nextgengranny's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.3
- Helpful Votes:1,479
- Reviews Submitted:129
- First Review:May 1, 2016
- Most Recent Review:October 14, 2018
- Featured reviews0
Status:
You've been called to investigate a strange purple tide. And that's when the mermaid shows up...
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Kind Of A Mess
PostedOctober 19, 2016
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Of the few DP games I've played, some I really enjoyed, others, not so much; & this one falls into the latter category. The plot seems very disjointed, w/ the addition of a character, I assume from an earlier DP, that makes little sense & adds nothing but padding to the story. The mini-games aren't very challenging, & two of them are repeated, several times, w/ only one of them increasing somewhat in difficulty. The HO scenes also leave something to be desired, as there are numerous instances of the "fragments" either being out-of-scale or of a different color than depicted. It's a fairly lengthy game, the graphics are okay, & it has a good map & morphing items to find, but imo, those things don't make up for what I felt was an overall lack of quality in the meat of the game. It will pass a few hours if nothing else, but I wouldn't count on it having much replay value.
It’s up to you to save the Swan Princess’s kingdom!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 2 found this review helpful
more of a work out than most
PostedOctober 16, 2016
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Actual rating, based on completed main game & bonus: 4.5 stars. As someone who doesn't really play DP, as I'm not a fan of FROGs, I was impressed by this game. One of my biggest issues w/ devs of late has been an overall "dumbing down" of the genre, exemplified by a lack of creativity & too little challenge in both HO scenes & mini-games. I still don't like FROGs, but I'll definitely replay this game (already have once) because I found the level of challenge to be a distinct improvement over a lot of what I've seen being produced of late. While I don't want every mini-game to be a brain-burner, I do want to have to think a bit, & this game accommodated me in that. Also, the collectible "signs", which often stick out like a sore thumb, are TINY & oftentimes difficult to spot, adding another layer of challenge if you like that sort of thing. I honestly didn't really get the story, but that's kind of neither here nor there for me, as most HO games are some variant of good vs. evil/save-the-whatever anyway...just fill in the blanks. :) Nice graphics, speedy hint to help me through all those FROGs, decent mini-games, & a goodish length bonus chapter w/ no appreciable drop in quality...granny is content. :)
I recommend this game!
Uncover your grandfather's true identity and restore his legacy!
Overall rating
5
/
5
57 of 75 found this review helpful
started to give it 4 stars, but...
PostedOctober 15, 2016
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Having played only the beta & demo at this point (can't afford to purchase at the moment, even w/ the sale), I started to rate this game 4 stars, as I haven't seen all of it yet; but if the quality of this game remains consistent throughout, it's definitely worthy of 5 stars to me, & I didn't want to short-change it (if I find I've been premature, I'll amend my rating in the forums). Long story short, I like everything about this game so far. I'm enjoying the storyline (there's already been an interesting twist), & both the HO scenes & mini-games have been highly enjoyable. The collectibles consist of a small metal device or sculpture which occurs in each scene & morphing objects in the HO scenes, which is plenty for me; having too many collectibles to keep track of tends to become a burden to me, more so than a pleasure. The graphics are gorgeous, from the skyline of Seattle, to the night sky on Arden, to the bioluminescent flora on same. Unlike many games of late, I haven't found this one to be overwhelmed w/ cinematics, & you can move through the dialogue at your own pace, which is always my preference. I've harped on this dev a lot recently to "re-up their game", & am pleased to say this is the most well-rounded effort I've seen from them in a while; hopefully, this is a portent of things to come. This will be a definite buy for me, & an "email of appreciation" to the devs, as well...I owe them that. :)
I recommend this game!
An arsonist is burning down the Mountain Kingdom's forests!
Overall rating
3
/
5
15 of 18 found this review helpful
Bonus Chapter? What Bonus Chapter?
PostedOctober 10, 2016
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
The main portion of this game is quite long, & even w/ the somewhat choppy storyline, I'd still rate it 4 stars...the bonus chapter, on the other hand, is so short that if you blink, you'll miss it. It took me about 30 minutes to complete, & the level of game play dropped considerably. I'd rate the SE 4 stars no problem, but as a CE, this only rates 3.
