The count of Monte Cristo, Edmund Dante is back. He has returned to investigate the murder of his beloved, Mercedes. He is on a quest to find the killers of Mercedes and bring them to justice. The game story is based on the characters from Alexander Dumas’ book “The Count of Monte Cristo”.
The Return of Monte Cristo is a hidden object game and is published by Lazy Turtle Games
Rating:
• Pros: Great graphics, No learning curve
• Cons: Short game, Lacks story line
The game has a single untimed mode. It consists of seven chapters with each chapter consisting of three to six locations. You require a key to access each location. On unlocking each location, you are presented with a mini game. These mini games are based on variety of puzzles and are easy to complete. However, the mini games can be skipped to continue to the location. The area on the scene becomes a little dusty when you can navigate to the other location. The hidden objects are made relevant to the game but the size and the color of the objects may vary.
This game is a significant improvement over its predecessor, “The Count of Monte Cristo” in terms of graphics and hint system. The scenes of the game are set in dark, but still the items are not difficult to find. In each location you are given a list of objects that you have to find on the 
scene. There are hidden objects, blue on the list, which will require another key object to find it. The key object items needs to be used immediately as there is no inventory tray. There is a hint button if there is any object that is frustrating to find. Unlike its predecessor, you no longer have to go to the island of Monte Cristo to gather diamonds for the hints. In this game, there is a delayed timer until which the hint button cannot be reused, so theoretically you can use a hint to find every object on the scene. Another feature that I liked in this version is that when you click an object its silhouette is displayed in the crystal ball on the right bottom corner. This gives an idea of how the object is. The sound effects in the game are also nice and bring the locations to life.
This game will be enjoyed by any hidden object game fan of any age. However what most of gamers will not like is that the game is too short. It generally gets over in 1½ to 2 hours. Also once you complete the game, you know where all the objects are hidden and the game is no longer challenging for subsequent plays. This game is good for any new hidden object gamer, but I would not recommend it to gamers who have played a lot hidden object games.
System Requirements:
• Platform: Windows XP/Vista
• CPU: 800 MHz
• RAM: 256 MB
• DirectX: 7.0
• Hard Drive: 52 MB
Screenshots:
The hardworking Flo from Diner Dash is back with a bang. This time she stars in a new game Avenue Flo. She has a cheerful looks, industrious character and ever helpful nature. Fortunately, I was able to try out this game and I am very pleased to write this review. You can download a trial version to try it yourself at Big Fish Games
Rating:
• Pros: Avenue Flo is a refreshing entry to the arcade games. This is a game for a casual gamer. It has a great storyline and many mini games that keep you away from a monotonous play.
• Cons: Avenue Flo is not a game for a hardcore gamer. The light graphics and music can create a sense of slowness for a hardcore gamer
Story:
In Avenue Flo, corporate mogul Mr. Big's daughter, Vicky is set to marry Tony who is a local pizzeria owner. Flo's best friend, Quinn is given the responsibility to organize a grand and the biggest wedding that Diner Town has ever seen. Unfortunately for Quinn, everything starts to go wrong, the wedding dress is missing, Vicky's dog Snookums is lost, and the butterflies for the wedding have escaped. With helplessness, Quinn asks Flo for her help.
Game play:
The game starts with three missions for Flo. The first mission is to find Vicky's pet poodle Snookums, the second one is to get the wedding dress completed and third is to capture 32 escaped butterflies. Fortunately, the butterflies are all over the place and you simply have to click them to put them in your bag. You have to visit appropriate places to get the wedding dress and find Snookums. There are lots of mini games like fixing the beads machine, stitching the beads to form a pattern, rearranging the clothes. You have to find hidden objects so that you can proceed further in the game. You have to collect recyclable plastic bottles so as to get a token to access the subway. You can visit different parts of the town by clicking the arrows that appear in the game.
Analysis:
While you complete your missions to help Flo gather things to help her friend Quinn, you will be playing a lot of mini games. These mini games require a good amount of skill and concentration and they tend to become harder with each level. The mini games are fun and intricate without getting frustrating. The "find hidden object" missions have been worked out very well in the storyline. The graphics of the game are cartoon like but not childish. However, the graphics could have been better with actual talk instead of bubble header. The music is nice and flowing. The music during the game play motivates the game play.
System Requirements:
• Platform: Windows XP/Vista
• CPU: 1.2 GHz
• RAM: 256 MB
• DirectX: 8.0
• Hard Drive: 84 MB