My family loves this game. Unfortunately my computer crashed and we lost the files...now I will have to buy it!!
I love the fact that it was a hidden object game and with each level, there was a chance to upgrade and decorate your fish tank.

Very disappointed; I could only get a black screen with music, despite following all suggestions in the forum FAQ. It's odd, some Playrix games work just fine on my Win7 Toshiba laptop; others will not.

Oh well, I have a fresh set of drivers for my graphics. Better luck next time...

Sadly, this game appears to be non-functional on Windows 8 (64-bit). As Lee C alluded to in Comment #35, you get a VC++ Runtime Error upon launch and the compatibility modes don't seem to work. Since the installer expired before I got a chance to discover this, I can't find out if installing with compatibility enabled would have helped. Hopefully they'll rerelease this one in the future with full Windows 8 support.

This is a screenshot of the error message, for those curious:

http://i.imgur.com/QpSwwmQ.png


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

Hi Matt, the following (copied fromMicrosofts site) tells you the basics about Runtime Errors:

A runtime error is a software or hardware problem that prevents a program from working correctly. Runtime errors might cause you to lose information in the file you're working on, cause errors in the file (corrupt the file) so you can't work with it, or prevent you from using a feature. Unlike stop errors, runtime errors don't typically cause Windows or a program to stop working.

Runtime errors can occur if you are running two software programs that are not compatible, if your computer has memory problems, or if the computer has been infected with malicious software. If a runtime error keeps occurring, try these troubleshooting steps:

Install the latest updates for Windows and for the program displaying the error. To learn more about this, see How can I tell if my computer is up to date?

Report problems so Windows can notify you if solutions are available. To learn more about this, see Report problems and check for solutions automatically.

Check your computer for viruses and always run an antivirus program. To learn more about this, see How can I help protect my computer from viruses?

Make sure your computer has the minimum amount of random access memory (RAM) required to run the program that is displaying the error. Look for the program requirements online or in the packaging information. To learn more about computer memory, see View your computer information.

I know the above doesn't answer your problem directly, but it may point towards a culprit. You may find turning off other programs running in the background that aren't necessary for windows to work may fix the problem. A good and quick way to fix this is to use a free program called Game Booster, that automatically shuts down all non essential windows system programs that aren't necessary to play the game, plus you can configure it to turn off non window applications (for exapmle any giveaway programs you may have installed that run in the background). The booster can be configured to turn on and off with each game yo set up or it can be switched on or off via the click of a single button (once configured).


The game worked fine on two of my computers running Win 8 and one on Win 7; there were also over 14 000 downloads of this game on Saturday and the same with the previous time it was given away, with only a couple of community members reporting problems like this. That would indicate (probability wise) that the problem is the computer and not the program. The game is a few years old now and is sold via most good arcade vendors as well as from the better free games sites. If there was an inherent problem with the game a lot more community members would be posting with the same or similar problems.

Sorry to hear you wern't able to get the game working.

Swampy is having way too much fun at GGOTD's and Playrix's generosity.

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

True. :)

Thanks for the game and the help. HP special graphics driver. Intel couldn't help. All is fine now. Thanks again.

Right now it's on sale from 19.95 to 13.95 US, which I think it still rather high. Fishdom® 3 Collector's Edition Official Site - Playrix Games - Free Download Games - http://www.playrix.com/games/pc/fishdom-3.html

It is very cute..your daughter will love this one if she likes the Fishdom games. You can keep objects in "Your Inventory" and they have included a "Fishepedia" with facts about each fish. The comments/attitudes the fish makes/takes remind me of Joe and his grandfather in Farmscapes. Can be quite cheeky at times. You can also name and pick the sex of your fish. I only have one complaint. I have a very bad memory because of the headaches and the other Fishdom games would tell you how many fish you had of each species..this one doesn't. So I have already found myself buying duplicates of the fish.

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

By todays standards I agree about the price. Thanks for your feedback. :)

I downloaded it, but could not open it. I'm still new with windows 8, so not sure what the problem is. Won't let me delete either to try again. I lost the game, which I liked in a crash, so was looking forward to getting it again. I have had a couple game giveaways disappear or stop working in the past, but most are great! Thanks!


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

I installed Start Menu X a few days after I installed Win 8. It gave me the ability to boot up directly into the desktop and also gave me back a start button. So now it hardly seems like a different OS to win 7 apart from the lack of Aero.

Did you check out the FAQ's section? There are some fixes that may solve your problem for example make sure I.E. isn't set to offline working (even if you use Firefox) and try a different file archiver to unpack the zipped download. (I've provided links to several free archivers in the FAQ's - I've linked to that in my review above). Even though the giveaway is now over, if you have managed to download the zipped file you can often still activate it for at least an hour after the giveaway.

