I was just thinking of you Freyasmom, and here you are.
I'm actually slowly playing Queens Garden with my Funpass.  Each flower/bush has a point value attached to it and you have to plant enough items to reach a certain number to open up the next items available to plant.  That means you have to buy things you might not want, just to get to other things.

Fantasy Mosaics 8

I LOVE the Fantasy Mosaics series and am on my 3rd profile and going through games 1 - 7 with my goal as a  "gold"  for every picture.  Not so easy and with a lot of repeats on some.  Now, we are up to No. 8 in the series (as indicated in the Game's title) when No. 7 couldn't have come out THAT long ago.  Ok by me .... I am over the moon that there's a new one.


The graphics are amazing.  Just gets better with each new game.   The music is quite different.   I suppose it may be meant to be soothing and relaxing but it made   me sleepy so I turned it down.  It's a game I acttually like to play with volume off when I talk on Yahoo Messenger phone -   Bad freyasmom!    As usual, there's a storyline about our friendly penguin and his family.


Of course, it's all about filling in blocks with a "color" or an "x" when it's a blank block.  With the corresponding numbers around the "graph" it should be fairly easy to do.  NOT!


The DEVS have added another color so we have 4 to work with this time around.  YAY!  Colors ..... I see colors .....


There's a tutorial at the beginning which is helpful and a Casual or Advanced mode of difficulty.  Casual lets you repeat JUST a single 'picture'.    In Advanced you have to repeat the entire level.  Nothing is timed.


I recommend it for beginners to experts.  It's easily a standalone game, although I enjoy the continuing storyline throughout the series.  So, when it comes out on BFG it will be a DEFINITE purchase for me.


Come along and join me in the latest journey of our Penguin and his family.



ENJOY! 


Overall Impression:  Enjoyable storyline and for those who like (love like me? ) this type of gamel I would STRONGLY recommend at least playing the demo.  Definitely worth at least a PCC on Double Punch Monday at BFG.
 

Mystery of Neuschwanstein


Possibly the Worst Game of 2015.


The storyline is ...... bizarre.  There appears to be more than one storyline going on.     As you play more into the demo, you begin to accumulate one storyline after another.        ----- Take notes!


The graphics are horrible!  EVERYTHING is BLACK!  I don't know how you're supposed to see anything if the scenes are all BLACKEST BLACK (that's actually a mascara color but it fits - ).  The voiceovers range from horrible (your character sounds like a drone) to nicely done (Beatrix, the Castle Castellan).  You also have a LOT of reading to do.  Sound effects are annoying.



You are an investigative journalist sent to Neuschwanstein Castle to .... well ..... investigate the Castle's reconstruction after you screwed up your last investigative story.  HAH!  Your boss seems to think there is a big story there.  But, with each character you meet (and you meet SOME characters - lol) you get another storyline.  Unbelievable.  


There are 3 difficulty Modes:  easy, something else (sorry), and hard.  I played the Easy Mode.  You can change the sound level of "sound", "ambiance" and  choose the "Game Cursor" ..... that's about it.  BORING!  And even though I put everything down to what should have been mute ..... nothing WAS mute.  Go figure. 


There is a "tablet" in the lower left corner of the game page.  It consists of  "Hardware" =
a camera; "Messages" = a Tasks list and Emails; and "Archives" = Sarah's notes and Ludwig's  Diary.  You will add to these titles as the game continues.  A number 1, 2, etc. will show up on the tablet when there is something you need to review.   I DID have a "hmmm" moment when Ludwig's Diary showed up in "Archives" as I thought Archives was something that was "closed" and "not referred to".  Whereas the items in this game's "Archives" are referred to frequently.  See?  Hmmmmm moment.



The Hidden Object Games (HOGs) are list type with no interaction and no alternative game to play (such as a match 3 or bubble shooter, etc) and, once again, we are continuing with the "blackest black" scene.  I couldn't find ONE object without the "hint" button.  On "Easy", the "hint" button recharged amazingly fast - I mean, like, super-sonic fast!  Thank Goodness for THAT since you need it for EVERYTHING!


