A Change of Hearth
Designers often say a fireplace is the focal point of a room. But if yours leaves you cold, take heart. Giving it a facelift can be easier and cheaper than you think. Cerphe Colwell and his wife, Susan, were bowled over by the five-level townhouse
Nancy Drew: The Legend of the Crystal Skull
Platform: WINDOWS XP/VISTA Publisher: HER INTERACTIVE Packaging: DVD STYLE BOX Rating: EVERYONE Bruno Bolet was the proud owner of the “Whisperer” a crystal skull rumored to protect its holder from almost any cause of death - except murder. When Bruno passed away his nephew Henry came to wrap up his affairs but he couldn’t find the skull among the clutter of the creepy Bolet manor. You’ll need to team up with Nancy’s best friend Bess Marvin to find this mystical artifact before it falls into the wrong hands!If the price is right you can take creepy artifacts and priceless treasures.Did a deadly plot sprout among the plants in the lush garden surrounding the Bolet mansion?Bruno maintained a graveyard - did he know about confidential matters that people took to their graves?Assume the role of Bess and go undercover in the French Quarter of New Orleans.Meet the suspects:Henry Bolet Jr.Henry’s parents passed away while he was young and he was sent to live with his great-uncle Bruno. Bruno acted as his guardian but he never spent much time with Henry although he left him a sizable portion of his estate. Could emotional and cunning Henry schemed to control his last living relative’s assets and secrets?Lamont WarrickLamont Warrick loves his job. He s the proud owner of Zeke s a colorful curio shop crammed with unusual and eclectic merchandise. He’s always looking for treasure amongst another person’s junk - it’s a great way to make a quick buck. There are a few precious items that are authentic antiques priceless pieces he likes to procure. A crystal skull would attract a lot of buyers - and a lot of money…Renee AmandeRenee Amande WAS the housekeep for Bruno Bolet and practices hoodoo. Since she spent so much time in his presence she also knows a lot of his secrets - dark secrets he didn’t want anyone to know but others would have killed to discover. Would she have resorted to murder just to
List Price: $19.99
Amazon Price: $19.99
Used Price: $15.99
Customer Review: I loved it!
“Legend” is, simply, fun. HER Interactive manages to interest an enormous age range of players from 10 years old and up. And I mean UP: I am 77. I was gratified that there were no tedious chores to do in this game, however. The story takes place in New Orleans in a spooky mansion to which is attached a huge cemetery. You have to find the Crystal Skull and determine whether the owner of the mansion, Bruno Bolet, was murdered. As usual, there are four suspects. Plenty of atmosphere to titillate young and old player hearts. You collect, of all things, glass eyeballs. One of your tasks is to find the graves of various people via outrageous puns such as Myra Maines (my remains) and Constance Norring (constant snoring). OK, OK, that may seem a bit juvenile but I laughed my head off, and of course 10 year olds will be right in their element. The puzzles are well-integrated into the plot and they are not all that easy.Several require good mouse technique and a good eye, and at least in my case, many tries before success. However, if an old lady can succeed, so can you! The graphics are excellent as is the voice acting.The four human suspects are well done and their mouth movements match their speech. The huge cemetery is suitably creepy. It never stops raining and I really felt quite sodden sitting here. You encounter a potpourri of stuff including hoodoo, a lesson in dentistry, a live iguana which you dress up in costumes after enticing him with a loquat, New Orleans gumbo, a Rube Goldberg device, skeletons…what more could you ask for? 5 stars.
Customer Review: Good but still not great compared to past games!!
I enjoyed playing this game, but was hoping for more thrills and excitement! The beginning starts off with a bang. Nancy walks up to the house and knocks on the door as it opens on its own. She walks in and sees a figure in the next room dressed in a scary costume as the dark house is suddenly illuminated by a flash of lightening and roar of thunder from outside! I won’t give much more away but this is the only suspenseful moment in the game. The rest is searching for clues, questioning suspects and solving puzzles which is great but there should be more excitement throughout the entire game, not just in the beginning. We should have seen the costumed culprit a few times in the game like in the spooky graveyard that you as Nancy get to investigate! I loved the New Orleans setting and the rainstorm was a perfect fit! The game takes place in and around the house and a few times in town as Bess questions a few other suspects. This is a new feature as you take on the character of Bess. Everytime Nancy and Bess call each other, you switch to the other character. Near the end, the game froze as the call switched over. I think other people had this problem so what worked for me is that you save the game right when it freezes and then load it again and it should continue on. A small glitch Her Interactive should have caught. I’ve noticed the size of these games get larger and larger. I usually delete them once I play them because they take up so much space. I could buy more memory but no sense in a game staying on my computer until I play it again, if I decide to. The character of Bess can be annoying. She is always complaining and is not as adventurous as Nancy. Maybe if they use George again, we can have two strong female characters. I just got tired of Bess playing the chicken and whining about helping. My favorite games to date are Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake, Danger on Deception Island and Secret of Shadow Ranch because they use several locations and it’s suspenseful throughout with prolonged, exciting endings. I know other fans complain about the endings being dull, too short and not exciting. Her Interactive asks you to write game reviews on their website, and I truly believe they listen to what the fans say. I will be letting them know I want more suspense and scary moments through the entire game and better endings! I know these games are geared towards younger adults as well so they don’t want to make it too scary, but they need to consider the older adults too who want more chills! Maybe they can offer a new feature that has a ‘Mildly Scary’ and ‘Super Scary’ option? All in all, the game is good but it could have been improved a bit. The ending was okay but not as fun as others. When you spend so much time solving the mystery, there should be a bigger payoff at the end! One last thing, there is a swamp in the bayou with a boat just off the graveyard. I was really hoping Nancy would get to take the boat out somewhere which would have been fun, but they didn’t include that feature. Why go to New Orleans if you can’t even ride down the bayou in a boat!? I wish we could have learned more about hoodoo as well. The subject is mentioned but they don’t go into too much detail with it. It would have been more fun if there was a witch doctor character added and maybe Nancy could have conjured up some hoodoo spells. Sort of like the movie The Skeleton Key with Kate Hudson. 3.5 stars
Spiderman Youth Golf Club Set
Introduce your child to the game of golf courtesy of that crime-fighting webslinger, Spiderman. This beginner’s set for children ages 3 to 6 includes three clubs–driver, putter, iron–as well as a golf bag, all emblazoned with colorful Spiderman logos. The clubs are weighted just right for youngsters and include black rubber grips with spider accents and lightweight red shafts. The metal heads (blue for the driver and putter, silver for the iron) are decorated with Spiderman illustrations. The fabric golf bag includes a shoulder strap, mesh pocket for holding balls and tees, and a zippered pocket for other gear.
The driver features a sharp image of Spiderman on the head of the club.
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The putter is just the right size and weight for learning the essentials of the game.
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The silver iron includes more graphics of Spiderman. |
List Price: $89.99
Amazon Price: $69.99
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