Finally I was able to get the game to play. Since I have not had any problems with the other versions of Fishdom, I couldn't figure out why this one would play right. And in response to the moderator and others, I went to the FAQ section and tried many of these as well as going to the Properties box. After much trial and error and not getting anything to work, I finally found the solution for my computer and apologies to the moderator. Even though I had the latest version of DirectX and thought that I had the latest graphics drivers (since I supposedly got automatic updates), I installed the latest graphics driver version and it solved the problem. I help that this helps those out there who are having the dreaded blank screen when trying to play this game.

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

Glad you got the game working :)

Game installed with no problems on a Win7/64 bit machine. The game itself is very good. The different challenges in the game keeps it interesting and the music is appropriate for this type of game. Definitely a keeper.


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

:)

I already had this game, and played through it. It's really a fun hunt and find game. The graphics and music are nice, it's almost relaxing. Building your aquarium is also very fun.

For anyone looking for a little escape, I warmly suggest giving this a go! I loved it and I'm typically a Call of Duty kind of guy!


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

:)

I still have this game from when you gave it away before. I love it and hope that anyone who doesn't have it will give it a try.
Thank you so much for great games.


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

:)

I had this from the last time Playrix offered this. Runs with no problems on Win 7 64 bit. This is the only HOG I really, really like.

I agree with Swampy. These games are great for killing time and just watching the fish. I just got Fishdom 3...WHOA...Now that's a real Fishdom.

" Enjoy the ultimate Fishdom experience - it's better than ever! Now all your fish are in 3D and have their own personality. Feed them, play with them, and watch them interact with each other. Engage in challenging and fun match-3 gameplay with new unique twists, as you earn dozens of awards and achievements. Choose from over 150 underwater decor items and accessories in 8 unique themes. Plus, design as many tanks as you like. Hey, your finned friends are waiting for you - dive in!

More About the Fishdom® 3 Game
* 18 fun 3D fish, each with their own personality;
* Over 150 underwater decor items in 8 unique themes;
* Unlimited number of aquariums to design;
* Dozens of awards and achievements;
* Challenging and fun match-3 gameplay with new twists;
* Collector’s Edition Extras: 100 bonus levels, relaxing soundtrack, exclusive wallpapers, concept art and Fishipedia
* Watch as your fish interact with each other and with you!"

You get a shaker of food to feed them and a sponge to clean the tank. In other words..WORK!!Plus they do tricks and talk to you. You get points for clicking on them and extra points if you click on them and wake them up.

AND they have a "RELAXED" mode.

Anyways, Thanks Playrix for the game....You need to offer Fishdom 3, please...Hint, Hint...

And thanks Wabbit for the review..Hope everything is going good at the house..




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

Thanks for tge heads up Delenn, will have to check it out. sonds like it could be worth purchasing. :)

For mac @ #2 - to keep an aquarium from being too cluttered, I will purchase items I've already bought and just install them directly over the prior purchase. I've never had any problems from doing this and have layered some items 3 deep.


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

Thanks for the tips

I, too, have not been able to download this game. I have tried every bit of 20 times over a 7 hour period, and each and every time I get the message, "This file couldn't be downloaded."


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

Have you checked the FAQ's section? Make sure if you are using Firefox or Chrome that Internet Explorer is set to online woring.

An awesome game and I thank you very much, both this site and Playrix. My five year old grand daughter loves the first Fishdom and I know she'll love this as well as do I. Playrix is an awesome company and I also love their mobile games.


<<>>


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

:)

THIS GAME IS BETTER THAN FOOD, SEX, AND AIR!

AWESOME! GRAND! BREATHTAKING! ORGASMIC! SPLENDID! TREMENDOUS! REMARKABLE! AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! ASTOUNDING! WONDERFUL! DELIGHTFUL! BRILLIANT! IDEAL! MAGNIFICENT! SUPERB!

Yes # 12 My Play City will not let you play unless you dl their browser, did that and now my "Free Ride Games will NOT PLAY...No Thanks MPC.

Allycat

I would like to ad a comment about DX, something not many people know/realize

Games that say DX9 really mean DX9, not 10 or 11. DX 10/11 is NOT backwards compatible. Solution for those with systems after Xp is simply to re-install DX9 on top of 10/11. This can be done without breaking the 10/11 install. The DX9 setup simply ads a few files that where removed during updating 9 to 10 or never existed in the first place on Vista/7/8 systems. This should solve most DX related problems


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

Thank you for your feedback noname.