Phantasmat: Reign of Shadows Collector's Edition
There's more to this resort than meets the eye.
Overall rating
4
/
5
9 of 10 found this review helpful
Thank you for listening. :)
PostedOctober 10, 2016
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I'm giving this game an actual rating of 3.5 stars. On the one hand, I believe the dev is listening to gamers & responding to their wishes; I've seen some upticks in a # of games by this dev in terms of making both HO scenes & mini-games more interesting &/or challenging, & this game continues that trend. On the other hand, the pace of this game, imo, is too slow for a game I expected to be at least somewhat suspenseful. The lead-in is terrific & set my anticipation level pretty high...only to have that energy dissipated by guddling around forever looking for this, that, & the other thing. I think it's a mistake to have too many "+" items in a game of this sort, & deadly to have "+" items requiring 3 pieces; it slows the pace of the game down w-a-y too much. It does seem many devs these days are intentionally slowing the pace of their games to make them seem longer & larger, a trend I'm not keen on at all...too many cut scenes & multipart pieces + too much back-&-forthing = less quality gaming time for my buck. Overall, imo, this game is an improvement in some areas, but still sadly lacking in others...I did purchase it & have played it to completion, but feel no keen desire to play it again, & haven't even felt inclined to try the bonus chapter yet (something I do off the bat when I highly enjoy a main game). I'll settle for recommending trying the demo, & seeing what you think.
Find out what mysteries his peaceful village is hiding.
Overall rating
1
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Uninstalled after 30 minutes.
PostedOctober 4, 2016
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
This is the first time I've uninstalled a game w/o even completing the demo. The cursor was "floaty", the game itself to that point nonsensical & dull. It only took 30 minutes of playing to know I didn't want this. (I believe this is also the only 1-star rating I've given.)
I don't recommend this game.
Dreampath: Curse of the Swamps
A mystical rain is turning everyone into frogs! It's up to you to find the cause of this wicked weather and save your loved ones.
Overall rating
5
/
5
25 of 25 found this review helpful
A solid, solid, solid, SOLID game.
PostedSeptember 2, 2016
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
When I reviewed the CE of this game, I rated it at 4 stars, but on reflection, I wish I'd rated it 5, because this is one of the very few games I've played in the past year or so that seems truly worthy of it. I originally rated it at 4 because many of the mini-games aren't very challenging, but having played it several times now, I've found that the length of this game actually makes me glad that many of the puzzles aren't over-taxing, as I prefer to play games all in one sitting, & find that the flow of an overall game is disrupted by too many lengthy mini-games (that said, there are a few mini-games I still have to really think about, even after multiple times playing them, which is saying something). As far as the HO scenes are concerned, this dev is one of my favorites...they actually keep me looking forward to them right up through the end of the game, as opposed to eventually feeling like, "Oh glurg...another one." There is no such thing as "junk heaps" w/ this dev because they execute every HO scene w/ such care. The graphics in this game are so delightful that I actually find myself laughing out loud at times each time I play it; it's a very whimsical game, which could be off-putting for some, but I personally have no problem w/ it here, as it's very creative, as well. This dev definitely has their own style, & it's one I've enjoyed in both installments of this series (the first being Dreampath: The Two Kingdoms). These are the kind of games where you really need to just stop & look in practically every scene, multiple times, to take in everything that's going on, & even then, you may miss some things. I somehow ended-up w/ both the SE & CE of this one; must've got the SE w/ a coupon, & decided to buy the CE. If you decide to bust for the latter, you won't be disappointed, but either way, if you enjoy the fantasy genre, you're in for a very fun, fantastical adventure. Salud!
I recommend this game!
Return to Blake's Mountain to save an innocent family!
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
MG lowers the bar.
