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Not one but three crimes to solve as you search through over 6,000 objects concealed in different locations.
Rather than dealing with a single game, this next review features three individual offerings from the catalogue of Pop Cap. This is the Mystery P.I. collection of three Hidden Object investigation titles that have been brought together under the Mystery P.I. banner, These titles are The Vegas Heist, The New York Fortune and The London Caper. In each case the game has been developed by SpinTop Games and follows a similar pattern.
Recently I have told you about a small USB camera and a Bluetooth headset with far better than normal range. Here is a flat panel that has both built in and for good measure it has lights built in both sides to improve the view people get of you as it frames you better, this is certainly an all in one device for those Zoom calls. This is a real personal meeting display for those occasions when you cannot meet personally.
The screen and surround is 56cm wide and from top of the screen to the top of the stand is 37cm. The viewable screen itself is 48x26.5cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 21½ inches. The stand clips into the rear of the screen it is 30x18cm and raises it by 8cm from your desk. The power lead enters the main body of the screen just above the stand. The total weight is less than 7KG.
Travel back to the Roaring Twenties and enjoy the company of the Great Gatsby set.
Usually when a game arrives on a DVD to be reviewed, the product sets about installing itself on a hard disk. In most cases you also get an icon on your desktop to launch the game. But The Great Gatsby takes a different route as I settled down to review this I-play developed game. Forming part of a Classic Adventure series, The Great Gatsby is a Hidden Object game with a few additions.
If your company or education establishment wants to save on the cost of Windows notebooks this Chromebook may help as it has the basic power and memory to run Parallels for Windows allowing you to run Windows in a ‘sandbox’ while still running Chrome on the machine your company will however still need Windows licenses for every Chromebook running it though, currently they are Windows 10.
There is a list of Chromebooks from all the major players but so far only Acer have gone out of their way to find me units that qualify. The basic requirements are an i5 Processor or equivalent, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage as with any such project more is better. Chromebooks are great for basic things like word processing, working with emails and browsing the Internet.
Dipping into my selection of titles available for review brought forth the iWin developed offering of mixed game type action.
Casting you in the role of Eve Witheby is the iWin developed game of Jewel Quest Mysteries - Trail of the Midnight Heart. Taking you on a journey that includes places such as the Taj Mahal and Old Shanghai, this game covers aspects such as Hidden Object game play, Match-3 challenges and Adventure action as you search for your Uncle Donald.
Can you assist a brother clean up the mess left by his brother in this Hidden Object game?
No sooner had I completed my review of the first two Mystic Diary titles that the third episode of the adventures of the two brothers, Victor and Gustav, arrived on my workspace - alright game space, Following on from the Lost Brother and Haunted Island, the third instalment is entitled Missing Pages. As with the first two titles, Missing Pages belongs to the Hidden Object Adventure style of game play. The usual collection of settings and adjustments can be made for this game.
A router is not something we tend to change that often unless there is a reason. These days the coverage a router gives is either enough for your needs or it isn’t and then you get an extender of some sort. However I found out recently that there is a new updated version of Wi-Fi as those of you who read my recent Motorola SmartPhone review will perhaps give you a reason to upgrade.
The Eagle Pro AI AX1500 Smart Router R15 to give its full name seems to me to be a little long for a title. The main body of it is 20x13x4cm without anything plugged in, it has four aerials two on the back and one either side all move through 90 degrees from vertical to horizontal. There are four pin hole LED’s on the front, four Ethernet ports on the rear the yellow one goes to your modem and the other three allow you to connect things needing Ethernet.
Can a house take on board the influences of its inhabitants? Meane Manor certainly thinks so.
Whenever a Mumbo Jumbo title appears in my review schedule then my thoughts immediately turn to the Egyptian theme series of Luxor with its shooter action. However Mumbo Jumbo does have other strings to its bow and development output. One such offering is that of The Mystery Meane Manor which has been classified as a Becky Brogan Adventure. In this game the player is cast in the role of Becky Brogan who is a pupil at the High School of Old Haven.
If your dog is just 10% overweight it can reduce its life expectancy by up to 30%. So feeding it the correct amount can save you money not only in food but also in vet’s bills. This offering from Pawbby is a pets bowl with a scale built in so that you only feed your dog the exact amount. While I have mentioned dogs it could equally well work for a cat.
The food bowl fits in the scale and is made of stainless steel so is easily removed for cleaning and it fits in such a way that it is tilted by 7% towards your dog this I am told is the amount required to help the dogs spine when bending its neck to the bowl. Yes it links to an App via Bluetooth so you know everything you need to. This offers feeding instructions and hints and tips. The scale in the bowl can weigh in 1 gram increments up to 2kilos.
