Entertaining and fun, but over before you know it
928639
There are a ton of reviews out there that already describe what type of game this is and what the basic storyline is, so no need to rehash them here.

I enjoyed the animation and gameplay itself quite a bit. But the problem I had was that I beat it so quickly. I didn't skip any puzzles during the game either. I completed 120 of them and then finished the story. The game keeps track of how long you played, and I beat it in just over 8 hours, and a good amount of that time was spent watching cut scenes and reading nearly useless dialogue boxes. It's just not a tough game. Now, granted, there are additonal puzzles you unlock so I had a little more to do after the main story was over, but I was a little let down when I realized that I had already reached the final "stage".

The puzzles are fun, but never too hard to solve. The fun is trying to solve the puzzles while resisting the temptation to use one of your hints. I think I needed a hint or two on 5 or 6 of the puzzles, but other than it was your standard fare. A good variety though.

I'm still giving it 4 stars because the brief game itself was entertaining, and I'll check out the sequel. Not sure on the replayability yet since I just finished it, but I don't see myself coming back anytime soon. Maybe I'll wait a year and replay it after I've forgotten a lot of the story.

A good idea would have been to perhaps have a difficulty option. I was hoping to have to figure out some of the mysteries myself, but they are basically solved for you. Just way too easy.
4765980
The "scenery" is very entertaining.  The fight sequences are fun to watch, but a little contrived.  It's worth the watching, especially if you're into wire stunts and bouncing boobies.
3867546
Much of the program is very clever, very entertaining...classically funny. The main problem for me is that the parts that do drag damage the overall enjoyment.  Perhaps, the best approach is to not watch the entire program in one sitting.
244214
Entertaining, with some great effects, and some solid acting and real heart.

My only disappointment was that, as the film went on the action took over to the point
where the emotions got a bit lost, and the climactic battle felt a bit predictable.

The action is fun, but it gets repetitive, while the human scenes retain their humor
and freshness.

What always made Star Trek special for me was it's emphasis on characters and
intelligence first, action second.  So I was sorry that ended up a bit reversed by the
end here.

But if it's not quite a great movie, it's certainly an enjoyable and well-made one.
2635876
I'm not quite sure what I was expecting but this wasn't quite it... The part where you get Carl's montage of a life with Ellie is 5 stars easily.  It dips into 4 star territory for me up until the part where the house and movie takes flight again, briefly back up into 5 stars and then once the movie hits the 'twist', it seems to change into something entirely different.  One talking dog and a crazy bird were kind of fun.  The rest of the dogs seemed to come out of left field and were explained much too late for my liking.  This portion of the movie vacillated between 2 - 3 stars for me with a few peaks of 4 stars.  The animation was top notch, and the main characters were mostly fun, but the story just wasn't well set up and the middle portion dragged too much for my tastes in addition to shifting into something very different from what I anticipated.  Sometimes a twist can take a movie in a good direction and make it better, in my opinion it didn't do that for me in this one.
4780781
A little fantastic but entertaining if you can ignore the imporbabiity of it all.
3659867
I enjoyed the story once I got into it, but at first it felt very much the Young Adult story that it is. Once the set-up was complete, the story picked up the pace and was great fun to read. I enjoyed the characters and their unique personalities and abilities--and, Hey!, if you're going to pick apart the physics of a comic-book-style story, you should go read something else! This is about having a good time, and telling an interesting tale; both are accomplished with this book.

I originally borrowed this book with my Prime membership, but I have the feeling I'm going to end up buying it because I enjoyed being in this world.
2115747
I liked Mushroom Age. The story line is fun (You are Vera, a young woman searching for her scientist fiance who has gone missing. You must track him down throgh different ages - from Stone Age via Ancient Greece, the 16th century and the present to the year 3008 and finally to the Mushroom Age)and solve diverse puzzles along the way.

What made this game entertaining was the great diversity of puzzles: Finding objects & using them, memory puzzles, word puzzles, you name it. Most of the puzzles are on the easy side though and don't pose much of a challenge. Some are a bit more complex and require more thinking but mostly they are easily solved. If you are an avid puzzle solver you might find these not too challenging but for someone like me who is mainly just looking for a quick diversion from work these kept me sufficiently engaged.

The graphics are good, wish there were more movement with regards to the people in the game but that's minor since they do not play a role in puzzle-solving as such anyway.

Two minor things I didn't like too much:
1. Each level could only be saved after having solved the entire level. That was inconvenient because I was forced to sit there for better or for worse until I had it all solved vs. being able to save and resume at any given point.
2. The game went on for too long and then finished abruptly with no real ending. It almost felt as if the programmers just kept adding another puzzle, and another one when it logically should have ended quite a while earlier. And then all of a sudden it was over with no real conclusion. The game is hinting at a sequel but still - that could have been done much smoother.

All in all a fun but not very challenging game. Ideal for those who like to take a short break from something by playing a quick puzzle game or two...
621063
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an Honest Review

Alrighty, this is going to be rough for me.  You see, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It was, honestly, more of what made "The Palace Job" fun and an enjoyable read.  Right up until the ending.

But I will come back to that.  This book takes place a bit after The Palace Job, with Loch and her crew having gone their seperate ways and Loch being assigned as a guard for a diplomatic mission to the Empire, due to the events at the end of the first book.  Things go off the rails pretty damn fast, and it comes to light that the Empire demands that the Republic give them the Elf Poem Book from the Palace Job.  Which they do not have anymore.

