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I'm a video game critic, game designer and obsessive gamer. I play everything, but my real love is old school point-and-click adventure games so when the zombies come, I'll be hunkered down in a bunker with my Keurig, my dogs, and a copy of Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within.
  • Mystery Trackers: Black Isle Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Mystery Trackers: Black Isle Review

    By

    A couple of years ago when I first heard of the Mystery Trackers series, I admit I was skeptical. As a big and loyal fan of Big Fish Studios' Mystery Case Files series, Mystery Trackers sounded like a pretty shameless knockoff. Then I played Mystery Trackers: Into the Void, and became a believer. This month, developer Elephant Games brings us the third title in this high-quality series, a stunning hidden object game called Mystery Trackers: Black Isle that once picked up, is hard to put down.
  • Natural Threat: Ominous Shores Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Natural Threat: Ominous Shores Review

    By

    Natural Threat: Ominous Shores is an unusual title, thanks mostly to its unusual "mad scientist" theme. I know what you're thinking; we've seen mad scientists in hidden object games before. Well sure we have—but not generally intending to do humanity good, and not in a botanical setting. The unique approach employed by Ominous Shores not only works the way good sci-fi and horror fiction does, (by tapping into some of our basest fears), it also makes for some good entertainment.
  • Behind the Reflection 2: Witch’s Revenge Review
    Reviews
    • PC
    Behind the Reflection 2: Witch’s Revenge Review

    By

    If I wanted to be lazy about reviewing Behind the Reflection 2: Witch's Revenge, it'd be easy enough to do it. All I'd do is copy and paste the text from our review of its predecessor, Behind the Reflection, and ta-dah! I'd be done. The fact is, last year developer Veles Studio cranked out a bland, lackluster hidden object game and this year, rather than learn anything from the experience, they've cranked out another one.
  • The Scruffs: Return of the Duke Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    The Scruffs: Return of the Duke Review

    By

    It's been a while since we've seen the Scruffs. Back in 2008, this tight-knit, googly-eyed family hit the casual game scene in an entertaining and unusually creative hidden object title called unsurprisingly, The Scruffs. This year, the Scruffs are back in a fun and hilarious sequel called The Scruffs: Return of the Duke. And this time, the family's goal is twofold: to oust the usurper of Scrufford Castle, and to restore Grandpa Scruff to his rightful place as the Duke of Scrufford.
  • Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers Review

    By

    In the hidden object genre, a sure-fire recipe for success goes something like this: start with a 19th century setting, mix in a train, an abandoned village or a dusty manor, toss in a madman bent on revenge and voila! OK, maybe I'm exaggerating (a little). The truth is, it takes deft handling of these oft-used ingredients to make a good game, and Alawar Friday's Games, the makers of Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers, know just how to do it.
  • Ghost Towns: The Cats of Ulthar Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Ghost Towns: The Cats of Ulthar Review

    By

    For a while now, hidden object games have been tapping literary classics for inspiration—witness the Mark Twain and Edgar Allan Poe-inspired titles. With the trend well-established, it was only a matter of time before someone attempted to turn writer H.P. Lovecraft's creepy yarns into hidden object adventures, and Ghost Towns: The Cats of Ulthar valiantly makes that attempt. Unfortunately due to its often monotonous gameplay, the game doesn't quite pull it off.
  • 2 Tasty Too Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    2 Tasty Too Review

    By

    Developers know you're only as good as your last game, and unfortunately for Maximize Games, their last game was the ill-conceived Silent Scream: The Dancer. Before making that buggy, confusing, chock-full of bad dialog hidden object game, the company made a great little time-management/romance game in 2010 called 2 Tasty. Thank goodness, Maximize seems to have realized the error of its ways and gone back to what it does well; the result is a fun little sequel to 2 Tasty called 2 Tasty Too: L'Amour a Paris.
  • Otherworld: Spring of Shadows Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Otherworld: Spring of Shadows Review

    By

    Interactive entertainment can be many things: a distraction, an escape, a means of relaxation... On rare occasion however, it transcends these commonplace things and becomes something else—magic. When that happens, the experience is akin to getting sucked into a page-turning novel or watching spellbound as a great movie unfolds; you're completely immersed in the experience and are sad when it ends. At the risk of sounding gushy, I'll confidently assert that Otherworld: Spring of Shadows is one of those rare games.