Pitching sister against brother, this next game involves an Egyptian curse and the power to do as you like.
Developed by Pho3nix New Media and available for downloading from Big Fish Games, Curse of the Pharaoh - Tears of Sekhmet is a Hidden Object game. As you might surmise from its title, this game is based on one of the so-called curses that Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt were said to use to protect their burial site from the actions of grave robbers and those intent on improving their knowledge of earlier civilisations. In this case the curse is the work of Queen Nefertiti.
While you probably would not want to listen to 42 hours of non-stop music, this next device can deliver such a service.
About 18 months ago I checked out the Edifier TWS1 product. Now it is the turn of the company's TWS1 Pro offering. This is a set of True Wireless Stereo earbuds which does explain the letters making up the product's title. As usual to ensure a comfortable fit for various users, these earbuds come with three different sizes of ear tips. One set is already attached for immediate use to enjoy your favourite music.
A set of in ear earbuds from Creative bundled with the SXFI AMP is what this latest offering from Creative Labs to cross my desk is, and while I do not normally want to know the price before completing the review on this occasion I needed to know if this was one or two reviews and as it’s a bundle only price that is 36.67% of the separate selling price.
The wired earbuds have magnetic backs, 12cm down the lead from the buds is a tiny 2x.5x.5cm control a further 20cm down the two leads become one and stay joined for the final 80cm till the gold plated 3.5mm plug. You can use the earbuds like this if your phone still has a 3.5mm socket.
Adding to its range of oral hygiene products, Oclean has launched its W10 product.
If you are the type who is prepared to "go the extra smile" (not my pun but one used by the company) then this next product from Oclean might be of interest. The product in question is the Oclean Oral Mobile Irrigator (W10). This product has been designed to provide water flossing capabilities to add to your oral hygiene routine by adding to your daily oral care procedure.
Gen 6 is the latest range of SmartWatches from Fossil. This offering has touch screen and three buttons on the right side and it can do almost anything once connected to your SmartPhone and indeed you could spend a lot of time getting to the screen you want to get to but sad to say so far it has stubbornly refused to make the coffee.
The Gen 6 smart watch from Fossil has a 44mm wide screen and is stated to run for 24 hours plus between charges. I pushed this and got just over 32 hours but it will always depend on what you do with it and if the screen is always on or not. It comes with a USB to magnetic connection to the watch back it is stated to charge to 80% in a little over 30 minutes, in my tests it took 42 minutes and a full recharge took just under the hour.
Can you find all the chess pieces need to complete a medieval chessboard?
An early example of the popular Hidden Object series of titles is Amazing Adventures. This particular series, developed by Pop Cap, takes the player to a number of exotic locations as they try to locate enough Hidden Object action to take over a landfill. Tagged on to the Hidden Object aspect of game play, the Amazing Adventure titles feature a selection of mini game puzzles to add some variety and additional action to the main diet.
How's your smile? Perhaps this next product could add a sparkle to it.
While the company name may not be all that familiar to you, it should give you a clue as to the area in which it operates. Oclean is the name and its field of operation is that of oral cleansing as the company produces a range of products including the subject of this review which is the Oclean Flow. This is a sonic electric toothbrush aimed at those with a busy lifestyle and a welcoming smile.
This is a Bluetooth Headset with a big plus – added distance – whereas most state 10metres and if you live in a home with solid walls like me it’s probably a bit less with this unit its more than double and I can even go down my garden and still hear and talk on it without drop outs. The magic is the little USB dongle that fits in a standard USB port.
This is an on ear headset that allows you to have the microphone on either the left or the right of your mouth, unlike most that have to be on the left and it knows which side you have it. Unusually the controls are on the right earpiece. The earpieces move through 180 degrees, there is a USB ‘C’ connection an on/off slider button and a red mute button.
Having recently updated the drivers on my computer courtesy of Avast, I decided to look at the company's latest general protection offering.
The latest offering from Vodafone to cross my desk is the Motorola Edge 20 Pro, this SmartPhone feels nice and well balanced in your hand and comes supplied with a silicon back and sides cover. While the face is of course shiny black it remains almost mirror like as finger marks do not tend to show, the back is a shimmering midnight blue.
The Motorola Edge 20 Pro measures 15.5x7x.8cm apart from the rectangular area top left of the back which takes it to close to 1cm thick, however with the cover that increase is almost negated, the units weight is 186 grams. The viewable screen is 15.3x6.5cm which give the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 6.67inches and a screen refresh rate of 144Hz and a screen size of 1080x2400 pixels.
