My review of Kit and Ellis:
This is a match-3 game with a shockingly original mechanic. It's like a cross between Bejeweled and Crystalix. To get a general idea of the gameplay, think of Crystalix, but with tiles instead of shapes. Then imagine placing those tiles next to others in a row of three to make a match. One-square Tetris couldn't be easier(actually, I actually have that on my computer, and it's called Unis - but I'll spare you the horror of playing it by not posting a download link). It's brain-achingly easy, even on the hardest difficulty - which only gives you less time to make those matches. I don't know how anybody with a general knowledge of how to use a mouse could find this challenging.
The graphics are vivid and fit the theme nicely, and look good - aside from a general lack of animation, a tendency towards flatness, and differing styles. The sepia Photoshop paintings are also eye-pleasing. The particle effects used when matches are made don't really work well with everything else, though. To be frank, pretty much all of the graphics are different styles, and the overall look doesn't work.
The sounds are average at best. The music is a generic pseudo-pirate-y tune, and the sound effects are the usual fare. I can't stand the stupid parrot, though - it sounds like a dying frog!
This game uses a lesser-used theme, involving pirates and piracy. I don't know the story, though - I couldn't be bothered to play past the first few levels, and I couldn't find it in the game's data folder.
With regards to presentation, though, this game has several small flaws that quickly pile up. Text takes F O R E V E R to display in the "diary", and is badly translated in several places. For example, this precedes the third level:
Alvaro has visited my cabin today. Weve been wasting time on useless fiddle-faddle flavoured with Captains prejudiced moralising and demonstrative arrogance. The talk resulted in nothing and I got to know I was sentenced to death. I really wonder what he wanted from me for all that. What were all those questions about Caribbeans for?
I can forgive dodgy wording here and there(Cave Story's dialogue, for example, is grammatically correct, but awkward in places), but this is beyond that. I also had to wait about twenty seconds for all of it to display. There's no option to speed it up - all that the player can do is wait or skip it.
There are other issues, too, like the aforementioned parrot that squawks(well, "croaks" would be more accurate) at the beginning and end of each level, the inconsistent art style, and the names of the characters. "Kit" is a feminine name. "Ellis" is a surname. When spoken, the first two syllables of the title form the word "kitten". It's just awkward.
At least it works on Vista. However, the custom cursor didn't display until I moved it. Also, the resolution can't be changed without crashing the game.
Overall, I give Kit and Ellis a score of five out of ten(four for gameplay, five for graphics, six for sound, seven for theme, four for presentation, and four for finish). It's too easy to be fun, and the overall quality is low. I don't see any reason to play it.