Getting Into The Spirit - Halloween Games!

Halloween is my favorite holiday, well, right next to Christmas that is. I do a lot of work with Adobe Photoshop and similar programs and felt like doing something different for Halloween. My results are below!


I found a few lovely victorian mansions on the internet and decided that they needed a spooky makeover for Halloween! You can click on the images for a slightly larger view.



And after my special treatment:


Example 2:



And again, after I got to it - this one isn't my favorite, but it's alright.



And finally, this one! I worked much harder on this one and really love the results!



And after!



What are you doing to get into the spirit? Why not try some spooky games! Click on the links below to visit the download page for a free game demo!

Diner Dash - Hometown Hero(tm) has a wonderful add-on restaurant, just in time for Halloween, called The Crypt Cafe! Log into your game and go to the shop to check it out!

Daycare Nightmare(tm) is creepy good fun! Babysit a variety of monster babies in this cute time management game. Good luck keeping them happy until their monster parents arrive! Eek!

Mystic Inn is a very atmospheric service oriented game. Serve up magical brews to local witches and wizards while you try to solve the mystery of the inn!

Mystery Case Files - Ravenhearst is a hidden object puzzler (one of the best!) that takes place in a haunted manor. Can you unlock the secrets?

Mortimer and the Enchanted Castle is a Halloween - themed puzzle game that is sure to delight!

Mortimer Beckett and the Secrets of Spooky Manor is hauntingly good fun (and not to be confused with the game above!). A hidden-object puzzler that will keep you on your toes!

If you have any other Halloween-themed games that you'd like to see added to this list, please leave a comment and let me know!

Happy Haunting!

The Blackwell Legacy

Click the image above, or HERE, to be taken to the download / purchase page.

Help Rosangela Blackwell and Joey Mallone solve a case involving a series of suicides at a local university. Something unnatural has forced the students to kill themselves and nobody knows why. Rosangela, who is just coming to terms with her new status as a medium, finds herself cast as the unwilling detective in this gruesome mystery.

• Visit real locations in New York City, such as the Brooklyn Bridge and Washington Square park
• An original, orchestrated soundtrack
• DVD-style bonus features, such as creator's commentary and bloopers

Somewhere between an RPG and mystery novel, we find The Blackwell Legacy. You play the role of Rosangela as she slowly uncovers a mystery after the death of her Aunt. Travel through the city to various locations and find clues, talk to a wide array of characters to glean information, solving puzzles as you go.

The first obstacle you face is a replacement doorman at your apartment building who will not let you in without ID! By the time Rosangela solves this dilemma, she states that she has a terrible headache, and I did too. lol

However! The game is certainly unique and offers a decent challenge. After playing the demo, I really wanted to continue to find out what happens next and solve the mystery. Fans of adventure RPGs will likely enjoy this game.

The graphics are pixelated, but decently done. The soundtrack is very nice and the characters all have their own personalities and flair. I will probably buy the game because I NEED to know what happens, I hate unsolved mysteries!

Some tips and tricks -

• Click on everything! As you move your mouse around the screen, many objects and characters will be highlighted. Make sure you talk to everyone and more than once, too.
• You can click through repetitive interactions without having to wait for the entire scene to finish.
• Pay attention to the clues and read everything! Skip through too quickly and you could miss important clues!
• In your note book, click on 2 of the clues to compare them and see if Rosangela gets any new ideas!

The sequel to this game, called Blackwell Unbound, is also available at Wadjet Eye Games! I'll write a review after I play the game, though currently there is no demo available.

I've finished the game and really enjoyed it! Great puzzles and some good challenges!

I give this game a 7 out of 10!

Mystery of Shark Island

Stranded on a deserted island, your mission is to figure out how you got there and how to get off. Roam gorgeous beaches and collect stunning sea shells, rocks and sea glass in order to unlock the mysteries of a lost civilization. Can you solve the Mystery of Shark Island?

• Exciting new Hunt and Find game play!


• Two gameplay modes, story and arcade


• 50 levels of gameplay taking place across 10 islands


• 5 types of beaches


• Soothing, refreshing music help all players unwind from a long day!


• Now available with Together™ (BETA) on PC!

This is a beautiful and unique hidden-object game. The graphics are truly gorgeous and the overall gameplay is both easy to learn and relaxing to play.

You start off waking up on a deserted island, lost. Magical seashells give you clues as to your whereabouts and how to proceed through the adventure. To pass each level, you must find a series of seashells in the tide waves and then unlock the mysterious gate to proceed to a new beach. Collect all of the trophies for meeting certain goals within the game. Can you solve the mystery of Shark Island?

Some tips and tricks -

• Find the gold token power-ups for extra help! Save the hour glass token until you've located the last shell. Click on the token to refill your time meter right before you click the last shell to maximize your time bonus!


• The shell requirements for each level are random. If you do not reach the expert score, replay the level a few times until you get a large requirement for each wave!


• Chain your shell collecting! If you need to collect similar shells, grab them all in order and you can get great score bonuses!


• Clicking on a shell fragment or other non-required item will break your chain!


• On levels with the large stones, lift the stones first, as they take the most time to move!

For more tips, tricks and help, visit the PlayFirst Mystery of Shark Island Forums!

To download or purchase this game, click HERE.

I give this game an 8 out of 10!

Chocolatier

Oh the gloriously rich and delectable life of a chocolatier! Constantly surrounded by mounds of chocolate bars and boxes of mouth-watering truffles! Become a master chocolatier one ingredient at a time as you travel the world to find the best prices and maximize production...but don't forget about those conniving competitors who wish you poorly! Do you have what it takes to conquer the world through chocolate?