WIN7 64bit Installation sucessfull. Fine gift from you. thank you. Thumbs up!

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


To all those experiencing black screen problems. If you check out the FAQ's section that i always link to in my review you'll find a section on Black screens. I've copied it over for you:


Black Screen:

Problem:

If you are getting the black screen problem (possibly with an error message in a blue box that says “frequency out of Range”)it usually points to a screen resolution problem. Thst is the resolution you have your screen set to may not be supported by the game; or it could be the refesh rate that is the problem.Solution:

Try setting your screen resolution temporarily to a different setting and see if that cures the problem. If that doesn't work right click on the games executable and select 'properties', then click on the compatibility mode and select the disable visual themes. This should fix the problem, if not try disabling the display scaling on higher dpi settings and disabling the desktop composition. You can also try compatibility modes for XP, epecially if the game is quite old.

Other fixes include installing the latest direct X (remember that XP uses DX 9 or earlier only, Vista uses DX 10 or before and Win 7 DX11 or before). Also try updating your graphics drivers. The main two chip manufacturers are NVIDIA and ATI (now AMD) both of which offer driver downloads for free. Just go to the respective manufactures home pages and you'll find a link to the driver download page. To find out which graphic card or graphics chip your computer uses type in Dxdiag in the search field (Vista or Win 7) or the run command (XP); this opens up the DirectX diagnostics panel. click on the display tab and look to the left panel. You should easily see what graphics card or chip you are using. (This is required information when selecting the correct download from the developers site).

Did not download properly for me and made my computer go haywire


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



How did it make your computer go haywire? no one else has reported this problem. Check your event logs over the time you downloaded and installed the game. Could be some sort of conflict.

Try and describe exactly what happened, and copy the event log messages. Thanks.

Have no clue wwhy this game wouldn't run on those windows 7 machines. Personally I have it installed on a windows 7 32bit, wIndows 7 64 bit and even a windows 8 system. (not todays giveaway, have this game for a long time already)
If for whatever reason this game will not rub on your 7/8 system there is always the compatibility option which might help out.

rightclick the shortcut to the game on your desktop or browse to the executable and chooce properties. In the new window go to the compatibility tabe and put a checkmark at the compatibility option and choose a setting (anything below windows 7 should do fine. Vista or XP) hit apply, close the screen and try again.

If the game still won't run you might want to check if your graphics drivers nee updating or see if flash needs updating (I believe this runs partially on the flash platform)

For a good and safe (and honest) update checker I would go to http://www.filehippo.com and use there free update checker, they host all updates what they check for (freeware and some core paid programs like winzip/winrar etc)and are 100% safe imho. I am not a fan of the GOTD choice softwareinformer tbh


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

Thanks for your feedback hopefully the things you suggested will help. If community members have a probelmm running a game, the first port of call should be the FAQ's section that I always link to in my reviews. Most problems that occur with these giveaways are now documented. :)

If it helps, in win7 64 went to Options & selected Windowed rather than full-screen so I could start up Process Explorer -- PE shows it using Direct 3D 8, same as the older Dweebs that wouldn't run for everyone last weekend. I don't know if it's graphics hardware not supporting something that old, or if it's because the D3D 8 files aren't installed, or if I'm completely off base & that has nothing to do with it. One of the D3D files used that seems to have come with win7 originally [pre-SP1] is d3d8thk.dll



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

Thanks for your feedback . It's got top be a graphics problem. hopefully your suggestion will solve the problem.

The person with the "black screen" problem should update their DirectX files. The same thing happened to me the first time I downloaded this game and that one update solved the problem.



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

Thanks for your feedback Swampy; your're probably right. I just wish community members would check the FAQ's section out where most of these fixes can be found.

Oh, goody!!! A while back, my husband had downloaded a Fishdom which I absolutely enjoyed, but since then have changed computers so am thrilled to be getting another (although I really like the match 3). As a former medical professional, I also am glad to see that some games are helpful in rehabilitation. Thanks GGOTD and Playrix.
Cara

FISHDOM! FISHDOM! FISHDOM! THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!

FISHDOM IS THE BEST GAME EVER MADE IN THE HISTORY OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE!

IT IS THE EPITOME OF HAPPINESS! IT IS THE ESSENCE OF BEAUTY! IT IS THE PERSONIFICATION OF PERFECTION! IT IS THE QUINTESSENCE of CUTENESS! IT IS THE ARCHETYPE OF ALL GAMES EVER MADE! IT IS THE CRUZ OF ALL THINGS GOOD IN THE GAMING WORLD!

