Great game. Very addictive and fun!

I think the graphics are decent, and the idea is great. I also like the variety in the types of dives you do.
I did find this game VERY easy to play - almost to the point where it wasn't fun to play. If my 4yr old son could read, I am sure he would absolutely love it!
I do wish that there were more tanks to play. This game was pretty much done in a couple of hours 1 night. After I finish the game, I decided to play on timed mode. I finished the whole first tank in under 30 minutes. In saying that, I am a very quick clicker in games like this so results may be a bit untypical.
Suggestions on ways to improve the game: A difficulty switch for sure. Maybe in harder levels, there are more items to find, or time is less, or something to add to the challenge.
Perhaps make the items you buy more dynamic. For example, if you buy a red fish for your tank. That gives your meter say 5% increase.
Say you bought another red fish. Basic math says another 5%, however, since red fish like to have partners, it would include a good match bonus of 3% making it 8% for second fish for a total of 13% for two red fish. This could work backwards too. Say there is a 'ninja fish' (like a fighting fish for real). The first one in your tank is worth 5%. If you decide to add another one, because ninja fish like to be alone to rule the roost, there is actually a negative bonus of -5% so the second fish is only worth 5%.
You could have similar bonuses with decorations and comfort items. Some fish like some things, and some do not. When 'good' matches are made, you get a positive bonus - when 'bad' matches are made, you get a negative bonus.
I have not used the screensaver. I generally just have a blank screen, but the idea is really great.



.................Moderator comment.................

Thank you for your feedback Jody.

Downloaded & activated this game with no problems! Sometimes that is the hardest part :) I like the graphics - easy to see and colorful. The puzzles were just about right for me, but I think all Fishdom games are good.

what about: chenzo cove ?
common lets set it up!
...as give away of the day games :).

thank you :)

I downloaded this game last Sunday and now when I play it there are "boxes" on it and portions of the play area are blocked out from them. What is causing this? Please help me. Thank you very much.

PS I am not really a computer person so please be gentle LOL!


........................Moderator comment...............

sounds like a graphics problem. Try updating your graphics drivers. If you're not sure how to do this i've posted how to do it in previous giveaways; alternatively post a request over in the General discussion forums:

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/

Also try changing your screen resolution to see if tnat fixes the problem.

Let me know if either of these fixes worked. :)

Thanks for the game, I am really enjoying it! I am a regular visitor of the site but I rarely download anything (I don't like puzzle/3-in-a-row games); I do like HO ones and this one is really nice. I'd also suggest using these kind of games in teaching English as a second language. Love the Gold Rush level!

I contacted playrix about this issue, and finally received a reply:
Olga O., Sep-20 13:41 (MSD):
Hello,
Thank you for contacting our Support Team. Unfortunately, at the moment we are experiencing some problems with games
Royal Envoy and Fishdom: H2O and computers which have the same configuration as yours. In this situation I can offer
you the Special Discount ... and she goes on to tell me what the discount is.
I appreciate her offer, but as I told her, this game was offered for free through this site, and I can't accept a consolation game or discount because I didn't spend anything to begin with.
I know the giveaway for this game is over, but I wanted to update you on what I found out.
You can contact me through my email address if you have additional questions.

Dan

.................Moderator comment..................

Thank you Daniel. Did you try some of the later fixes that were discovered? I amended my main review @ comment #1 to include those fixes, which were confirmed to work. One users reported that you may cure the problem by right clicking on the executable and selecting compatibility, then checking 'Disable display scaling' Please let me know via these comments whether this or one of the other fixes worked. I'll check back later in the week. :lol:

Regards

W.R.


p.s here's the problem section from my review:

Problems installing, activating and running todays game:l>

Some users are reporting a problem with running the game. They are getting a black screen issue, though one user said they were able to play the game in windowed mode, but when they switched to full screen the screen would go black. I forgot to mention in my review that this game requires at least 128MB of graphics RAM. If your graphics chip is less than this it may not work and could explain why you are getting a black screen. If you do get this problem you could as a temporary measure try playing the game in windowed mode, but to make the screen as large as possible (as hidden object games are better played in full screen) change your screen resolution to the lowest setting possible. this is usually 800x600 on modern systems, but may go a little larger. I realize that this is a bug bear, but if you want to play the game it only takes a few seconds to change the screen resolution. you can revert back when you are done. Make sure the control panel window is placed centrally on your monitors screen because when you change to lower screen resolutions you sometimes lose the ability to change settings due to the window being too large. One users also reports that you may cure the problem by right clicking on the executable and selecting compatibility, then check 'Disable display scaling' This hasn't been confirmed yet. If none of the above work I have also posted other possible fixes including doing a clean boot to see if there are any conflicts between the game and programs that are automatically run when you boot up windows, that said one user tried this and said it didn't make a difference; however your computer may be loading up other programs so it still may work for you. I've also as an alternative to a clean boot suggested you try Game Booster as an alternative. Game Booster switches off non essential windows programs plus any others that you specify. This would be an easier option than doing a clean boot. If you do try a clean boot create a restore point first so that you can revert back easily. Please read all the comments below for other suggestions before you try a clean boot, thank you.

If you have difficulty downloading or activating the game you can try again later or do one of the following - for example once downloaded when you click on the dual activation and set up file you may get the message “Failed to connect. Please try again later” Check to see if your internet explorer isn't offline (thanks to MrSnoozles/Mike and GMMan for that fix). If the previous suggestion doesn't work go check out previous comments from the last several weeks and look for comments from GMMan and Mike. They have also posted their possible fixes for this problem.

I’ve always tried re-booting my modem and/or router with some success, though Mike has said that doing that does nothing. Still, it’s worth a try if all else fails.

I will be posting a FAQ’s in the forums soon that will cover problems when installing game giveaways in the mean-time its easy enough to search through the comments from previous giveaways. I did post GMMans fix over in the forums a few weeks ago so that shouldn’t be too hard to find Problems installing, activating and running todays game:l>

Some users are reporting a problem with running the game. They are getting a black screen issue, though one user said they were able to play the game in windowed mode, but when they switched to full screen the screen would go black. I forgot to mention in my review that this game requires at least 128MB of graphics RAM. If your graphics chip is less than this it may not work and could explain why you are getting a black screen. If you do get this problem you could as a temporary measure try playing the game in windowed mode, but to make the screen as large as possible (as hidden object games are better played in full screen) change your screen resolution to the lowest setting possible. this is usually 800x600 on modern systems, but may go a little larger. I realize that this is a bug bear, but if you want to play the game it only takes a few seconds to change the screen resolution. you can revert back when you are done. Make sure the control panel window is placed centrally on your monitors screen because when you change to lower screen resolutions you sometimes lose the ability to change settings due to the window being too large. One users also reports that you may cure the problem by right clicking on the executable and selecting compatibility, then check 'Disable display scaling' This hasn't been confirmed yet. (it later was) If none of the above work I have also posted other possible fixes including doing a clean boot to see if there are any conflicts between the game and programs that are automatically run when you boot up windows, that said one user tried this and said it didn't make a difference; however your computer may be loading up other programs so it still may work for you. I've also as an alternative to a clean boot suggested you try Game Booster as an alternative. Game Booster switches off non essential windows programs plus any others that you specify. This would be an easier option than doing a clean boot. If you do try a clean boot create a restore point first so that you can revert back easily.

13316 downloads so far. Not a bad tally.

Final tally at close of the giveaway period - 13901

I purchased this game some time ago. I LOVED IT! I just wish that the developers had given us more levels to work in. I finished the ones contained in the game I purchased in about 6 hours, and I couldn't believe there wasn't more to play. I'm waiting for a few more months to pass so I can play it again - without remembering where everything is. HA!

The only comment I can make is that I love puzzles - I should say I love HARD puzzles. It would definitely take a lot longer to finish the game if there were 10 or 12 HARD puzzles included. Of course, you would have to give a "skip" button for those who don't like puzzles.

I want PlayRix to know that I have played many of their games and I can't remember one that I didn't finish. That's a great compliment coming from someone who owns over 700 games.

Thank you, GOTD, for both your free games and programs.


