Adventure Gamers - Forums
You are here: Home → Forum Home → Gaming → Adventure → Thread
Post Marker Legend:
-
New posts -
No new posts
Currently online
Casual Games Thread
Sorry to hear about the Gamezebo review.
As much as I constantly express my dislike of the “predictability” of ERS Games, they aren’t “awful.” And the fact that they continually fill the pipeline with some “not awful” games says something.
In the absence of any new games from Alawar or Elephant Games, I purchesed Dark Tales: Masque of the Red Death and Puppetshow - Destiny Undone. The first is part of a continuing series of games based on the Poe’s short stories. The latter is the latest installment of the Puppetshow series. I really don’t think game reviews are necessary here.
Neither game breaks new ground. Both are true to their roots. Reviews of prior games can be viewed on the thread. Copy/Paste the same comments.
All that said, there is something to be said for “predictability.” Neither of these games rank better than 3/5. But if you feel the need to get a predicable fix. These two games fill the bill.
Now I ask a favor. My old 22” Samsung monitor died. May it RIP. I bought a new 24” from Samsung and the screen “acreage” has increased dramatically. I’m wondering what game anyone would recommend to take advantage of this new landscape. You all know I play regular Adventures as well, so don’t feel confined to the Casuals. (Although, seeing as that’s where we’re at, those suggestions would probably be most appropriate.)
I look forward to your thoughts.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
Rtrooney—Sorry to hear about your old Samsung monitor. Long live your new Samsung monitor!
Maybe an older HO game that’s off the beaten path? E.P.I.C. Wishmaster Adventures has a science fiction theme, dialog trees and graphics that include alien-planet-type scenes with a water color-like effect and a more realistic desert prison installation. The game has some campy humor and contains nods to pop culture (including Star Wars and adventure game pirates).
HO scenes are list-based, infrequent, and difficult. Puzzles are varied. There’s a decision point at game’s end that leads to one of two different endings (I played the game twice to see both endings).
The story can be difficult to follow – partly because the cutscenes are brief. The journal helps a bit with following the story, but I admit that it took the second playthrough for me to understand the plot implications.
Worth considering if you’re in the mood to try something different.
Thanks for the condolences. 
I ended up playing House of 1000 Doors: Palm of Zoroaster. Primarily becasue the graphics are quite good and the animations are above average. But most significantly because the game’s screen resolution is scalable from the options menu. I am very satisfied with the new monitor. My only complaint is that there are only two video-in options - analog and HDMI.
I think I have a game credit. I’ll give your recommendation a try.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
I just finished playing Amaranthine Voyage: The Tree of Life. It’s a newer game from Eipix, the studio who developed Final Cut: Death on the Silver Screen, an excellent game. Amaranthine Voyage is also quite good. You play as an archaeologist searching for the fabled Tree of Life. You get stranded on a tropical jungle island filled with ancient temples. So, the setting is interesting and different from the typical haunted asylum. The pace of the game is very good and the plot is involving. The length of the game is pretty good as well.
There were a few aspects of the game that were a little different from your standard HOPA, which I enjoyed. For one, the HO scenes are fairly standard, except when you find all the objects, it presents a riddle as a clue for the final object on the screen. The riddles are obvious, but it was pleasantly different. The HO scenes are of standard difficulty (not too hard). Each HO scene is presented a second time, but the second time you play through, you are looking for several of the same object, eg 12 keys. There were several novel puzzles, and the difficulty of the puzzles was average. Another thing that was different is that during the game you acquire a bow and arrow. During the course of the game, you are able to upgrade the capabilities of the bow (eg a grappling arrow). The specialty arrows are only used once or twice, and are really just glorified inventory objects, but it made it feel more like a real game to me (I started having Tomb Raider flashbacks). A final difference is that during the game, you will sometimes find shortcuts that lead back to previous areas on the island. This is minor, but it made it feel more like a real island to me, as opposed to a linear assortment of scenes.
