Fishdom: Frosty Splash Review

Adventure, Aquarium, Match | Posted by Meg
Mar 06 2010


Fishdom: Frosty Splash is one of the holiday themed match 3/sim Mac plays made after the original Fishdom first came out. The other 2 are Spooky Splash (Halloween) and Harvest Splash (Thanksgiving). Frosty Splash with its Christmas like music and decorations gives your tank a festive appeal.

The swap match 3 or more like items to destroy whether timed or not is a very relaxing and easy play. This is where you will earn money and points from making large matches as quickly as possible. You must swap a sea creature or shell with 2 or more of the same pieces to destroy the gold tiles. You can accomplish this with the help of the bombs, dynamite and other wonderful explosives that will take out many objects in one fell swoop. The lightning will remove all of 1 type of item on the board.

The blocks in this game are the single chains, double chains, the board layout (many in forms of animals, Christmas tree, heart, etc.) and metal tiles will try to deter you from finishing the level in time.

After you earn money from the match games, you can start buying items for your fish tank. You need to satisfy the fish, beauty and comfort levels of the tank in order to earn trophies and to buy more tanks. You can also click on the eye at the top left to view your tanks at any time.

As a match player I went through the match games quickly without buying anything until I earned a lot of money, but you can buy anything after each level if you have enough money for your item. The items in Fishdom: Frosty Splash are Christmasy things like the fish with a santa hat, a lopsided Christmas tree and cold, frosty items.

This winter holiday game is very similar to the first Fishdom but with Christmas like music and objects. I didn’t find the match games challenging, but they were still fun to do. Filling the tank with bought items is not much of a novelty after playing the initial Fishdom. The artwork in all the Fishdom games are colorful and enjoyable, but the almost Christmas tunes gets a little mundane after awhile. I would suggest you try all the different Fishdom games and see which one suits you the best. I think Fishdom: Frosty Splash may have more power-ups and bonuses than the initial game, but see what you like.

Features of Fishdom: Frosty Splash:
-Design Festive, Holiday Tanks
-100 Winter Decorations
-Screensaver

Rating: ★★★½☆

Mystery Stories: Island of Hope Review

Action, Adventure, Hidden Object/I Spy, Puzzle | Posted by Meg
Mar 05 2010

Island of Hope
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Mystery Stories: Island of Hope is a sequel to the great hidden object game Berlin Nights. Michelle Deanfield, the courageous reporter, is feted with accolades on her recent coverage of the mystery in Berlin and is offered a lavish, relaxing vacation in the tropics awaiting a possible Pulitzer nomination.

Little does Michelle know that another mystery awaits her on the Caribbean island. Her fun in the sun is suddenly Island of Hope 2brought to a halt when the professor of the local museum and a Mayan artifact disappears. Knowing Michelle, she cannot let this matter go and must investigate every nook and cranny of different buildings, dive into the crystal clear, warm waters of the sea to find answers to all the strange happenings of this paradise.

The play is similar to Mystery Stories: Berlin Nights with many interesting hidden object scenes. In addition to finding the listed items you must at times perform acts such as putting film in a camera (anyone do that anymore in this digital Island of Hope6world?) or fill a case with gold coins. The scenes are all pertinent to the story and all are interesting places with intriguing objects to discover. To solve the mystery you must solve the tasks. Some things are difficult to see and you may have to move objects to look behind them. The cursor will change to a hand for you to be able to move an item.

In each level there are hints you can find in the scene. The speed search will display many of the objects at once for a limited time, and the stop bonus will stop the clock for a limited time. Bonus points will double the amount of points for each hidden object found for a limited time only.

Also like in Berlin Nights there are the different types of hidden object play such as searching for items by viewing Island of Hope5silhouettes or by their sounds. The mini puzzles like the moving pieces to access the lock and others are interesting but can be skipped if you wish to get back to the main play.

Even though the games are similar to Berlin Nights, the scenes and atmosphere of the Caribbean isle is engaging and Island of Hope3interesting enough to play. The music is dramatic and appropriate for the story. The graphics are great with deep intense colors. The story is not as engaging as Berlin Nights but maybe it isn’t fair to compare the 2 stories with its different locations and circumstances. Also the mystery may increase as the levels go up. With 87 levels it’s bound to peak anyone’s curiosity of the mysterious disappearance of the professor and the precious artifact while playing some fantastic hidden object puzzles.

Features of Mystery Stories: Island of Hope
-87 Levels
-8 Bonus Games
-Secret of Ancient Dream Island

Rating: ★★★★☆

Hell’s Kitchen Review

Sim | Posted by Meg
Mar 04 2010

hells-kitchen1

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Gordon Ramsey is famous for many things such as his restaurants, books, TV show, his merciless cuts at his underlings, and now he is known in the Mac game world as the reigning king of culinary arts with Hell’s Kitchen. You can make a career in cooking and develop your own restaurant in this sim time management play and on top of all that get constant gibes from Chef Ramsey. If you have what it takes to run a restaurant and put up with Ramsey’s insults, you will have a pleasant day playing this game.

You begin this game as a dishwasher working in Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant and work yourself up to apprentice, junior cook, cook and senior cook if you survive. If you have seen any of his TV shows you know he will be yelling and Hells Kitchenscreaming at you at every turn. Being called a donkey is softened by him saying he’s a proud man when you are fast and efficient.