So it becomes almost like a race to see if the Empire can catch Loch before she can get the book.  But other things are afoot as well, and as the book progresses it turns out more and more that this is not about the Elf Book but rather something much more.

It is a fun and enjoyable read to be sure.  Lots of action, wit, humor, and all the crew makes a comeback at some point.  There are two major issues however with the book.  One concerns the Epilogue/Post Script, and the other is one of perspective.

You see, this is most assuredly the second book in a series.  Everything is written and introduced in a way that very clearly shows a history between everyone.  Early on for example the unicorn Ululenia is questioned as to where Dairy is.  Unless you have read the first book you will have zero idea who Dairy is nor why its funny that she gets mad about him being mentioned.  None.  There is no real context presented.  In fact, Dairy himself doesn't appear till about the halfway point in a pretty damn solid twist.  The whole book has instances where this occurs, meaning that if you have not read the first book a lot of the humor and references will be lost.

The second issue comes in the Epilogue, and then a hidden "Post Scripts" bit.  You see, after the events of the book, we get an Epilogue, which shows the results of everything that took place.  During the epilogue a major event occurs that shakes things up.  I mean MAJOR.

After the Epilogue in the EBook I was reading came the Authors Thank You, and most people I know would close the book out at this point as its clearly the end.

But nope, there is a Post Scripts bit.  A literal "After Credits" scene in the book.  And the only reason I caught it is I have this wierd obsession with making every book be at 100% completion, so I tend to just flip through the Thank You and whatever else is at the back.

So imagine my surprise when I hit this Post Script bit...which then erases the major shakeup that occured in the Epilogue!  I about facepalmed.

And the funniest thing is that I started reading Book 3, the Paladin Caper, right after I finished.  And Chapter 1 of that is written in a way that assumes you did NOT read the Post Script scene.

Overall, its a decent read, and while it is a self contained story, if you came into this series with this book first you would most likely not enjoy it as much as say I would, simply because you would not get many of the references.

I rate this a 3.5/5.  This is because its a 4 if you have read the Palace Job, and 3 if you have not.
1826222
This game is a lot of fun -- initially. Played on a Monopoly-like "board" it's up to you to create a balance of shops and housing for your SIM residents; earning you the big bucks and wiping out the competition. There are a series of challenge levels that take you through various competitions from earning the most money by the year 1960, to who can make $40,000 in sales first. The auction part is interesting, as you try to outbid other computer-generated competitors to own the most property on the board, without going bankrupt (there's only one day's leniency if your bankroll is in the red). However, the game has no perceptual difference between the bronze, silver and gold levels to warrant that designation. It's like playing the same challenges through each of these accelerated levels. This game was a lot of fun though, it occupied hours of enjoyment for me, so it's worth the money. Enjoy!
3737579
Pinkalicious is funny, original, and very entertaining, even for adults. (It's one I don't mind reading over and over)

Not your usual kid fare - Pinkalicious is likely to become a classic.

Unfortunately, like most sequels, Purplicious and Goldilicious are not nearly as good as the original

Pinkalicious: 5 stars.  Manic and Hysterical. "Speed dialed the pediatrician,"  "Pinkerbelle"  and other great lines make this a joy even for adults to read, which is good since you'll be reading it over...and over...and over...

Purplicious: 3 stars, Still interesting and worthy of 4 stars except that the negativity, cliquishness, teasing is better suited for older kids. Maybe.

Goldilicious: 3 stars - An imaginary unicorn called Goldalicious makes for a very promising start, but then the story bogs down in repetition with not a lot of sophistication. More suited to younger kids as Pinkalicious but not as sophisticated or interesting for adults.

Other recent children's books I rate five stars are "Dexter Beasley and the Big Blue Beastie," "Click, Clack, Moo" and "Princess and the Pizza"

If you've found this review to be helpful, please let me know!
2723375
WELL-WRITTEN, QUITE FUNNY IN PLACES, BUT PERHAPS A LITTLE TOO SEF-ABSORBED
1766588
A surprisingly good piece of entertainment.  Though the ending is predictable, and some of the obligatory twists and reversals feel absurd and out of place, the premise is fun, the details and effects are spot-on--including some great action sequences--and the cast and acting are really good.  If you're a sci-fi and/or 'post-climate disaster' fan, it's worth the time.
3597412
Fun to watch. At the end things did a get a bit silly.
2344427
I wanted to give 3.5 stars but since we can't do halfsies, I'll err on the higher side.
This game is really fun, at first.  It's nice that almost all ages can play (my 7 y.o. can't come up with as many answers as the rest of us, but enough for her to have fun), and that you don't need a lot of space to lay stuff out... nor do you need a lot of brain cells to put a ton of thought in.  But after a few rounds, Double Ditto  definitely loses it's appeal.  Great for before or after a more fun game that requires more concentration, when you still want to play but are ready to just chill out a little.

With the solid 5-star overall rating this game had at the time I purchased it, I expected to like it more...
4369490
Quite over the top, and NOT for kids, but we enjoyed it.
1743131
I bought this for my husband when I was pregnant, partly as a "gag" first time dad gift, partly as serious educational material. The book is pretty entertaining, though does take the trope of the "oblivious dad" and RUN, so if you're tired of that joke, this book might not be for you. Otherwise, we both got a few chuckles out of it and my husband got a few eye-opening lessons. Would probably recommend grabbing if on sale or for a gift for a friend who's newly expecting.