DOWNLOAD THIS GAME ON EVERY COMPUTER YOU OWN! PULL THAT OLD TRS-80 FROM YOUR TEENAGE YEARS OUT OF THE BACK OF THE STORAGE BUILDING IN THE CORNER OF YOUR YARD AND INSTALL THIS GAME ON IT! REBUILD THE GIANT COMPUTERS OF THE 1950'S AND INSTALL THIS GAME ON EVERY ONE OF THEM!

EVERY PERSON IN EVERY FAMILY IN EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD SHOULD OWN A COPY OF THIS GAME!

A COPY OF THIS GAME SHOULD BE PLACED IN A SPACE PROBE AND SENT TO MARS FOR FUTURE GENERATION OF THE FIRST SPACE COLONY TO ENJOY!

PRIMAL YELL!

Same thing as #7 above. Uninstalled and deleted:(


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

See the comment I made in reply to Cartster (comment number 7 above)

Installed fine on Win7 Home Premium 64-bit. No issues when the game opened in full screen. The only issue I have is not knowing what some of the items listed are! I don't mind wasting hints when you just can't spot the item, but not knowing what it is annoys me. Although I enjoy Playrix games and Fishdom, I'm kind of burned out from creating and maintaining an aquarium. Agreed with above posted, done to death. Still, Playrix games are always worth the download IMO.

Thanks for offering this game again! I'm yet another person who used to have it and lost it due to replacing my computer.

BTW, there's something new at MyPlayCity -- a few months ago they changed to forcing you to download games with their own installer/download program, which was a major loss to me at least. I used to be able to dl the games at work on a high speed connection, and now I can only do it directly on my home machine where I only have dialup. But it was still doable to get a game, if I was willing to tie up my phone line for hours and hours.

But last week when I downloaded a game (I think it was called something like Fluffy Adventure) it asked me to allow it to change my home page and search page. When I unclicked those option, at first it greyed out the option to dl at all, but when I tried again it let me download the game BUT the game won't run at all. I just get a screen telling me I HAVE to install their browser add on before it will run.

This rubs me the wrong way. *Asking* me to do something is one thing, even if they ask over and over each time I start a game. But *insisting* that I have to let them highjack my browser??

I guess I won't be visiting MyPlayCity any more.


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

MyPlayCity do this regularily; they change the format, so that sometimes you are forced to install a toolbar or change your home page etc, other times they are much less invasive. I think they do it to catch users out because for every successful installation of a tool bar etc, they probably get income.

Cartstar, I had purchased this game from Playrix on another computer that ran Windows XP Pro and the game played fine. However, on my new computer that runs Windows 7, I too only get the sound and no picture. I contacted Playrix and they inform me that the game is not set up to run on Windows 7 and they offered me another game as a replacement. So, sadly, although White Rabbit says the game can be run on Windows 7, if you will check the System Specifications above, Windows 7 is not an option :(


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

It plays fine on the computer I have win 7 installed to. It also doesn't mention Win 8, but it also works on that as well. It all depends on how you have your computer configured and whether or not your drivers are up to date. There's often several factors including running software in the background that may conflict with the game.

Same problem as Cartster, comment #7.
Installed on a W7x64 system and all I get is a blank screen. Uninstalled and reinstalled. It didn’t help. I get the sound but a blank screen.

I love this game,and since I now have a new computer, I am so glad to get it installed. I have been going to my old XP to play it so it is nice to have it on the new one.

Loved the genre when it came out, but I admit it has been done to death. That said I agree this is one of the better examples. I was still enjoying it when the "game" was complete so I kept populating my tank-I got up to 100 of each type of fish and it still kept running.

If you have the slightest interest in HOG games grab this one, it's one of the best.

Installed on a W7x64 system and all I get is a blank screen. Uninstalled and reinstalled. It didn't help. I get the sound but a blank screen.


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

try updating your graphic drivers. To find out which you need type into the search field dxdiag, then look at the display tab. From there you can find out what make and model of graphic card you have. Go to google and type in the name of the graphic card manufacturer. If you have a separate graphic card its likely to be NVIDIA or ASUS/ATI (used to be ATI, but they were bought out by ASUS). Once on their main page look for the driver button, then type in the details they ask. you should then get the correct driver for your card. You may have an onboard graphic chip. if that's the case you need to go to the motherboard manufacturers web site. There are several such as ASUS, MSI etc You can find out what your motherboard is either by looking inside your computer or using the free program spekky:

http://www.piriform.com/speccy

Also check my FAQ's. I've linked to it in my review above. There is a section dealing with Black screens.