The play begins in greeting the customers at the door by clicking the maitre d’s podium, the customers are seated and a click on the table will give them the menus. After taking their order the waiter will process it to the kitchen. You click Hell's Kitchen2on the kitchen arrow and you are now the cook. In this section you need to coordinate the cooking of the different dishes so they finish at the same time. There is another arrow back to the dining room area to serve the people.

If you can take the heat of doing all these things and take the chef’s scorns, you may make a great cook and gamer yet and get access to locked levels and recipes. Gordon Ramsey’s recipes are interesting and sound delicious. This is a definite plus for all the cooks out there. The recipes are broken down as Starter (Appetizers), Main Courses, and Hells Kitchen2Desserts. Pumpkin Risotto with Roasted Mushrooms, Grapefruit and Blood Orange Terrine with Marmalade Ice Cream are 2 recipes available at the beginning of the game. Can you imagine what you will be able to unlock? After opening these locked recipes, you’ll get yourself a full cookbook with 35 recipes.

If you are not a cook and live in the New York City area, you can go to the London Hotel where his restaurant resides and taste some of these delicious dishes for yourself. Have fun getting contemptuous phrases from the famous Gordon Ramsey and play a fast paced sim Mac game and whip up some mouthwatering meals.

Features of Hell’s Kitchen:
-Gordon Ramsey’s Commentary
-In the Kitchen and Dining Rooms
-Unlock 35 Recipes

Rating: ★★★½☆

The Tudors Review

Adventure, Hidden Object/I Spy, Puzzle, Seek and Find | Posted by Meg
Mar 03 2010


“The Tudors,” a fictional, historic Mac hidden object/seek and find game, is based on the popular TV show of the same title starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as King Henry VIII. The game represents the show well with its lies and political intrigue. It begins after the beheading of Anne Boleyn, second wife to the king and marriage to his new wife, Jane Seymour, 10 days later.

The main play is a hidden object game within the castle and other locations in England and Europe. You are Elena Sedgrave, daughter of William Sedgrave, a diplomat to the king. Elena approached by the king after saving a life of Charles Willoughby, a loyal assistant to Thomas Cromwell, is recruited to spy on enemies to protect England and the king. She travels with her father to foreign lands in search of information and clues. She searches monasteries, castles and other locations appropriate to the time period. Not only is she creative and intelligent, she uses disguises to blend in in the rooms she is searching. The many objects you need to find may be placed in your inventory to use to progress your play. There will be times when you need to enter locked doors and you will need to find a key or an object to break the lock. In addition, you may need to go from one room to another and back again to find what you need. You will encounter royalty, religious figures and other spies. You cannot trust anyone.

There are many interesting scenes in this game. However, the indoor scenes are often dark and hard to view the objects, but there is a hint button to help you along. Mini games are throughout this game. One is to find the queen’s jewels thrown out the window. Another is to make potions where you will mix different color potions to create a new color. There are many puzzles to play in between the seek and find plays.

However, the main draw to this game is not the hidden object/seek, and find (although good), mini games or its puzzles, it is the historic and dramatic story of King Henry VIII’s court , its many political enemies, the many conspiracies, assassination attempts and the threats against the king and England. Also a big plus is the characters in the game are the stars from the television show and not the people depicted in art pieces in museums. In other words, Jonathan Rhys Meyer is a lot better looking than King Henry. I definitely recommend this game to try out especially if you are a history buff, a TV fan and a hidden object player. Why is Thomas Cromwell so suspicious and nervous?

Features of The Tudors:
-From the TV Series
-Hidden Objects and Mini Games
-History of King Henry VIII

Rating: ★★★★☆

A Fairy Tale Review

Adventure, Match, Puzzle | Posted by Meg
Mar 02 2010

a-fairy-tale
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A Fairy Tale is a delightful Mac game to play. It is different from other Mac games because the play is not a straight match swapping or sliding game. You do match colors but they do not have to be next to each other.

The game is simple to pick up through the step-by-step tutorial given by an elder elf. The object is to match the flipped tile or a group of tiles to the same color and symbol any where on the board. The bigger the groupings of tiles the bigger your score will be and faster you complete the level. If a gem appears and you find a pick, match the 2 pieces so you get the gem. Your total gem score is shown to the right. Also when you see the 2 faces of the elder and they are lit up, you can match them for a tremendous power-up. With the connected bombs make matches under them and they will light up and you can match the 2 for an explosion.

Some of the blocks in this game are the flowers you need to match a flower embedded tile to cause the blossoms to fall down, and the fairies in cobwebs. The only way to free them is to match tiles all around the web. This game is timed and you have only 3 lives. When your time is getting close to expiring a fairy floats down and gently reminds you to get a move on or else lose a life.

The bonus games start off easy but increase in difficulty as the levels get higher. The tiles show you where the fairies are located and after it is flipped, you are to find where they are. This is a form of a memory game.

A Fairy Tale also has a very intricate story line about fairies and their quest to fight evil. This is not always easy for the 3 young elves who are given only a bottle and a staff and are told to go seek the Tree of Wisdom. This is all told in a comic strip mode and is very amusing since the tree really had no clue to what they wanted.

This Mac game is a relaxing and fun play when you are in the mood to just be entertained. The music is soothing and aids in the play even though it is timed, you do not feel rushed. The graphics are colorful and good. A Fairy Tale is an excellent game for the whole family to discover the outcome of the 3 fairies.

Features of A Fairy Tale:
-New Type of Puzzle
-Unlock “Master Quest”
-Fun Story Line

Rating: ★★★½☆