Gamezebo
Open main menu
Search

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.
  • Vampire Legends: The True Story of Kisolova Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Vampire Legends: The True Story of Kisolova Review

    By

    The best games not only entertain, but teach us something. Actually, since the word "teach" conjures images of stuffy classrooms and boring lectures, perhaps it's better to say, "the best games are the ones that pique our interest in the real world." While hidden object game Vampire Legends: The Story of Kisolova isn't the slickest or most original game ever made, it deserves credit for pointing us toward an intriguing supernatural story rooted in real historical events.
  • Secrets of the Dark: Mystery of the Ancestral Estate Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Secrets of the Dark: Mystery of the Ancestral Estate Review

    By

    Spooky mansions have long been the bailiwick of mystery writers, but for a while now, hidden object games have been horning in on their territory. Secrets of the Dark: Mystery of the Ancestral Estate is set inthe villa of a family of inventors who, aside from inventing bizarre contraptions, spend their time trying to stop one of their psycho siblings from taking over the world. Although the game stumbles at both beginning and end, in between it presents some unusual and fascinating gameplay. 
  • Gardens Inc.: From Rakes to Riches Review
    Reviews
    • PC
    Gardens Inc.: From Rakes to Riches Review

    By

    Few of us think of gardening as a strategy for getting rich quick, but that's the idea behind flora-themed time management game, Gardens Inc.: From Rakes to Riches. This zippy little title encourages you to get your hands dirty, demanding not only that you manage your time effectively, but your resources as well. Except for a few instances where the interface hinders rather than helps you do this, Rakes to Riches is an absorbing horticultural diversion. 
  • European Mystery: Scent of Desire Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    European Mystery: Scent of Desire Review

    By

    As far as hidden object games go, European Mystery: Scent of Desire is something of a mixed bag. All told, it's a confounding blend of tired narrative ideas and innovative puzzles and its developers play fast and loose with period references (in it you'll see Medieval plague doctor outfits, 18th century tri-corn hats and early 20th century Gibson girls). Despite its cavalier attitude toward historical accuracy however, it remains an impressive and worthwhile hidden object game. 
  • The Royal Trap Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    The Royal Trap Review

    By

    For the last decade, Georgina Bensley, founder of visual novel/RPG-making company Hanako Games, has brought us anime-inspired, female-friendly fare packed with action, romance and feats of derring-do. This month, Bensley takes us on yet another fascinating—if somewhat imperfect—adventure in her company's latest visual novel, The Royal Trap.
  • Shadows: Price for Our Sins Review
    Reviews
    • PC
    Shadows: Price for Our Sins Review

    By

    As Collector's Editions dominate the hidden object genre, players have come to expect every game to have a host of extras. But whatever happened to making a good basic game? Although sloppy here and there, Shadows: Price for our Sins, the spooky new adventure by 8 Floor Games, reminds us of the days when developers didn't pad their products (and their price tags) with pointless extras and focused instead on making great games.
  • 9: The Dark Side Of Notre Dame Review
    Reviews
    • PC
    9: The Dark Side Of Notre Dame Review

    By

    Have you noticed that hidden object adventures seem to keep getting bigger? The trend lately is to pull the player through as many outlandish locations as possible, which precludes the notion of making a tighter, more constrained game. 9: The Dark Side of Notre Dame ignores current trends by setting  itself within and around Paris's famed Notre Dame cathedral and relies—for both good and ill—on its reboot of a classic tale to provide what's necessary for a great game. 
  • Otherworld: Omens of Summer Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    Otherworld: Omens of Summer Review

    By

    A year ago I was blown away by Boomzap's first Otherworld game, Spring of Shadows. The minute I finished that game I was looking forward to its sequel, and was tickled this month to be asked to review it. One hour into Otherworld: Omens of Summer though,it occurred to me that there are two scary things about achieving perfection: there's no way to improve upon it, and it's often impossible to live up to it.