PostedAugust 21, 2016
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I waited to review this game until I could be objective about it, as my initial disappointment w/ certain aspects of it made that impossible. Overall, I've come to the conclusion that it's an average game which doesn't really meet my expectations where this particular dev is concerned. One of the standout things for me w/ MG has been their graphics, which up 'til now I would have said could be matched by a handful of other devs, but not beaten. Unfortunately, while much of the graphics in this game are still quite good, they took a step backwards, in the direction of "enough pink makes it good". There were some good HO scenes & mini-games, but too much find-one-of-these-to-unlock-one-of-those, & the storyline was not at all substantial (the impression I came away w/ on that note was that they decided to cash in on the success of "Wicked Harvest" by milking the same cow a second time, instead of producing something absolutely original). The way the story in this game ends suggests that there may be yet another game forthcoming involving the same "little helper", which would absolutely NOT be a buy for me. I do enjoy that the collectible owls all differ in appearance, & there were aspects of the game that were fun, charming, challenging, & so forth, so I won't go so far as to say it's not a good game; it just wasn't as good as what I'd hoped for. Hopefully we're not witnessing the beginning of the decline of yet another dev who thinks it's sufficient to rest on the laurels of successes past.
The rat catcher's after more than rats this time. He's kidnapping fairy folk!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Better late than never. :)
PostedAugust 21, 2016
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
So, this review is coming quite late, it being two years since this game's release, but I just had to comment on it. I feel like the dev did an excellent job w/ this game. I can't give it 5 stars because too many of the mini-games aren't at all challenging, & the collectibles are all identical in appearance, which, for me at least, makes them less fun & challenging to find, but those are my only real criticisms. The HO scenes are quite well done, w/ multiple "layers" to many, which I enjoy (they are a bit over-heavy on the use of silhouettes, though, so I guess that's one more slight criticism). As mentioned, most of the mini-games aren't very challenging, though there's one that tasks me each time I play it. Where this game really shines for me, though, is in it's use of characters, of which there are many & well done, & humor, which is something one rarely encounters in games in this genre (unless they are themed is as such). I personally especially enjoyed the depiction of the "absent-minded professor". An innovation in this game which I found interesting was the need to "converse" w/ the various characters. I felt the storyline was quite good & a high level of quality maintained in both the main game & the bonus chapter, & like the fact that one can play the bubbleshooter game from the extras menu, as I never did use it as an alternative to the HO scenes. All-in-all, this game, imo, gives an enjoyable gaming experience & good value; definitely a worthy CE.
I recommend this game!
The ones who touch the artifact must die. Will you be next?
Overall rating
3
/
5
10 of 26 found this review helpful
Meh.
PostedAugust 20, 2016
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Let me start by saying I have all but one other in the MOTW series, & have enjoyed playing them. This one, however, based on the demo, will not be a purchase for me. It utilizes a device which is boring, annoying, time consuming, & not at all challenging to use, so that's one strike right there. One of the HO scenes in the demo also had one of my personal pet peeves: Something annoyingly distracting, smack in the middle of the scene (in this case a vessel of water w/ water dripping into it). I don't play w/ sound, so I don't know if you have to listen to the drip-drip-drip of the water (a sound I enjoy about as fingernails on a chalkboard), but just the visual distraction was enough to make me use the hint button repeatedly to rush through the scene (this would not have bothered me near as much if it didn't seem like a rather weak ploy to make an otherwise nondescript HO scene seem more "challenging". Make it challenging w/o relying on gimmicks, please. Beyond that, there was just nothing that sparked my interest. Escaping from a house on fire is hardly dramatic when the game will be over in five minutes if you don't; having someone appear at your garden gate the moment you do makes no sense; & so on. Also, the collectible harps are not at all difficult to spot; they don't blend in, & some are quite large (I suppose that would be a plus for some). Lastly, the basis for this game being a "myth of the world" did not become apparent to me in the demo. Obviously, there are ties to Roman culture, but it's not as though the game is set in ancient Rome, so I doubt the immersion will be very complete. In fairness, this review is based on the demo only, the graphics (as always w/ this dev) are gorgeous, & there was one really good game so far, so it isn't all bad...just not my cup of tea I'm afraid this time.
I don't recommend this game.