The production quality and the quality of the art is quite good. There are animated cutscenes throughout the game, and there are FMV characters, similar to the Mystery Trackers games.
All in all, I enjoyed the game and would give it 4/5. Recommended.
Amazon is having another massive game sale, with almost 400 casual games on sale for $2.99. Most are garbage, but there are also a ton of really good games in the mix, as well as several misplaced full adventures (Syberia, Still Life, Kaptain Brawe, etc.) There are a lot of good Alawar games in the sale. Take a look.
It’s a great sale. Unfortunately I already own all of the Alawar games I wanted to play. You’re correct that some solid adventures did slip in. Amerzone set the style for Sokol’s Syberia 1&2. Post Mortem is the beginning chapter of Still Life. Great games at a great price.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
Maybe an older HO game that’s off the beaten path? E.P.I.C. Wishmaster Adventures has a science fiction theme, dialog trees and graphics that include alien-planet-type scenes with a water color-like effect and a more realistic desert prison installation. The game has some campy humor and contains nods to pop culture (including Star Wars and adventure game pirates).
Worth considering if you’re in the mood to try something different.
I am playing the demo. Still have about 20 minutes of playtime left. I’ve read the reviews on both BFG and Gamezeebo and they are quite consistent. Those that disliked the game quit after the demo. Those that liked the game said that it continued to grow on them, and that they enjoyed it more the further along in the game they got.
So far I’m not enjoying it very much, but I’m tempted to buy it simply because I’d be missing out on a great game once I cross the 1.5-hour barrier. Your thoughts?
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
Rtrooney—I don’t want to advise you the wrong way. Tastes differ, of course. E.P.I.C. Wishmaster Adventures is set on different planets, and the atmosphere changes with each one.
Did you happen to play Time Dreamer? It’s an older casual game by the same dev. The quirkiness in both games is similar (if quirky can be similar, anyway). 
I made the purchase. I think it was a good decision.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
A while back, I had purchased Nightmare Adventures: The Turning Thorn. When I started it playing it, it was obvious that the plot was totally incomprehensible without playing the first game (unlike most casuals), so I put it on the back burner until I bought and played the first one. So, I just got around to playing the first title Nightmare Adventures: The Witch’s Prison. What a great game. Except for the casual style of play, I would call this a straight-up adventure game. There are no hidden object scenes. I’m not exactly sure what to call this genre, then, but I’ll call it adventure-lite.
The story involves you being sent a letter suggesting more information on your family history. It calls you to your family homestead, an old asylum. I know this sounds terribly generic, but the story is quite excellent. The way the story is revealed is much more in line with a standard adventure (eg finding old journal entries, etc.). Suffice it to say, the plot is good and the game has a definite ending (though it does set up a cliffhanger of sorts - thank goodness I didn’t play the game when it first came out 3 years ago). Another thing that I liked that seemed more like a regular adventure game, is that when you click on a non-interactive object, the character will give their thoughts about it. Like an adventure game, this helps flesh out the character and their motivation more than the standard, “It’s a lamp”, “That door is locked” you find in the typical casual.
The puzzles are very fun and unique. They also make an effort to fit into the story well, again more like the puzzles in something like the 7th Guest.
The game has rare voice acting, but mostly it is just text on the screen. Likewise, music and sound effects are relatively sparse, and I would have preferred more. The artwork is typical for a game that came out almost three years ago, but is nothing special.
The above paragraph, and the fact that the game seemed a little short, are the only negatives I found. Overall, it was an excellent game, and I would give it 4.5/5. I have now eagerly started the sequel that I originally purchased, and in the first few minutes of play, it seems excellent as well. Highly recommended.
Very interesting comment. I think I originally posted my like of the Nightmare Adventures - The Turning Thorn game. I thought it was great, but then I was intrigued by the puzzles, of which there seemed to be a variety I had not seen before.
