Faded Reality Review
I found the premise to be a little creepy in Mac hidden object game Faded Reality, but I think that was the main objective so it was effective. The story is about Monica who wakes up from a cornea transplant. Something that is routine from donors who have died. The weird thing about Monica’s transplant is that she starts seeing things when she closes her eyes. Things and places she has never been to or seen before. Somehow she knows it is connected to the donor’s environment. She goes in search of these places…..
Each location in this hidden object game has another location to search for many objects and letters. You cannot click on an object if the
word is not complete. You search for the letters (A, B, C, etc.) to complete the word. Once the word is completed that object will be removed from the scene revealing another object you are searching for. The list of the objects is at the bottom of the screen. You cannot click on items or letters unless they are listed. This is a little frustrating since you see letters and objects you know will be on the list later when you find the present listed things.
In addition, you may have to go back and forth from one location to another. When you reach a house, you will search outside and inside for objects. Another thing I found annoying was when I took the cursor over an object, sometimes the incomplete word of the item would appear and get in your way. The letters are important to this game because the letters will help Monica recall the words.
A side game is to unscramble the found letters to send you to a location for more things. Other mini games are the solitaire plays, matching 2 halves of torn playing cards and logic puzzles like shining lights in the correct direction to unveil a
scene.
I give Faded Reality credit for an original story and creative hidden object play with letters. Sometimes the words of an object will obstruct your search because I like to take the cursor across the screen looking for the items and the pop-ups kept getting in the way. The music was appropriate and the artwork good. The story did keep you interested in going on in the game. I give it a 3 out 5 for all of the above.
Features of Faded Reality:
-Engaging Story
-Lots of Mini Games
-Hidden Object Play with a Twist
Rating: 




Boulder Dash – Pirate’s Quest Review
I like the title of this Mac logic puzzle: Boulder Dash – Pirate’s Quest. It’s fun and somewhat descriptive. The puzzle itself is also fun to play with its short story and intricate mazes. You do have to think a little to escape the many networks of passages avoiding the obstacles and villains so be sure to use your brain muscle.
Crystal and Rockford finds an old chest in their attic with a secret in it. Upon opening the chest, the spirit of their great, great, great grandfather Captain “Lost Em” Stonewall appears and pleads with them to recover his treasure scattered throughout 3 worlds. You first decide whether you play as Crystal or Rockford. The first location is the hull of the Captain’s pirate ship. You will find a maze with blocks to impede your success in completing your tasks and eventual exit. The blocks are cannonballs that roll and can crush you or sacks of goods that just fall on top of you. If that isn’t enough there are spider webs (just walk through them) and when there are webs, you know the spider is not far away. The diamonds you need to collect can also fall on you so be careful. The play is gravity based so things will fall down on you. An
interesting aspect of this game is that you can rotate the screen so you are on the side avoiding some of the things ready to fall on you by moving the steering wheel. You can use the arrows or cursor to move your cartoon character around carefully dodging all the pitfalls.
On the right side you will find the different helps you may need to get through the mazes. If you think you cannot clear a level, you can press the skip button to skip that part of the game. You have 5 of these moves, but you will lose the diamonds you collected on that level. The boot when you select it will change your cursor to a boot, and you can kick cannonballs out of the way.
The other locations are the underwater scenes where the diamonds will float and the jungle sites where you will need tools to get through the mazes. With the many blocks and upgrades in this logic game you will be entertained for hours scratching your head trying to figure out the correct passageway to the exit door, and don’t forget to collect all the diamonds.
As I stated earlier I like this game with its colorful and cartoon scenes, the minimal tale, simple but pirate like music and easy to difficult logic puzzles. Get your mind fit and save the treasure for your ancestor in this logic game. Aaargh! You can only use that word in pirate games. I give it 3.5 out of 5. You may also enjoy Doulber Gold and Crystal Cave if you are into these types of games.
Features of Boulder Dash-Pirate’s Quest:
-Logic puzzles
-Normal, Expert, and Zen Modes
-Diamonds
Rating: 




World Mosaic 2 Review



The saga of the Sea people continues in Mac game World Mosaic 2. A colleague of Dr Remington (from World Mosaic) somehow breaks a hourglass and in that moment is transported back to a past world of dinosaurs and ancient plants. In order to get back to the present he reads a note left by Dr. Remington in his bag advising him to fix the hourglass in order to return, and to do so he must solve logic puzzles to form mosaic tiles.
The tutorial for this game is very explicit and clear. The logic puzzle’s grids start out as simple 5x5 board and increases in number of boxes and difficulty as the levels go higher. There are numbers at the side and top of the grid. These numbers tell you the pattern of each row and column. Start with the largest numbers to begin your quest. If the row or column is a 5, then each square will be turned over to
display an icon. Going on to the other squares, you must remember that there is always at least one space between the groups of flipped boxes. For instance some rows or columns will have more than one number listed (1,3 or 1,1,1). This will tell you there is at the very minimum 1 space between each group of flipped squares. In the first instance, you will flip the 1st box, skip the next and then flip the next 3 boxes. You can change your cursor by clicking on the shovel to the right to put in the space box. It will mark it with an X. In doing this it makes it easier to figure out the rest of the grid. If you should make a mistake, the square will make a terrible noise and put the correct item in the box. It will also show the number of your mistakes on the right.
If you should get stuck and you earn hints, you can use them to help you along. You can earn a maximum of 4 hints so if you have them, use them.

I found World Mosaic 2 just as enjoyable as the first version. If you have never done logic puzzles, this one is non-threatening or frustrating to learn, and you’ll enjoy seeing the tile pictures as you go along. I liked World Mosaic 2 and could see playing it over and over.
Features of World Mosaic 2:
-7 Different Eras
-90 Story Puzzles
-152 Extra Puzzles
Rating: 

















French chef. She will help you with new recipes after you do some favors. Running errands for the chef consists of multiple puzzles – all different with some easy and others difficult. There are jigsaw, match the shape, word, slide, and tasks to complete puzzles before you can play the hidden object scene.
One logic game is similar to
game. Unfortunately, I couldn’t play the Word Wheel because it kept timing me out. I later learned that if you play it in the hard mode, the game will progress normally.
I enjoy this game even with the minor flaw. The puzzles are diverse making it feel like you are getting a variety of games and the recipes are bonuses on top of the excellent graphics and well thought out puzzles.