Also try fiddling around with the monitor resolution and try running it in compatibility mode also make sure you have 'Run as Admin' checked (right click on the executable and select 'Run as Administrator). To go to compatibility, right click on the exe or shortcut and select properties, then click on the compatibility tab. Hope this helps.

I am glad to see this game offered again. I a, hoping they repaired some minor glitches from the previous give away... I am glad to see it offered again because the copy I had installed stopped responding and became a one hour trial version.

Unfortunately 75% or more of my games did that as well all this happened after I was forced to do a reinstall of the Windows XP PRO OS over top of the old one to repair some serious damage. I some how ended up with some sort of a Java virus Which crippled my machine.

Even though I had clean backups of the registry that I reinstalled over the old ones with the new Windows Folder something went unfortunately wrong for me because almost all of my games software that I had installed from Websites similar to GAOTD Sites like Bitsdejour, Glarysoft Give away of the day and GGAOTD all of those games and software have also reverted to trial versions.

Thankfully some of the software accepted the registration details so became functional and registered again, Unfortunately many others had a pop up message that said this give away is over or this registration code is now invalid.

I can not tell begin to tell you which sucked more but it truly does. It sucks big time. I have some great backups of my machine and the registry but for some reason none of the games or software become functional they all persist in remaining as trial ware. =(

Hence the reason I am glad to see this game offered again. I love many of the Match 3 & 4 games From Playrix and I love this one from Playrix too I love all the varied forms of Hidden Object puzzles it has to offer.

Some games get very boring and repeitive but I seem to love the games that are given away on here courtesy of Playrix..

So a big thumbs up from me. My poor control of core motor control of my hands dexterity and the hand eye coordination have improved 100 fold since my Pulmonary Anurism's and stroke I had back on March 30 of this year.

The games here and the software given away from here and from other sites similar to this one have actually helped in my rehabilitation, I am now typing at 15 to 25 words per minute and using both of my hands with full motor control of 6 of my fingers. When compared to my motor skills and dexterity a month back my control and use of my hands eyes and other little things are markedly improved

so a big thank you to my body's rehabilitation is due to Playrix, Alaware and to Give Away Of The day and to Game Give away of the day

Thank you all so much for all that you do I was once a very bored and Distressed house bound Frog.. Unfortunately I missed most of the games given away in April and may Due to my being in the recovery ward in the Palliative Care wing of our local hospital so I missed many of the great games given away by alawar, awem, Gambana, and Playrix in that time frame.

I can only hope that some of the great Games From Stars ashes & other game company's will once again provided here, I honestly miss the great shmups once given away here. Even if i have a hard time playing hem and winning a game. they provided hours of escape from my boring shut in life.

I hope to see the many other game company's whose name I have forgotten at this time return and offer more of their games because like many of my Playrex, Awem, Stars Ashes and Alawar games they to have reverted to 1 hour trial ware versions

Please do not point out that I can get many of these same games free from X web site or B website I am aware of that but those games come at a cost. Some of those the freebie game sites install things into their games things such as annoying pop ups or idiotic tool bar add ons

Lets not forget the freebie games that hijack our search settings or add some sort of X search engine Ones most of us don't want on our tool bars. Plus there is sometimes other stuff that will sneak in when we are doing custom installs

Sometimes there are things in those other game site give-aways that sneak in to our system that cause pop ups or contain Trojans or malware. I trust Game give Away of the day and the Games Designers but I can not always trust the games coming from a source other than here or the creator of the game

Feel free to edit this post of mine for correct grammar, punctuation and spelling as needed.

Signed
Rick Frog


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

Sorry to hear of your troubles, both medical and computer woes.

I will try and dig out some shmups for you. I purchased many that I no longer play, so you are welcome to them. I need some time to find the registration codes though as I've been 'tidying' up. ;-) I'd spent months earlier this year cataloguing all the software on my back up DVD, Blu-Ray and CD discs (hundreds of them) and externals, but now can't find the disc that has the backup of the datbase I was using. I installed Win 8 several weeks ago, so the once registered database became a demo. I purchased it last year, but can't find which disc I placed the key on, nor the email with the key, because I used up the demo time. Once I find it i'll search out some decent shmups for you. :) Message me over on the giveaway forums with your email, so that I can post download links and tregistration details. :) (it will take me some time, but I always hold to my promises).

Thanks, I'm sure the kids will love it.

I've grown quite weary of HOGs, but this one is - like all Playrix games - well done and definitely worth getting if you like that sort of thing. As I get older and my eyes weaken, I'm just not seeing the charm of squinting at my monitor anymore.