................Moderator Comment............

ahhh a community member after my own heart (I've got around 3000 games, lol)

After a few Playrix games from here, and another I purchased on a $2 Tuesday at Direct2Drive, I now find myself looking forward to any offer from this publisher. Mystery of Mortlake Manor is so far my favorite followed by 4 Elements. This one so far seems pretty good, but it must be giving the GFX card a workout as the fans really start going after 10 minutes of play or so. I do need to blow out the dust after a couple years, that's exacerbating the issue I know, but that's work for another day as this is a clamshell desktop (read: oversized laptop) that requires more than the removal of a few screws to get at it.

I can't seem to complete the download for this game. I get the following message:
"\FishdomH2O.zip.part could not be saved, because the source file could not be read.
Try again later, or contact the server administrator."

Any ideas?

Thanks

......................Moderator Comment.............

Try downloading from the mirror link. Also try using a different zip archiver such as 7-Zip or J-Zip

For some reason both yesterday and today I have been getting a "failed to connect. Please try again" message when I try to install the games. I have disabled my virusscan and McAfee firewall and still no luck.


.................Moderator comment...............

Hi Valerie, did you read the first part of my review above. Make sure Internet Explorer isn't offline. There are other fixes as well.

Haven't been around in a while to try the giveaways, but it's nice to be back. :)

Today's game is feeling pretty average to me. The fish tank is a nice feature, but I don't feel this game will have the longevity of the other Fishdom games. Upgrading the fish tank does add to its replayability, but being sent to the same scenes over and over isn't as compelling as playing (and replaying) the boards from the match 3 Fishdom games. I know the two styles can't be compared, but I thought I'd note that the fish tank didn't feel like it added the same level of replayability here as it did in the other games.

Pros:

-Cutscenes were charming. There don't seem to be many, but their little bit of plot does add a bit of direction to the game.

-Graphically decent on my size screen (1280x800 with black bars on the sides to maintain aspect ratio). Could be a little better, but the overall theme is very nice.

-Gameplay is solid, although it doesn't introduce anything particularly new.

-Gameplay attempts to stay fresh by mixing it up a bit (such as the gold rush stages, quick eye, etc.)

-Timed and relaxed modes are a plus, as some people may want more of a challenge than others. Being able to switch at any time is also welcome.

Cons:

-Graphics could be a bit better at higher resolutions.

-Some objects seem like they're almost pasted onto the scene and don't blend in well.

-When you pause, a majority of the screen is still visible. So, in timed mode, you could pause, find a lot of the items, then resume and click them all quickly... thus defeating the purpose of a timer.

-Quick eye levels felt like they could've added a bit of a challenge, but unfortunately items seem to sparkle almost immediately. It can be helpful when you've only a few seconds more on the clock, but more often than not, they sparkled with plenty of time to spare and made it so I didn't have a chance to look for the item myself.

-No widescreen options are present.

-$19.95 is pretty steep.

Overall, pretty average, but the customizable fish tank is a nice touch.

Thanks GGAOTD and Playrix!


............Moderator Comment.................

Thank you for your excellent feedback Angel

Well made game and cute too. Good for kids.
No problem installing.

Checking back in. The issue is not the 64-bit Windows 7 OS. The game installed and plays fine on the Win 7 system I built a couple of years ago. I believe the issue lies with the graphics chips. If you have on-board graphics and are sharing the system RAM, it may not be enough. This little game doesn't demand much in the way of resources, but there seems to be an issue with the graphics. The system I built on which this game doesn't work has a different "arrangement." The graphics chip is not integrated into the motherboard, but is supplied by the Sandy Bridge CPU itself. I have 4 GB of RAM in this machine, so that should still be enough for a game like this one. For some reason, it just doesn't like it. Oh, well!


................Moderator Comment................


If you read my review above and some of the comments later it seems that you require 128MB of graphics RAM. One users also reports that you may cure the problem by right clicking on the executable and selecting compatibility, then check ‘Disable display scaling’

I love all types of games and I just want to thank you for providing this service to us all.

Thank you so much!

RE: #27 joe

Thank you Stephen for your advice. Not sure I am going to bother.
It seems a lot of people are having issues.

I know that lots of people download these games with no problem But lots download them and have problems.Just the way it goes.

I use all types of software on my computer with no problem. I download stuff from GOTD and never have a problem running the software.
The only problem I ever have is with games from here. Nothing else. So for me to do any kind of reconfiguring doesn't make any sense. I will live without the games.

Not really a big deal. It would be nice to figure out some day why this is.