• 2 modes: Story, Freeplay
• 130+ quests through 14 cities
• 64 recipes to acquire
• Now available with Together™ (BETA) on
  PC!

What could be better than a game about chocolate? I don't know! This delicious adventure game is one of my top ten favorite games! Fans of the Tradewinds series will find this game very easy to learn and just as much fun to play, if not more!

The Chocolatier Website offers wallpapers, icons and more! And don't forget to check out the PlayFirst Store where you can find Chocolatier items for your very own! (I personally love the clock but it makes me want chocolate all the time! Get it? Time? Clock? Ha!)

Some tips and tricks:

• Pay very close attention to the messages that come up in the game. Although you can review them later, they contain important hints and quests you must complete!
• When you find cheap ingredients, stock up! Just don't buy too many or they will spoil in storage and you'll lose all the money you spent on them!
• The in-game messages will often give you tips on where to buy the cheapest ingredients.
• When you own the chocolate shops, you will always get the highest price for your chocolates there.
• Each port has many different locations within, make sure you find them all and talk to everyone to unlock all of the quests!

For more tips, tricks and help, please visit the PlayFirst Chocolatier Forums!

To download or purchase this game, please click HERE.

I give this game a 9 out of 10!

Zenerchi

PlayFirst Quote - Enter the world of Zenerchi, a meditative mind game which alternates between calm, flowing levels and delightfully complex puzzles. Find your zen as you match the vibrantly colored rings, filling your color containers with energy and eventually encountering your inner chi.

• 2 gameplay modes, journey and zen
• 50 levels of gameplay throughout 10 worlds
• Inspirational quotes when you obtain an expert score!

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Zenerchi is a very unique match-3 puzzle game that I found to be quite relaxing, yet challenging at the same time! Even though it technically is a match-3 game (and many of us are getting tired of this genre!), Zenerchi really doesn't fit into that category!

The game can be difficult at times, but it's not impossible! I found it actually refreshing to encounter a matching game that required thinking, logic and skill! The music is very relaxing and the inspirational quotes (unlocked after reaching an expert score) were wonderful!

To download or purchase this game, click HERE.

I give this game a 6 out of 10.

Burger Shop

Burger Shop is the first release from the new developer - Gobit Games. I was lucky enough to be one of the beta testers for this game and became a fan very quickly!

You receive some strange blueprints and discover that they are the plans to some very intriguing burger machines! What to do with these machines? Well, make burgers, of course! And fries, onion rings, sodas and more! As your restaurants become more and more successful, perhaps you will unearth the secret origin of the odd blueprints!

The game play is fast and action-packed and the graphics are wonderful! I found myself really wanting a soda and fries every time I played this game! The game increases in difficulty as you progress through a series of locations with additional food items, helpful power-ups and a wide cast of characters.

The game offers a relaxed mode of play, which I found quite delightful! A large trophy collection can be completed by meeting certain goals within the game.

Some tips and tricks -

• Get sandwiches ready in advance! Buy the extra table upgrade as soon as you can. Create an extra burger and leave it ready. You can also leave extra sandwiches on the conveyor if there is room at the end! This can save LOTS of time when things get hectic.
• Keep sodas and other sides ready! Whenever you sell a soda, fries, ice cream or other side, make another one right away and leave it on the machine until someone requests it! Dno't worry about making the wrong one, as the game will give you extra cups, fry boxes and ice cream cups if you need them!
• Use the robot power up! Save it for the 4-item orders, though, as you will definitely need that helping hand once in awhile!
• Don't upgrade new foods too quickly! Choose upgrades that match what you already have whenever possible. For example - instead of a new type of sandwich, select the lettuce upgrade first.
• Make the most of your money power ups by serving those items fast! Use the cookies and mood-boost power-ups to keep people happy while they wait!

I give this game a 7 out of 10.

Dream Chronicles

Enter the magical realm of dreams to help Faye find her missing husband and solve the mystery that has taken hold over the town of Wish in this gorgeous mind-bending puzzle game. Use logic and skill to navigate through the town and undo the sleeping spell that covers the village.

Dream Chronicles is a unique puzzle game with astoundingly beautiful graphics. The rich storyline draws the player deep into the game. Each level is a new puzzle of increasing difficulty. For example, in level 2, you begin in a child's bedroom. First, you have to figure out how to turn on the light and then find the key to unlock a chest. Subtle (and some not-so-subtle) clues lead you from one puzzle to the next throughout the game.

Aside from the puzzles, the second objective of the game is to collect and complete all of the dream jewels. Each level has a number of tiny gems hidden within the images to find. Although most are readily apparently, there were a few sneaky ones that were very well hidden!

Some tips and tricks -

• Be patient. In order to complete the puzzles, it is very important to take the time to read all of the text pop ups that appear.
• Play the game several times! Your score is partly based on the speed in which you complete the game so the more familiar you are with the puzzles, the faster you can finish them.
• Look very carefully! Some of the levels have hidden objects that must be found, including the dream gems and some are definitely hard to spot!
• If you exit a level before finishing it, the solution will be different (for most levels) when you restart!

There is a separate Dream Chronicles Website where you can view screen shots, download wallpapers and icons and learn more about the game.

I give this game a 7 out of 10. (I would have given it a 9, but the game is much shorter than I would have liked!)

To download the free demo or to purchase this game, please click HERE.

For more tips and tricks and puzzle solutions, visit the PlayFirst Dream Chronicles Forum!