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

Thank you for your feedback Guiseppe

Oh goody - another of the all-time classic games that I lost when my PC crashed!

This was the very first HOG that I played and introduced me to a world of fun. WR is right - games have moved on by miles since this, but it retains its charm. It can be surprisingly tricky playing in the timed mode although as with all these sort of games it becomes easier as you become more familiar with the look of items.

The music is certainly quite bland - rather like being in a lift (elevator!) but it has cheerfulness. The colours are lovely and it's fun building up the fish tank - the fish have their own individual characteristics. The story is rather incidental and a little bit preachy, but it makes a pleasant change from ghosts, vampires and murders!

One tip from personal experience that may be of interest to some: due to a neurological problem my husband has quite limited movement. I introduced him to this game and he found it helped his hand-eye co-ordination (playing in the untimed mode). So many games seem to require quite a lot of manual dexterity and/or quick reactions and it's pleasant to find one that is attractive and playable without requiring ultra-fast clicking.




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

Thank you for your feedback Margaret. Sorry to hear about your husband. I hope he's getting better?

Ooh, yeah!

I got this from My Play City a couple of weeks ago (no toolbars from them), and this is Playrix best-of-the-genre: the HOG elements are varied, from 'find this list' to 'find 10 of...' to 'Gold Rush' or 'find this or this'; the graphics are sumptuous and easy to see, and the cut scenes are well done --the interaction between Jennifer and her grandfather is charming. I'm already playing through again on a second identity.

Minor criticism: you have to crowd the aquarium with too much stuff to get the gold cup!



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

Thank you for your feedback Mac

Fishdom H2O - Hidden Odyssey :

Main Menu

Installation:

Today’s game giveaway is Fishdom H2O: Hidden Odyssey a hidden objects game based on the Fishdom franchise.

The giveaway downloads to a 90.3 MB zip file that unpacks to a read me and dual activation and set up module. To new game giveaway visitors that means just install the game and it should automatically register because the activation module is wrapped in with the set up file. The game installs to

C:\Program Files (x86)\Playrix Entertainment\Fishdom H2O - Hidden Odyssey (64bit)

Or

C:\Program Files\Playrix Entertainment\Fishdom H2O - Hidden Odyssey (32bit)


The installed game is 120Mb in size. The game works on win XP, Vista, Win 7 and Win 8 platforms. A shortcut is installed to the desktop (together with a link to Playrix's home page) as well as a shortcut in the Start/Programs list. You'll also find a shortcut to uninstall the game via the program list if you wish to delete the game. According to the properties there are no previous versions so this is the same version as the one we received a couple of years ago back in September 2011 where it received an excellent 85% positive votes out of 420. There were over 14 000 downloads. You can read the 87 comments HERE . The game was also given away last year (April 29th 2012 ) where it received a positive 82% of votes out of 452. You can read the 63 comments HERE

If you get any problems once the giveaway is over, or late in the day (there's no moderation usually for the last five or six hours until the last half hour or so of the giveaway) please post them over in the forums. I started a thread the last time it was given away HERE . you may find suggestions/fixes have already been posted, either in the comments sections I've linked to or the forum post. If not follow the link I've posted below to the FAQ's section of the Game Discussion forums.

Introduction:

This is one of those genres that in my opinion has been done to death over the last several years. The weekly releases of games from this genre was the main reason why I cancelled my Big Fish game membership two years ago, because nearly every new release, which at one point was one a day, seemed to be hidden object games. I don’t dislike them per se, but I did find there wasn’t much in the way of originality apart from a few such as the Dream Chronicles franchise or games like Mishap: An Accidental Haunting and its sequel. The following paragraph was copied from Playrix's Fishdom H2O: Hidden Odyssey page and introduces the game:

Help Jennifer, a young marine biologist, win the Best Aquarium Award. Dive to the bottom of the sea and find various hidden items in numerous eye-teasing locations. Get cash for them to buy cute sea creatures and beautiful ornaments to create three unique aquariums. Choose from tons of accessories and supplies to make the life of your exotic swimming pets fun and comfortable. Become a genuine aquarist, polish your design skills and win trophies in this dazzling hidden object spin-off of the original Fishdom™ - a game by Playrix where dream aquariums come true!

Reference accessed HERE 16th Sept 2011

The Game:

Unlike most Fishdom games this is not a match three but a hidden object game. It’s a typical hidden object game with a relaxed and timed mode. There’s not much else to say about the game play as we all know what a hidden object game is. In my opinion (after playing through an hour long demo) there is little variation between the hidden object levels; there is some but not much. That said there are a lot of objects to find, so the repetitive nature of the background scenes isn’t too much of a put off. You do have to be careful not to click randomly otherwise a school of fish appears and obscures the game field at which point the fish release clouds of bubbles to further block out the hidden objects. Also there are no set levels; the main objective of the game seems to be earning cash to build one of several aquariums that have to be unlocked (you can see an image of the four aquariums available with this game below).