Anyway, thanks for all the help you provide here.


....................Moderator comment.......................

Hi Joe, you should try it. We may have solved the problem. Basically you right click on the games executable, go to compatibility mode and disable scaling.

Yoohoo..Wabbit! Please fix my links..DUH! And you can delete this post..Please

I am not a fan of HOGSs but I downloaded it because I wanted all the "Fishdom" games. I may even play a bit of because of some of your comments...or at least try it out.

Thanks, GGOTD, Playrix and Always our fav furry gamer friend...WhiteRabbit!


P.S. Just thought everyone should know we are celebrating a big milestone in the forum. According to pavid....It's the 3rd anniversary of Good Games to Grab, a project started to fill in the gaps left by Game Giveaway of the Day moving to weekends and then only when paid games were available to be given away. The project was only supposed to last a few months and yet, thanks largely to our favourite Wabbit, it is still going strong 3 years later."

Come in the forum and Thank him.

Thank you Whiterabbit


And if you have the gaming habit and and want some awesome games...Check out Free Games Synopsis « Giveaway of the Day Forums. It is a Synopsis of ALL the games posted for the Game project That Wrascally Wabbit has spearheaded.

.........................Moderator..........................

There's quite a lot of games not actually been posted in the synopsis yet. All games before week 100 were added to the synopsis. The rest can be found in the Game discussion forums. ;-)

There seems to be a problem scrolling-after zooming out the only back to the island view is to zoom in as far as possible then turn 180 degrees(back to island) then zoom out.Kinda awkward but do-able. Just a heads up to publishers. I'm using win7 home premium 64 bit,radeon ati 3200 vid card,8gigs ram.P.S.---I also had blackscreen issue,set compatibility to disable scaling, now it works. Thanks GOTD and playrix for bringing us another good one albeit could use a little control tweaking


...................................Moderator Comment....................

Thanks for confirming the disable scaling fix. Glad to know it works. :)

My mouse wireless mouse is skippy all over - changed batteries, the usual fix for anything you can't unplug. When I exited the game mousie was fine ... I'm sure there is a simple fix; can someone direct me?
Pretty colors, graphics a bit choppy .. I have not tried any adjustments, using W7 and IE8.


................................Moderator Comment.........................

Do you know what video card you have? you require a minimum of 128MB graphics RAM for this game to run properly. Try running Game booster just in case it's your sytem RAM. I've posted a download link above in one of my replies.

Hi I dont usually like the "fish" style games but this one wasnt bad.
I use windows 7 and it installed fine

@Moderator's reply to #52: There is no registration code included in the package. AFAIK, Playrix does not put any DRM on full version games, though they have switched over to a different wrapper on their trial games which accepts registration codes and that there's something in their FAQ regarding the same. Playrix games are relatively stand-alone. They are not portable because they will leave player profiles behind, but you can put them on a USB drive and run it from there.


..........................Moderator comment................

Yes, I realized that earlier. I was just really tired and was thinking of yesterdays giveaway. So yes, todays game should be free standing.

mouse pointer is invisible ???

dual screen, win7 32pro, 1gb nvidia, 2gb ram, fully updated.

(will try to get back to the options screen, . . to try it windowed)

Thank You ( both ) Playrix & GGOTD (˚͜˚)

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! thank you, this is fun to play.

We could not get this to work . Music was on , but got a black screen & sound only . I think my grandson would have liked it .


........................Moderator comment..................

Hi Vicki, have you read the various fixes that may or may not work? If you check my review @ comment #1 there's a section just below the appeal for the community to comment that includes the most likely fixes or reasons why it may not work. Also check through the comments. Regards

W.R.

Thank you for another game this week!! We are very lucky for getting two!! This one I plan on keeping, it is an okay hidden object game. I had to use a couple of my hints already, I wish they would tell you how to earn more sea horses. I thought maybe by just doing levels without using the hint might work, so there is a bit of confusion on that. I even looked to see if there was a help section. I have played better ones, I do like the aquarium though! It does make this game worth my time. I do not think it is even worth 10 dollars when there are far better games out there. I think other people are right, it is a bit more annoying than fun. I think the graphics, and all the bright colors are great! The mouth movements on the characters are too weird looking, I think it might have been better if they just went with the pictures, maybe I am being too picky. I just think from playing other games that the graphics have changed too much now and this looked really bad to me. I didn't mind the music, but wish I could easily import my own. I really do like the aquarium. That made the game!

