Game review: Mystery Chronicles: Murder Among Friends

On a whim last night, I downloaded Mystery Chronicles: Murder Among Friends. I found myself growing tired of time management games. Perhaps a hidden object game was what I needed to get me out of my funk. The game takes place in 1899. While on your way to visit your cousin, you find out that he and his wife have been killed. Police currently believe that she shot him then killed herself but you don't believe that. Not to mention that the children are missing! You decide to do a little searching on your own to try to track down the killer and find the children.

I am so amazed by how much I like this game. Everything in each location has a place in the scene so there isn't anything "odd" like a duck in the kitchen or anything. Some of the objects you need to find are difficult but they aren't so difficult that you find yourself getting frustrated. There are also mini-games that you need to solve to do things like opening safes or reading a ripped up letter. Even these mini-games are fun! I think this was just what I needed to take my mind off crappy time management games.

Utada Hikaru - Colors

I have been debating how to handle the music reviews for the site. On one hand, the previous format was handy and had some pretty good information. On the other hand, it was tedious and boring. So, for now, I'm just going to write about songs. They may contain a lot of hard information or they may contain nothing but my personal feelings. You'll still learn about songs you may have never heard before, which is the whole point of talking about them.

First up is Utada Hikaru's "Colors." This was her only single released in 2003. The B-side of the single, "Simple and Clean," may have been more famous than the A-side since it was the theme song for a couple of the Kingdom Hearts video games. "Colors" wasn't put on an album until the 2006 release of Ultra Blue.

The song itself starts out fairly laid-back. In the beginning, the lyrics flow like a lazy river. They pick up a little at the chorus, which is the best part of the song. The background instruments are unusual enough to catch your ear but not too strange that they turn you off. As a whole, it sounds a lot like "Simple and Clean" with a few slight differences. It's not surprising that the single was so popular.

Game review: Wild West Quest

Wile West Quest is a western-themed hidden object game. Besides the normal hidden object objectives, there are other mini-games to play as well. Of course, those are western-themed too. Sometimes you'll have a shoot-out in the center of town; sometimes you'll need to wrangle some horses; sometimes you'll need to ID brands on cattle. None of the mini-games are particularly difficult but they do change things up just enough to keep the game from getting boring. Overall, the game isn't all that bad. The hidden object parts are fairly typical but the game shines a bit more in the mini-game areas. Since either the camera or the objects you are dealing with are moving in those games, you need a little more skill to get through them. Not that this makes those pieces of the game difficult, just interesting.

Game review: Jewelleria

In the Jewelleria time management game, you are the owner of a jewelry store. You need to sell your jewelry in order to advance the family business. The game takes us back to very standard time management game play. Each customer tells you exactly what they want. You pick the pieces from the cases and customize them as necessary. Unfortunately, instead of making the game interesting, it feels stale and boring. This is the exact template for Cake Mania and Ice Cream Dee Lites, just to name two of the many games that play this way. I found myself stopping the game frequently because I found the game dull. Perhaps next time, there will be a little more oomph.

My pets

I know I don't talk a whole lot about my personal life. I have two cats and two dogs. While it can be annoying taking care of animals sometimes, it can be kinda fun buying dog and cat supplies. Well, I suppose they would be classified more as 'toys' than 'supplies.' Though I also love buying them different kinds of foods as treats. For example, my cats occasionally get a can of wet cat food as a treat. I don't buy it very often. Maybe once every other month or so. It's just fun to watch them enjoy it so much! The dogs are too easy. They just get bones. It's much more difficult to make a cat happy.

TV review: Knight Rider

I've been putting off talking about this show. Mostly because I know people can get overly emotional (and by that I mean 'angry') when shows from their childhood are remade. I was a big fan of the original Knight Rider series when I was younger. So I was skeptical when a new version was announced. After all, would it still be the same lovable show without the cheesiness that is David Hasselhoff? No worries, my friends. The updated version of the show is different but that is a good thing. It is a little more serious and a little more technical. However, those are things that make the show awesome. Since special effects are amazing nowadays, KITT can do just about anything. I'm really looking forward to what will happen on the show. Especially if the rumors are true and David Hasselhoff comes back with the old KITT.

Babies don't need pillows

I must be some sort of female anomaly. When my daughter was a baby, she didn't have anything extravagant in her bedroom. I figured that most baby bedrooms were similar. However, I recently found that some baby bedding goes completely over the top! Babies don't need tons of pillows all over the place or little chairs. Save those for when the kid grows up a little! This reminds me, I should find some time to try to take my daughter shopping for some bedroom items to decorate her room a bit. It's getting kind of boring.