This program is created by the makers of Corel Painter, which many consider to be the best painting and illustration software on the market. This software is a kind of Corel Painter Lite, and as such is a nice way to gain some initial exposure to digital art. I’m not a particularly sophisticated software user myself, so I was happy to discover that this program is relatively easy to use. I installed it on my laptop, which has Vista, with few problems.

We’ve used TurboTax for our taxes for at least a decade. It has every software bell and whistle imaginable and many I would never have thought to ask for. This software has saved us untold thousands in tax-preparation fees over the years. It can be purchased as an instant download, but my husband always likes to get it as a disc which can be re-loaded on the computer in the future if a need for it ever comes up, such as (which sadly is all too common) the computer it was originally on crashes and burns and has been replaced.

We initially installed Kaspersky in April 2010 on three computers we have on a wireless network. We experienced the same problems using the program on three computers that other reviewers have noted. When we replaced one computer, it came with Macafee and decided not to bring it over to Kaspersky. As a result, the remaining two computers have run smoothly,and Kaspersky has stopped several virus attacks. However, due to the real inability to run this program simultaneously on three computers, I remove one star.

The products box indicates that if you are currently using Norton AntiVirus, then this product, Norton Security, will replace it. As my current Norton AntiVirus subscription expires in 29 days, and I have no backup program, I chose this product. I first installed this program on my four-year-old plus desktop running Windows 7; I use both Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers. There is no installation CD; a website is provided instead.

I installed this program on a computer used by a person who is not especially computer literate and in response to a bad virus that had infected her computer. She had contracted the virus because she had let her anti-virus program expire. Her computer runs Windows 7 with Internet Explorer 9; it loaded flawlessly, which in this case had to be done in safe mode because of the virus. Once this software was loaded, it removed the virus.

This is one of their learning heavy games, and I really appreciate that. It still manages to be extremely adventurous even though you’re in the downtown of a big city rather than out in a castle, or a haunted mansion. The knowledge gained in this game is interesting, which is what makes the learning worth while. Just make sure you actually have a notebook sitting out to take notes. My favorite part of this game is it’s ending.

As a kid, I really found this game to be quite dull. But now that I’m older, I find myself really attached to it. I think what I disliked is that there is a lot (and I mean a lot) of running around and learning. Which also happened in Secret of the Scarlet Hand, though it was handled better there. So what makes me like it now? Well, it’s the most straight forward game (aside from the later games that would literally hand you a letter or a diary that told you exactly how to play the game – and for not having those, I appreciate this game all the more, since is shows you can have that sort of story and NOT tell the player of a MYSTERY game exactly what they need to do to reach the ending).

I refused to use a walkthrough for this game. Absolutely refused. And players, I promise you don’t need one. You just really have to put your noggins to work. Which I can understand why some people don’t like that (who loves thinking? pah! – I kid, I promise). I just really (REALLY) enjoy brain teasers and puzzles. I always have. My mother got me two huge books full of puzzles as a kid and I finished them within a month.

The very first time I played this game (waaay back when it was first released), I found myself incapable of finishing it because I was just too scared. Please, if anyone scares easily, know this: This is not a scary game. It has it’s wonderful spook elements, but the game overall isn’t terrifying. It’s actually really beautiful. Especially when you start getting near to the end. To people looking to buy: There is an interesting historical level, the characters are all interesting, the setting is gorgeous (though now you can really tell that the graphics are dated, but that’s ok), and all the loose ends are tied up.

I might be biased about this game because it was the first I ever played (and the first I ever finished – since, when I started playing, I had all of the first five that I was flipping between, and six and seven came out very close on the heels of them, so I didn’t actually finish any until a while after I’d received them). However, biases aside, this game still holds as my all-time favorite.