Thank you again to everyone and all the moderators. I know doing this site takes time from you having fun and being with your family outside of regular jobs, so I just want you all to know how much I appreciate the time spent!! If I had not stumbled upon this site, I would have been very sad. Not to mention bored!!

Pixiey


.......................Moderator comment......................

Thanks Pixiey

Nearly 10 000 downloads so far.

Just downloaded,played for awhile and found this game fun and stress free to play. I have all the Fishdom games and I find them very relaxing to play. Every once in awhile you need a game that is fun to play and not overly demanding on your grey matter. I am handicapped and sit at my computer almost 12 hours a day playing games so a game like this one is very good as a relaxing, fun tool to take up some hours in the day. Keep up the good work Playrix.

Many thanks for supplying this lovely game. It was the very first HOG that I ever played, but I lost it when I had a computer crash. It's great to get it back again. I have an elderly husband with certain disabilities who used to find it very relaxing to play, so I'm doubly pleased to retrieve it as it's excellent for him to practise his hand-eye co-ordination and for his memory - played in the relaxed mode. Although the music may be rather bland, it's easy to listen to and suits the game well.

There seems to be a problem with this game and 64 bit OS. I have Windows 7 64 bit and it gives me the same problem - sound but no video.
I have 8GB Ram with enough system resources available to handle the game so installing IOBit Game booster won't make a difference.
A clean boot is a bad suggestion for people just wanting to play a game.
My graphics drivers are updated, the resolution changes don't work.
I'll get in touch with Playrix to ask them if they know of a fix, otherwise, the game will be uninstalled.

..................Moderator comment..................

Thanks for your feed back Daniel. How much video RAM do you have? This game requires a minimum of 128MB. Their is the possibility that a system resource or other program that you may be running in the background is causing a conflict with this game. The point of installing Game Booster was so that you wouldn't have to do a clean boot which does require some work, and as you said, seems a bit harsh just for a game, but it would enable you to rule ot any background programs causing the problem. Using Game Booster will enable you to turn off quite a few background programs that are not essential to running windows while you are playing the game, and in doing so may reveal the culprit. If using Game Booster doesn't do the trick then doing a clean boot would be the next step. You could always create a restore point before you start so that if you discover that the proble still remains after a clean boot you can revert back to normal. If you need to find out if there is a clash between this game and a program that's running doing a clean boot then starting up each system resouce again will allow you to find the culprit (that is if there is one) by trial and error in a quick and clean way.

I have found that on some games, is you go to properties of the exe file, and click on compatibility, then check Disable display scaling, etc., this will correct some video errors. Works great for many games instead of having to change resolution. Works about 60% of the time. I use a large screen HDTV monitor. Worth a try.


......................Moderator comment.......................

Thanks Linda, that sounds like a possible fix, especially after a previous user mentioned that the game worked in windowed mode, but when they tried in full screen the problem started.

I found the gold rush levels frustrating, since often even clicking directly on an item was not enough to grab it. The good part of those levels, however, was that they showed the remaining items once time expired. I would prefer if the regular levels also showed the remaining items.

Just realized this is a hidden object game, my favorite kind! Yippee

How do I down load these games to my UBS so I can play them while babysitting?


...................Moderator comment.................

You probably can install it to your USB drive. I mistakenly got confused earlier and said you couldn't. I was tired and was thinking about yesterdays game, which required a reg code.

Thanks, ggatd, for this game. My grandkids love the earlier version so am sure they've enjoy this one even more. Thanks again for another great game.

really cute and fun game thank you so much.
no problem on the download at all
windows seven

I was thinking earlier today that a hidden object game would be a great giveaway today.. and YAY!!! it is. Installed with no probs on Vista/64. Working great, fun, relaxing game that is a great spin-off from the Fishdom series. Thank you GOTD!!!!!

Thanks, Mr. or Ms. Moderator! I downloaded and installed on my older 64-bit Windows 7 build which has a GTX 260 video card - no issues at all there. Clean boot didn't help either on the new computer, so there much be an issue with the integrated graphics in the CPU. Odd, as all other games play just fine on that computer. I will try Game Booster and if that doesn't help, will just to uninstall.


