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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.
  • Silent Scream: The Dancer Review
    Reviews
    • PC
    Silent Scream: The Dancer Review

    By

    Silent Scream: The Dancer tells the unsettling story of widow and single mother Jennifer Garsten Lee. In this hidden object adventure by Indonesian developer Maximize Games, we're given a good example of how an original game premise can still be devised and how traditional art can be used for interactive games. Unfortunately, we're also given an object lesson in how difficult good storytelling is and how a promising game idea can go terribly wrong.
  • Our Worst Fears: Stained Skin Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Our Worst Fears: Stained Skin Review

    By

    Our Worst Fears: Stained Skin is long, complex, highly polished and seems to have everything a game needs to become an successful hidden object adventure. Starring not one but two heroes, it boasts a supernatural theme, exotic locations, insidious plots, murder, suicide—what else do you need? Unfortunately, the game fails miserably due to a regrettable lack of organization and a storyline so filled with plot holes you could strain spaghetti through it.
  • The Fool Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    The Fool Review

    By

    Moldovan developer Magic Indie Softworks, known for its successful Robinson Crusoe games, continues its winning streak with fanciful hidden object adventure, The Fool. Drawing upon classic fairy tale themes, the game tells the story of a kingdom ravaged by a powerful dragon and demonstrates that sometimes brains are better than brawn when a kingdom is in peril. Offering beautiful art direction, unusual puzzles and a handful of interesting locations to explore, The Fool proves it's not just another fairy story retread.
  • Hallowed Legends: Samhain Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Hallowed Legends: Samhain Review

    By

    Hallowed Legends: Samhain starts by retreading some familiar ground and putting you in the role of a woman looking for her vanished ex-fiance. It continues that conventional trend for some time, quoting other puzzle-centric hidden object titles by reusing more overly-familiar puzzles than is probably good for it. Thankfully, around mid-way through, the game really hits its stride and from then on becomes a fascinating Celtic-themed adventure.
  • Epic Adventures: Cursed Onboard Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Epic Adventures: Cursed Onboard Review

    By

    Epic Adventures: Cursed Onboard claims to be both epic and an adventure but fails on both counts. Milking the Jules Verne story concept behind its previous title La Jangada, developer Urchin Games presents us with the Garral family who cruised up the Amazon in the 1970s and disappeared. You play Melissa Alan, a present-day investigator looking into this "mystery." Sadly, what you find is a string of uninspired hidden object sequences with little to hold them together.
  • Margrave: The Curse of the Severed Heart Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Margrave: The Curse of the Severed Heart Review

    By

    Margrave: Curse of the Severed Heart takes you on a journey into the supernatural as you search for answers regarding your childhood and the fate of your parents. Starting with a gripping narrative that expertly combines photographic characters with painted backgrounds and cleverly-designed puzzles with hidden object gameplay, Margrave: Curse of the Severed Heart is fine example of what a good hidden object title should be.
  • Ancient Secrets: Mystery of the Vanishing Bride Review
    Reviews
    • PC
    Ancient Secrets: Mystery of the Vanishing Bride Review

    By

    Ancient Secrets: Mystery of the Vanishing Bride sends you on a journey to an exotic desert island to help an old colleague search for a missing student. As Dr. Kate Miller, you'll investigate the disappearance and discover the island you've come to hides far more than a missing research assistant. Bargaining with the locals, exploring ancient ruins and solving strange puzzles, you'll "dig" for the answers to an age-old mystery.
  • Reading the Dead Review
    Reviews
    • PC
    Reading the Dead Review

    By

    Reading the Dead puts you in the position of primary investigator in a series of sadistic murders. As former FBI agent Sarah Carter, you set out to catch the perpetrator of these brutal crimes and on the way discover you have a psychic link with his victims. Finding yourself unexpectedly gifted with the ability to relive the victims' final moments, you must use all your investigative expertise to bring their murderer to justice. While this plot line is really interesting and is offered up in a surprisingly gritty and mature way, the game as a whole fails due to an abrupt and unsatisfactory end.