Neilie Johnson

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.

Reviews
February 4, 2013
Grave Mania: Pandemic Pandemonium Review
By Neilie Johnson
Some ideas never seem to get old. Zombies, for instance, seem to hold an endless fascination for us, and time management games seem to have a similarly evergreen appeal. In 2012, Anino Games bundled the two concepts into one ghoulishly frantic package in Grave Mania: Undead Fever, and this year they bring us the sequel to that game, Grave Mania: Pandemic Pandemonium. While this new offering's not significantly different from its predecessor, it does offer a more streamlined approach to time management.
Reviews
January 31, 2013
Nightmare Adventures: The Turning Thorn Review
By Neilie Johnson
When you've played as many adventure games as I have, you just about do a dance of joy when a developer makes one that's not about ghosts or fairies or Victorian Times. You also want to do a little jig when they employ logic in their design and don't rely on unlikely contrivances. In making Nightmare Adventures: The Turning Thorn, Ghost Ship Studios has given people like us cause to happy-dance the night away by giving us a tightly-constructed adventure game that's fresh in setting, story and execution.
Reviews
January 24, 2013
Death Pages: Ghost Library Review
By Neilie Johnson
Mega-developer Elephant Games has an impressive stable of successful hidden object franchises, and with the release of Death Pages: Ghost Library, it appears the plan is to keep on expanding it. The name "Death Pages" suggests games built upon distinctly literary themes; a compelling idea provided those themes are handled well. Ghost Library, while exhibiting a good number of noticeable imperfections, offers enough creativity and beauty to make it worth your time.
Reviews
January 16, 2013
Time Mysteries: The Final Enigma Review
By Neilie Johnson
The legend of King Arthur has been retold countless times, and Polish developer Artifex Mundi's Time Mysteries seriesalso embraces the complex morality tale. Basing its lore on Arthur's friend and advisor, Merlin the Magician—or more correctly, Merlin's family tree—the series has thus far been solid but flawed, telling confusing stories and exhibiting a troublesome lack of creativity. The third game in the series, Time Mysteries: The Final Enigma, continues that unfortunate trend.
Reviews
January 9, 2013
Cursed Fates: The Headless Horseman Review
By Neilie Johnson
The story of the Headless Horseman goes back to the Middle Ages, but most of us are familiar with the 19th century version penned by American author Washington Irving. Fenomen Games' new hidden object adventure Cursed Fates: Headless Horseman embraces this 1820 rendition, as well as certain aspects of director Tim Burton's 1999 film, Sleepy Hollow. The result is an imperfect, narratively-muddled game that, despite its various issues, offers up some reasonably spooky fun.
Reviews
December 31, 2012
Spirits of Mystery: The Dark Minotaur Review
By Neilie Johnson
Alright, let's admit it; ERS Game Studios needs to slow down. The company's latest hidden object adventure, Spirits of Mystery: The Dark Minotaur, is a product—some might say a victim—of ERS's breakneck publishing pace, and as such feels sloppily designed, narratively muddled and distinctly recycled.
Reviews
December 17, 2012
Bubble Safari Ocean Review
By Neilie Johnson
The news hasn't been good for Zynga lately (what with its falling stock prices and all), but the once-dominant social games publisher soldiers on, releasing new title after new title. Its latest release, Bubble Safari Ocean, is a colorful match-three bubble popper that's undeniably entertaining. Unfortunately, five minutes spent playing the game will make it apparent that, for players of the original Bubble Safari, things are a bit too familiar.
Reviews
December 10, 2012
Phantasmat: Crucible Peak Review
By Neilie Johnson
The world "crucible" has two meanings: it refers either to a container used for heating metal to extreme temperatures, or to a severe physical or mental trial. Through its harrowing circumstance and elaborate setting, ERS Studios' newest hidden object game Phantasmat: Crucible Peak offers us an unsettlingly supernatural adventure that embraces both these meanings.