Can you step into the future and stop an action from happening in the present.
By following clues you can make your own mosaic images.
Now up to number 47 in the series, the latest version of Fantasy Mosaics takes the game player on a trip to Egypt. Like the earlier games in this series, number 47 belongs to the nanogram genre. With Fantasy Mosaics 47, you are faced with 100 grids from which you need to create various mosaics. This task is completed by using numeric clues arranged along the top and down the left side of the grids that need to be faced.
While these are sold as for kids they were big enough – with the slide extensions – for me to wear so unless you have a rather large head they could well be suitable for an adult as well. These are solidly built and should certainly stand the rough treatment often handed out by younger children.
The headphones are 16cm wide at the earpieces when opened to horizontal; they are also 16cm from the tip of the earpieces to the inside of the well-padded headband, that is with the 2cm of expansion expanded. The weight of them is 132 grams. I was surprised that no instructions were given and while I soon worked out the controls – and if I could – I am sure most children could also do so.
With this next product you can settle down to lengthy sessions of game play with five different titles.
Minds & Mystery brings together five titles from the extensive Alawar catalogue. The first of these titles that I looked at is entitled The Fog. Developed by Cre Bit, this title belongs to the Hidden Object Adventure genre that has the usual options of creating profiles and adjusting elements of the gaming environment with a choice of playing in Novice or Expert mode. The game starts as a mother and daughter are driving along a road when spikes in the road cause the car to crash.
Trust are a well-regarded name in mechanical keyboards, however they do other peripherals and here I get to try out not only the Mazz keyboard but also the YBAR mouse. Both of the reviewed items are USB and solidly built.
The keyboard is 42x13.5x2cm and the USB cable emerges 9cm in from the right. The rear has two 2.5x1cm rubber feet at the front and two pimples at the back if you want to use the keyboard without any rack, it has two 4cm long adjustments that raise the keyboard by 1.6cm. The USB cable is 1.8metres long. The keyboard has 105 keys all well-spaced with .6cm horizontal clearance between each key. In use there is a satisfying click on each press.
Continuing the adventures of the Victor and Gustav brothers, this time the Mystic Diary takes you to a haunted island.
Mystic Diary - Haunted Island is a Hidden Object Adventure game. This title was developed by Sunray Game. Following the well-established pattern, this title allows you to create profiles to record the progress of individual players as they delve into the mysteries of this environment plus make adjustments to the gaming environment.
Forget Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, other crimes in the Victorian era were solved by two other detectives.
Following the successful conclusion of their first Gaslamp Case of the Deadly Machine, e-Funsoft has brought back the intrepid duo of Jack and Morgan to solve Gaslamp Case 2. This game is The Haunted Village played out in Match-3 game format. Prior to joining up with two of the leading detectives of the Victorian era, you can create profiles to record the progress of those playing this game. Adjustments can be made to the volume levels used by sound effects and background music.
Plantronics is a name some will know as they produced headsets and Bluetooth earpieces for many years. Then there was another company that did things in larger office environment, just over two years ago the two companies’ combined to produce Poly. Like so many things then went on hold through Covid and now we see what they combined to produce.
This is a very small full HD video conferencing camera and microphone that is true ‘plug and play’ as it is USB, a few seconds after plugging it in you can join a Zoom – or any other type online meeting – by simply hanging the unit over the top of your monitor or notebook screen and plugging it in. The unit is 6cm from lens to its rear; at the front it is round at 3cm. It swivels on a fitment that give a firm but gentle hold.
When going into combat you need to make sure your equipment suits the situation and the user.
Whether faced by an AI or human opponent, in either single or multi-player combat, gamers rely a great deal on their input equipment. When it comes to competition, even the not-so-friendly training sessions, the functionality and feel of the keyboard and mouse can make a big difference in the outcome of the contest. Offering to help gamers in this respect is AOC with its new keyboard and mouse gaming devices.
Teaching a child to tell the time with an analogue watch/clock is not easy. I remember a comedy sketch done by the brilliant Dave Allen when he was desperately trying to teach a young child to tell the time using a conventional clock I have found a video of it link at the end, the punch line was he gave up and gave the child a digital watch, here something better as this just hugs the wrist like a bracelet with no strap to do up.
There is an evil spirit causing havoc with fireballs that you need to defeat in this next game.
Following a period of recovery, having survived an exploration of the Hours of 1000 Doors, it was time to return to this building that provides a portal to a series of other worlds. My follow-up visit was to the House of 1000 Doors: The Palm of Zoroaster as the House made one of its infrequent appearances in a random location. The result is a Hidden Object Adventure game developed by Five-bn.
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