Reviews for Family Vacation California

Hi Fishies!

What do you think of Family Vacation California? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions about the game in this thread. We value your reviews, as do many of the other fishies in our pond! To help other players get the most out of your review, you could add a note stating if you played the trial or full version and how far you have gotten in the game!

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Happy gaming!

bfgRhone

Goodday fishies!

This looks like a colourful, sunny and lighthearted game with clear graphics and cheerful music. Fun for straight HOG lovers, maybe to play it with familymembers.
Worth trying and buying, if you ask me, although maybe not for everyone.

3 out of 5

WOW! Only one review nearly 6 hours after the game was released?? Part of the problem might be that the genre is not clearly defined in the description. FYI, it's a HOG. Not a HOPA, just a nice little HOG.

Anyway, I like it - it's nice and bright, suitable for all ages. I like all catagories of Hidden Object games, even straight HOGs like this one, so it will be a buy for me.The cartoon graphics make it seem like a kid's game, but many adults will enjoy it, too. Give it a try and see what you think!

(Review after 48 minutes of the demo)

This is definitely a family-oriented game--young parents (or older grandparents) with elementary-school-age kids (or grandkids) should enjoy it. I read in another thread about some painfully-long D/L times--my D/L of the demo took about 6-7 minutes, so no complaints there.

As CasualGran noted, this is indeed a colorful, light-hearted, cartoon-style H0G (yes, I said H0G). By the BFG game description, you'd expect it to have some TM aspects--Nope! In my time with the demo, I think I experienced about 7 or 8 H0 scenes (more about those in a minute). The intro is cute, and the Options menu includes Sound FX and Music sliders (the Music is lilting, but repetitive--I turned the speakers down, as there isn't any voicing). There's also a cursor choice--the game one worked fine. Mom ("Barb") has won a trip to California to be on "The Price Is Nice." The adventure begins!

The graphics are for sure cartoon-like, but sharp and full of color. The H0s range from big umbrellas to tiny olives, and the hint-system "circle" is about the same size as the item it locates, so keep a close eye on the screen if you're looking for a "button," or you might miss it. There is some interaction (e.g., open the nightstand drawer to find 2 or 3 "highlighted" Items). Some of the H0 scenes include a puzzle--click on the "puzzle" item, then find the "five" things you'll need to solve--they don't "disappear" from the screen, though, so you've gotta keep track of what you've found. The mini-games are cute, also (e.g., connect the pathway pieces so the family can find their way to the airport gate--like a "pipe" puzzle) (there's a Skip button, but you won't need it). Dialogue is short, but you'll have to click on each "box" to close it. (Some "realism" snafus that I noticed--the plane's got 4 engines, but, on a visit to the cockpit, there are only 3 throttle controls; there's a colorful waterski vest hanging near the co-pilot's seat (?); there's a "No Smoking" sign on the instrument panel, yet the Pilot has a cigarette lighter beside his seat).

I have a feeling that this game may be on the short side--in 48 minutes, I went from "cleaning up the stairwell at home" and "packing suitcases" to arriving in sunny California and checking in at the hotel, with lots of H0 scenes and puzzles in between. Gauge for yourself--try the demo--it's a big departure from the dark, moody, broody games of late!

Regards, elldee

Agree about sunny, bright etc...but have almost gone to sleep waiting to click thru all the dialogue boxes etc. I too got quite a distance and tho I did enjoy most of the game (I have a granddaughter who loves this type of game) it will not be a buy for me till I find out how long the game is. So mostly enjoyed gameplay, graphics and the chance that the whole family might like to play this; but very put off by the long storyline. The story is cute, but it just goes so slow...A great part of the game, JOY, BRIGHTNESS, COLORFUL so it will get 4 out of 5 's from me, one star for not being dark and dreary!!!!

Hey Fishies,

Advantages
This game is Fantastic, with Clearly hidden object scene, puzzle are light and fun!

Disadvantages
has black bar on each side of the screen! ( maybe your computer don't have this problem)

but the game still Fun to play!

Have Fun.
Dashes ...

Nice graphics but a little on the juvenile side for me...

I really enjoy this game! I Maybe because I'm from Southern California. It was very lighthearted and a good change of pace. I saw recent posts about the black bars on each side of the screen I didn't mind them so much. A good tween game for those of us who have children that age would recommend this game to someone looking for a change of pace to most HOG's focused around the missing, black magic, and psych wards.

Family Vacation California is a bright and cheerful hidden object game suitable for the whole family. The characters are family friendly and the story/subject matter is suitable for all ages.

Although some of the objects to find are quite small, there is a hint system (a mini-van) that recharges quickly. The hidden object scenes have standard lists, which contain some hidden items, as well as some "puzzle" items. The puzzle items are like fragmented object pieces, that together form a larger item.

Between the hidden object scenes, you can take pictures of the family for a photo album (a very nice touch as it gives a very real feeling to the vacation aspect of the game) and play mini-games, which won't be difficult for adults, but will provide good thinking exercises for children as they rotate objects to make them fit in spaces, form paths to objects, etc.

Some of the game controls could use a bit of fine tuning, as each dialog box must be manually clicked to close it, the sounds made when finding items are very loud and annoying after a bit and I found the music a little overpowering for the game. but the game is almost too quiet with it turn down completely, as there are no voices.

All in all a delightful game the entire family can enjoy together, or children can play on their own with no fears from the parents about what they may encounter.

This is a fun game but , as someone stated, very juvenile. It's a good time passer even if it did only last about 45 minutes!

Yes, I agree with everyone else. This is a nice little game, but more for children. My grandson would love this, but not for me.

yes, quite agree with the comments so far - very bright, vivid colors, cute music - too juvenile for me, but it's one that a couple of my grandchildren would enjoy playing.

I like the concept of the game, and the variety and cheefulness, but it is a 'no buy' for me because the cursor is so slow and jerky.

I turned off the custom cursor and the jerkiness went, but of course you have no idea then where the hidden areas are. If the devs fix the problem I'd definitely buy it.

I was so disappointed in this game. First of all the viewing area is so small. If you enlarge the screen, then the objects listed to find are hidden. It's not much better than trying to play on a large post card. Most of the screen is taken up with large black borders. It made my eyes burn. No buy here.

Sounds like it could be fun. Can't get by the enter your name part. Cursor really jerky and can't type the name. I like the sounds of the game being nice and bright and with clear objects, etc. I am really getting tired of the dark, dreary, gruesome games. But don't seem to have a choice any more. Not as many good games lately.
Regarding the black bars I didn't have them but a person should not have to adjust things on their computer just to play games.

Really ?

What a cool change from the dark, dreary Halloween games we must endure all year round. This is an uplifting positive family-friendly theme without any demons or pentagrams about.

I prefer a straight HOG than one with endless horror stories and overdone graphics/effects. However, this was quite juvenile, so it's too much the other direction. Not really for me.

Geez guys .... I'm a senior, senior citizen and I really enjoyed playing this game, a little too short though.

I'm pretty much a kid at heart but found this game boring and a bit irritating. The intro that went on forever was a bad start for me. I never skip the intro, as I might miss something that I need to know about playing the game. I finally skipped this one, as it was so slow moving. I hate when you can't click to move things along. Also, twice when I used the hint button, I never saw where the hint was.

I realy didn't find anything at all to like about it. Those who did, have fun.