Apart from the usual find a list of named items you’ll sometimes get definitions of words like ‘lens to improve eye sight’ which of course would be glasses, or you may be asked to find a certain number of a specific item, then there are ‘Gold Rush’ events that give you 30 seconds to gather up as many gold items as you can and quick rounds where you only get 15 seconds to find at least one object out of three.










As with other Fishdom games 'Fishdom H2O' includes an aquarium, which you build up by earning cash which can then be spent on items and fish for your aquarium. The addition of the aquarium of which there are three to complete in my opinion gives the game a little extra something and is an ideal family game (the children will love the aquaria).

For me the aquarium was the clincher for this game despite its simplicity. It’s not the best, but each of the aquariums are fun to build, with around 30 beauty objects to decorate the aquariums with. That said there was only nine fish to add to your tank. I would have liked to see more fish inluded. There are two cup awards to earn for each aquarium which adds some replayability to the game. There is also a screensaver that is linked to your aquarium progress. You can turn the screensaver on or off via the game or via the control panel. The game starts with a profile screen that allows you to create a profile; you can create more profiles if you wish (ideal for a family orientated game). You are then asked whether you wish to play a relaxed or timed mode, which can later be changed via the options menu (you'll find a toggle in the form of a tick box), a custom cursor toggle, a windowed toggle as well as a hints toggle which is turned on by default, so unless you uncheck it via the options menu you will be given tips throughout the game. You'll also find a music and sound effects adjustment slider for changing the volume. When in game you start off with five hints which you can access via the hints button to the bottom right of the playing area. Once these are used up you have to find more via each level that you play, you can only have a maximum of five hints at any one time. They are in the form of seahorses. not every level has one, so be sparing in your use of the hints for when you are really stuck. The game has a save feature that automatically saves the game when you shut down. You can also turn off the hints or change the mode via the options menu, which is accessible from the in game screen.

Features:

• Underwater hidden object fun

• Over 1000 cool items to find

• Themed aquariums to design

• Fully interactive and customizable environment

• Tons of accessories and decorations

• 20+ amusing sea creatures



System Specifications:

Operating system: Windows NT/ 2000/ XP/ Vista
CPU: 1 GHz
System RAM: 512 MB
DirectX: 8 or higher
Video RAM :128 MB

Video:

You can see Fishdom H2O - Hidden Odyssey via the following videos HERE and HERE

Conclusion:

I found the hidden object part of the game too repetitive, but the aquarium redeems the game somewhat. That said, if I just wanted a fish tank sim I’d be better buying a dedicated game like Fish Tycoon or FishCo. Overall Playrix have put together a decent game that for free is a big bonus. There are new HOG games being released almost on a daily basic, many of which have sumptious graphics and mini games interdispered amongst the main game; that said, today's game giveaway holds it's own, so despite having lost interest in this type of game I'd give the game play 8 out of 10, though my overall score is 7 out of 10 due to less impressive elements such as the music. The developer should give the user the option to select music from their own Music folder instead of being forced to listen to music that is rather bland. You can change the various music files by going into the installed games folder and opening up the music folder which can be located via the following path:


C:\Program Files (x86)\Playrix Entertainment\Fishdom H2O - Hidden Odyssey\Base\Sound\Music (remove the (x86) for 32 bit computers)

You'll find several ogg files (for exampe Collector.ogg, deep_diving.ogg, pirates_theme.ogg etc). The replacement music will need to be converted to the .ogg format if you wish to use your own music. you'll also need to rename the music to replace the files that you wish to be changed. (I'd back up the originals just in case you do something wrong, though if all else fails you could download the demo to a different path and copy over the music from that game as they should be the same)



Scoring:

Game play - 8
Graphics - 8
Audio - 6
Re-playability - 7
Originality – 6

Total = 35 out of 50 or 7 out of 10

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you have any problems installing today's game please go HERE for help.


If you're looking for something other than today's game check the didimatic site via THIS link for some brilliant deals



Games, Games, and yet more Games plus Download, Installation & Game play Problems:



If you're looking for something other than today's game check the didimatic site via THIS link for some brilliant deals.