......................Moderator comment........................

I don't think Game booster will work if you have already tried the clean boot. The point of the clean boot was to see if there was a conflict with the programs running in the background. I just though Game booster would be an easier first step. Sorry that it won't work. By the way, what is the size of your graphics chip re RAM? As mentioned elsewhere if you don't have 128MB of graphics RAM that could be your problem

It's funny how the game likes to go to full screen on my computer. Running at 1680x1050 on a poor old 64MB graphic card is definitely going to go well. Even after un-fullscreening the thing it still stutters. So I'm not going to be able to play this game on my old desktop.

That being said, this game is using a newer version of the Playrix Engine (hence full screening at any resolution). Still the same old layout, but a lot cleaner looking. Textures are stored in textures.tar (not compressed, so supposedly for more efficient storage of textures in one big file instead of thousands of files that take up at least 4KB each). Music is also tagged (though not consistently).

Tip: if the game's loading too slow, either press the Windows key or Alt-Tab, wait around 15 seconds, and the bring the game window back up. Reason that will make it load faster is because the game doesn't have to render any frames, so it can focus on loading.


...................Moderator Comment...............

It could be your graphics card that is the problem. I checked over on Playrix's site and they say the game requires at least a 128Mb graphics card. This could be the reason others are getting the same problem. It's been a long time since I had a card with such a low RAM count so tend to forget that they are still around.

Have been using Fishdom with the grandkids. They and I enjoy it. This version of Fishdom is just as enjoyable for the little ones coming along.Thank you for a "clean" and enjoyable game that can be played by all ages.

Thank you for the lovely HOG game. I'm a fan of Fishdom and enjoy all kinds of similar games, easy and hard. I had no problems with downloading--use Win.7.

Additionally have tried Game Booster with no change in results

Just wanted to say thank you for the game giveaways! I play games on my computer as a stress reliever and I would like to say that GameGAOTD has certainly relieved alot of anxiety!

Game installed fine and started up, but will not play in fullscreen mode (a requirement for a hidden object game - imo). When attempting to switch into fullscreen mode, the computer screen begins to blink between the desktop and a black screen. Only thing I can do at that point is brink up the task manager and terminate the game. This is happening on a Vista Home Premium SP2, Dell Inspiron 1720, Intel Core Duo T9300, 4gb ram, Nividia GeForce 8600M GT with driver v.8.17.12.8026 - which are Aug 2011 drivers.

Is there a commandline parameter I can use?

Please advise.


...................Moderator Comment...............

One way around this would be to continue playing in windowed mode, but reduce the screen res to 800x600. That will cause the window to almost fill the monitors screen. Annoying I know, but it's only a minor hassle to change it back. I tested it on my Vista SP2 and it worked fine. Have you updated your graphics drivers recently?

Ok Win 7 Ulit x64. Yes as mentioned it doesn't go wide screen which would be nice on 24" LED. But nonetheless is still very playable at its full screen format, not all that much reduced. Still being a HOG the larger the views the better for finding couple of more tricky pieces or seahorse hints. Playing with relax & grandpa tutor helped clue in that those annoying extra fish (& cloudy bubbles) go away if click upon when come up for overclicking during searches.
Have played this in earlier variations and it holds up.
Would score it just about exactly with Whiterabbit, tad higher just for the effort to juice up a staid theme.
Thanks guys.

I didn't have a lot of time to fully play the game but so far it played very well (was a bit sluggish on the collect the gold level-like someone was holding back my mouse and I had to fight to move it where I wanted it to got) but other than that it has played nicely so far. I'm sure I will enjoy playing it again!

Did not install on Windows 7, 3GB ram computer. just gave an error message.


...................Moderator Comment...............

Can you tell me what the error message was? It may give a clue as to what the problem is.

I still like HOGs. I have to limit them because of the size (average 100 MB - 400 MB) I don't have a lot of external hard drives like some people do.

This is a nice little game and it's free so how can you complain about that! It's a great companion to the other Playrix Fishdom games given away here.

One question, though: If you re-play a given "level", do you search for the same things or different things?

Lots of fun! I really like the idea of finding the hidden seahorses in the puzzle to get extra hints!