Mini Games - old and boring same old, same old.  Unimpressive.


Did I mention the HORRIBLE grammar?  "Us journalists .....".  Really?  Seriously? NO!!!!  "WE journalists"!  And THAT was "said" by YOUR character .... the journalist.  Oy Vey!!!!!    Seriously, we need a smiley that thunks it's head on the desk where the computer is.  It would be suitable here.  Just THUNK!


And the talking??????  SAVE ME!!!!!  The first 35 minutes was ..... ALL ...... TALKING!  Virtually NO game play.  TALKING, TALKING and more .................. TALKING!!!!!!!  Shut up already and let's DO SOMETHING!


For all the above reasons ..... an sooooooooooooo many more, this will never be a purchase for me.  Not with a free game code, not during a BOGO sale, not even if someone GAVE it to me as a gift ----- I would NOT play it!  I would have given it ONE star instead of 2, but I dislike the word "hate" and so could only go as low as 2.  But, the fact of the matter is ...... I so disliked the game it ruined my morning.  Here's hoping I can recover my good mood for the duration of the day.


For those who try the demo and like it .....


ENJOY!


Overall Impression:  THUNK!

Fear for Sale:  Endless Voyage (based on SE and CE demos)

I knew almost immediately upon playing the demo that this was going to be not only a great game but that I would have to add it to my growing list of unplayed games .

The storyline is a fairly new one.  In the 1930's, 3 people went missing when the ship, named Virginia, disappeared while at dock.  Imagine ..... a storm .... fog enveloping the ship .... lightning .... a fierce wind ..... and then .... the Virginia disappears right before your eyes!  It's now "present day" and another ship, named the Virginia, has docked at the same pier.  Is it a duplicate in every way, including the name .... or could it be .... the SAME ship ?????  OH MY!!!!  Shades of the Bermuda Triangle!!!

There are 4 difficulty modes:  Casual, Normal, Hard (each shows you things like sparkles are on or off, how often your hint button recharges, etc.) and Custom (where there are several options you can change to suit your game play). 

Graphics are sharp and very realistic.  Even down to the numbers on the clock at the pier. The music was not creepy at all .... more ...... quite lovely.  That's the best I can do.  I would normally have listened to it throughout the game play but I had a terrible ear ache today and ultimately turned it off.  That actually disappointed me.  Voice overs were extremely well done.   I had no problems either hearing or understanding the various characters.
There is a transportable map which not only shows your current location and where something needs to be done ... but ... a BIG yellow star will appear indicating you have found all the morphing objects in that area. (CE version only)  How cool is THAT!  There is a task list .... and you can work your way UP the ladder of journalist ranks by finding 8 items throughout the game.  The tutorial offers you the choice of "full tutorial", "only on Special Features", or "No tutorial". 

HOGS (hidden object games):  26 - extremely interactive and quite fun.  Mini Games - 28 - I found them a variety of easy peasy to .... hmmm .... THIS is going to take some patience and perseverance (of which I have neither). lol

CE Bling:

Besides the customary Bonus Game, Strategy Guide, wallpaper, etc., there are the following:

Collectibles --- 25 total ..... 5 items in each of 5 categories.
Beyond Objects - 34 (another name for "morphing objects"?)I think those at any level of experience would enjoy this game as there is certainly NO shortage of things to do as you move through the game play.  It is high in entertainment value but not so "busy" that it takes away from the story.  I very rarely give a game 5 stars but when I do it's a  guaranteed purchase for me.  I was hooked very early into the demo. Join me in investigating the Virginia.  Will we find answers or sail away to ..... the past? Enjoy![b][/b]
 

I used a CE coupon on this game.  I haven't played it yet but I loved the first Cadenza.  I figured this will probably be one of the few games that I want to keep playing, combined with all the bonus features, made it a pretty easy choice for my coupon.