and didn't make tons of sense, but by that point, I didn't care anyway. Obviously bad guys lose in these games, does it matter what tool is used to take them down?
The visuals and sound are pretty topnotch. Game mechanics are a bit laggy-- certain screens (2-3 maybe) always seemed to freeze for a second before loading. A small price to pay for a solid piece of entertainment! The length of the game is good (I despise short HOG games). There were more cut scenes than I care for, but they were short. The actual HO scenes were not too frequent, a big plus in my book, and they also had the unusual addition of requiring inventory items. Yes, you may have to stop working on the HO and go find an object to use within the HO! As it turns out, that was a very enjoyable aspect of the game.
The level of challenge was fairly low on the hardest setting, as you never had access to many scenes at once until the end, at which point the traveling back and forth over and over became a bit tedious (hence the 4/5 "fun" rating). I was pretty happy, in retrospect, that you only had access to a few scenes for most of the game. Though not intensely challenging for avid players, it didn't feel like pointless clicking either. I am certainly an expert player for these types of games, and it was still enjoyable.
There were a few lapses in logic as far as item-use goes (ummm... butterfly-operated robot?), but it wasn't too bad. For those few times when I couldn't be bothered to try everything in my inventory to figure out which illogical item would be useful, the difficulty settings could be changed at any time. A quick change to casual mode saved me from boredom, particularly as the hint/skip buttons are already full when you switch modes.
I changed to Casual mode to skip several puzzles that struck me as annoying too. However, the puzzles were unique, and I imagine that people will love them. Some were quite fun, while others... I wasn't in the mood to trial-and-error my way through them. On another day, I probably wouldn't have skipped anything or used any hints and had a very enjoyable experience. I can't fault the game for it. Besides, it's refreshing to see puzzles that aren't just the same old puzzles in every HOG.
I decided to review the game mostly because it's nice to go back and play a game with no disappointment. Not all games age well, but this one did. It's still fun. It's still unique. It was a 5 star game then, and it's a 4.5 star game now. I liked it enough at the time to check out other Surface games as well. Let me save you the trouble: Soaring City and The Noise She Couldn't Make are the only really solid games in the series. I gave up on the series ages ago but decided to purchase Virtual Detective on a whim. We will see how that goes another day.
I recommend this game!
Phantasmat: Reign of Shadows
There's more to this resort than meets the eye.
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 5 found this review helpful
Weak But Playable
PostedNovember 19, 2016
AubergineSkies
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
This is not the worst of the Phantasmat series, but it is pretty far removed from the best. It has the creepy atmosphere that I love, and the story line had some good concepts. Sadly, the game didn't do anything of interest with the story concepts or atmosphere. It was a decent length, but I have nothing else good to say about it.
The game mechanics were tedious. Navigation arrows and X's often didn't appear when and where they should have. There were slow load times for certain actions and screens. Unclear graphics made certain puzzles nearly impossible (in particular, color-matching a brain where the colors were indistinguishable). Other puzzles were time-consuming for no reason (e.g. ink blots changing shape at a molasses pace while you just wait for the right one to pop up). There were times when you had to click multiple times to complete an action, like unscrewing a grate, but clicking anywhere on the screen worked, while at other times, you had to click a specific and unindicated spot. For instance, you have a scrap of paper with numbers on it and no writing utensil... you find the numbers and need to "write them down". Who knew that there was one little spot on the table where you had to place the note to trigger an invisible pencil scribbling the number down? Lapses in logic abound.
The mechanics coupled with weird object usage (e.g. using a gun scope to see in a room that's too dark?) led to awkward game play. The HOGs were interactive and used only once each, which I find preferable. However, the only indication for having found an item was a subtle color change in the word on the list. Multiple times, I found myself searching for items I already found because of it. Some HOGs also showed objects with glowy auras around them that obscured what they were a bit more than needed.
Finally, the story that held such promise was not satisfying. The cookie-cutter mad scientist (who is reminiscent of Dr. Blackmore from the Haunted Halls series) is not scary or interesting. There is no satisfactory reason for him being crazy-- or for the other two characters to have the nightmares that led them to the scientist. There was no diary to track the story, which annoyed me in the beginning... before I realized that there would be no real progression of the story. What's there to track?
Basically, this game was slightly tedious and obnoxious to play. The graphics and sound quality were uneven and interfered with my enjoyment at times, as did the awkward game mechanics. And the story? Sadly, it was a cool idea that went nowhere. I recommend the game for fans of the series only. I don't regret purchasing it (I own all of the Phantasmat games), but it is a forgettable entry in the series.
I don't recommend this game.
From the makers of the Rite of Passage series comes a ground-breaking new series that's as creepy as it gets.
Overall rating
5
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Creative & Creepy
PostedMarch 17, 2016
AubergineSkies
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I am an avid Hidden Object player. My preferences lean toward the dark and creepy with a high level of challenge and an interesting story. The developers may have made this game just for me. It's perfection.
This game offers both jump scares and unexpected creepiness, which are great. The mechanics of the game are so original and clever too. It's the type of instant classic that will be ripped off time and time again, like Nevertales: The Beauty Within or the first Phantasmat. The inventiveness is just outstanding! It also adds to the feeling of being inside a horror movie because you never know what's going to come at you next... because you've never seen anything quite like this game.
I am a stickler for length in games. If it isn't long enough, the story isn't complete enough for me. This game took maybe 4 hours to play with no hints, skip, or help of any kind. It wasn't difficult but also wasn't easy. It was a satisfactory length, and the difficulty was at an enjoyable level. To be honest though, this gave could have been child-like easy, and I still would have loved it just for the high level of interactivity, visuals, and story. I would never say that about another game. I prefer games to be extremely difficult if I choose to play them without help, and though this game was not, I thoroughly enjoyed it and intend to play it again (and again and again).
Buyer's remorse? A little bit... I should have bought the CE.
I recommend this game!