Steams weekend deals includes 66% off The Witcher Franchise, 33% off Kerbal Space Program, 33% off Dishonoured and 50% off the dlc for Dishonoured, 75% off the Painkiller Complete pack (10 items, which you can also purchase separately; however, you get a further 30% off the complete pack), 50% off Strike suit Zero Mega bundle (this is the 24hr deal) , 67% of Super Hexagon, 75% off space Empires V, 50% off Kane & Lynch Dof Days, plus nearly 60 more deals.

You can find details of all these deals by following THIS link; then click on the specials tab.


On sale over at at GreenManGaming are The Walking Dead with 50% off, 50% off Ace Combat Assault Horizon Enhanced Edition, plus loads more. Check all GMG deals HERE. There's a 20% off voucher that can be used with most of the GMG digital games.



You'll find many more game deals from Gamersgate, Gamestop, and GOG; all of which you can find via the Didimatic site, which I've linked to above.

To be honest there are too many game deals around too list them all. Just visit the sites I recommend above and I'm sure you'll find something that suits you for a very decent price.


You can get a free arcade game via Alawar's game box, just click the free game tab. It changes approximately every month If that's not enough, check out the Game Discussion forums HERE for details of other games either free or on deals such as the Indie Game bundles or check out the four day sales at IndieGameStand.

The latest IndieGameStand game is Paranautical Activity, combines the classic FPS action of games like Doom and Quake, with the randomness and difficulty of modern roguelikes like Binding of Isaac and Spelunky. The graphics look like Minecraft. You'll also get a desura Key and, if you pay above the average which stands at just over $1.90 at the moment you'll get an extra map and the OST of the game. This game is also on Steams Greenlight list, so, if it gets greenlit, you will get a Steam key for free. You'll find the deal HERE. This deal ends on Mon 17th June around 4am GMT. I'll be posting more details about this game over in the game discussion forums just as soon as I've finished this review. :)

There's also indie bundles available over at Indiebundle.org. Each bundle has three games and costs $5 each for the basic bundle plus a few dollars more for extra games. Check the Indie bundles HERE

There's more Indie bundles available. you can find them via the Game Discussion forums. All bundles are excellent value for money :). For most of these bundles you need not pay more than $5 for several games that would usually cost you a lot more. You'll find links to all of these bundles in the Game discussion forums HERE



Similar Games to todays Gamegiveaway:

You can find loads of Hidden Object games for free over at MyPlayCity, and Gametop for example, Potion Bar (a previous giveaway), Jane Croft: The Baker Street Murder, hide and Secret, Spirit of Wandering, Natalie brooks: Secrets of Treasure house, Mystery of Unicorn Castle, Alices Magical Mahjong (yes this has hidden Object elements), Antique shop, Confectionary, Crossworlds – The flying city plus loads more.

however both sites do try to install toolbars and hijack your browser, but for MyPlayCity it is avoidable by making sure you uncheck the check-boxes when installing the games though I've not checked Gametop for some time as they had become quite aggressive the last time I tried. In the case of MyPlayCity games; every time you start the game those check-boxes will be presented to you, so make sure you uncheck them, otherwise you'll be the proud owner of a MyPlayCity/Ask tool bar and you'll have to fiddle around to change your browsers home page back to whatever you have it set to. MyPlayCity do have a fantastic choice of arcade games, so although those things are an annoyance, I think it's still worth the effort, especially if you can't afford to purchase the games.


You can find Gametop HERE and MyPlayCity HERE



A Request for help:

Developers rely on good feedback to improve their games. If you download this game please take some time once you’ve played it a while to leave some constructive feedback either positive or negative. The more constructive feedback we get, the more likely developers are going to give more games away. The giveaway site already has a very good standing with the search engines. Developers want their products out there on the WWW, this site has the potential to do that. The game giveaway project gives away on average between 9 to 17 thousand downloads for each game depending upon what genre and how obscure the game is. That’s a lot of homes these games are being downloaded into and a lot of 'potential' cash that’s being lost by the developers. If we get better games because of better feedback, the community are likely to continue to benefit from the generosity of the developers. Satisfied community members are then more likely to visit the home sites of those developers and purchase games that they may not have bothered with before they discovered the developer via the game giveaway site, thus giving the developers more incentives to give away even more decent games.

Please leave some feedback once you've checked the game out. It can be positive or negative, but please explain what your reasons were for the feedback you post. You could also leave suggestions for improving the game, for example, this game could do with more block types for the levels editor, add more power-ups, describing the ones you think would be suitable, add some mini games (which seem all the rage in some arcade games now) or enable the user to be able to change the in game music easily.

Thank you in advance to all those who take the time to post a constructive comment.

Regards

Whiterabbit aka Stephen

========================================================