Jackal posted a rather scathing rebuke of my review. Perhaps his experience was similar to yours.
I played the game without knowledge of a backstory. Or that there even was a backstory. Perhaps I should look into the first game to see if it adds anything to my experience.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
I played the game without knowledge of a backstory. Or that there even was a backstory. Perhaps I should look into the first game to see if it adds anything to my experience.
Perhaps, like me, you were just used to many casual games having nonsensical or random plots, and so it didn’t seem too out of the ordinary. I would most definitely recommend you check out the first one. I think you will like it a lot, and the story is great. You might play the 2nd one again after the first. I’m playing through the second game right now, and I think it is great as well. Definitely a cut above most casuals.
Rtrooney—I’m looking forward to your thoughts on E.P.I.C. Wishmaster Adventures—I’m curious which ending you’ll choose.
I’ve just finished Enchantia: Wrath of the Phoenix Queen, which was recommended earlier in this thread. I played the CE verison. The bonus chapter takes you back several hundred years before the events of the main game. You assume the role of a rebellious Skybird who decides to ignore the tribe’s warnings and return to the Elf Kingdom. Since Elves are immortal and half-elves live for centuries, you meet a couple of the characters you encountered in the main game, but before the Phoenix Queen tried to “purify” the whole place into nonexistence.
The chapter is long for a bonus chapter. You see a small portion of the Skybird Kingdom, and open up a few new places in the Elf Kingdom and Midnight Forest. Gameplay and graphics are similar to that in the main game.
It was a pleasure just to spend more time in Enchantia. You learn more about the events that led to the advent of the Phoenix Queen, and introduce a rogue element that might (or might not) be responsible for the upcoming disaster. (I felt a bit as though I was playing the babysitter in a horror movie, where the entire audience knows that I should NOT go down to investigate the strange noises in the basement, but I must go, or there wouldn’t be a story.) I wondered if each puzzle I solved was bringing me closer and closer to my doom.
Rtrooney—I’m looking forward to your thoughts on E.P.I.C. Wishmaster Adventures—I’m curious which ending you’ll choose.
I replayed so I got to see both endings.
There was some confusion in the two endings. The only way Steven exists is if you choose to sacrifice yourself. Yet he is mentioned several times if you choose the other ending. I must say I was more distraught when I had to choose between the two Keepers.
I should also mention that I probably would not have purchased the game based on my experience with the demo. It did get much better as the game progressed. I give it 4/5, but I think that most players would find it boring, as I did, during the first hour or so of gameplay. The hidden object scenes were the most difficult I recall playing.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
I recently played Gothic Fiction: Dark Saga – a casual game with no Hidden Object screens. Gothic fiction (the genre of literature) has roots in the late 18th century and contains a touch of the mysterious, the romantic, and the supernatural. It produced iconic anti-heroes like Dracula and Dr. Frankenstein. I was surprised to find that, at its outset, Dark Saga doesn’t seem very gothic. It takes place in a high school (which I associate with lectures, not mystery and romance) and the supernatural element consists of over-aggressive vines.
So if Gothic Fiction: Dark Saga isn’t very gothic – what is? I began a quest to define the term. What should I look for in a game that’s gothic?
Got Gothic?
#1 clue – gargoyles. If the game you’re playing contains a deformed, winged statue – bullseye. Also, pointed arches, spindly towers, anything tall, attenuated, and spired. Grotesque forms in statuary. Paintings, tapestries, stained glass. Medieval castles, Victorian mansions. Dungeons and crypts. Flying buttresses. Gigantic fire places. Suits of armor. Skeletons in fashionable poses.
#2 clue – corrupted nature. Gnarled tree branches, overgrown vines, twisted roots, poisonous flowers.
#3 clue—bad weather. A dark and stormy night. Lightning. Fog. Rain. Clouds partially obscuring a full moon.
No blue skies. No sunshine. No songbirds. No dancing mice.
#4 clue – odd, mysterious story elements. Spooky isn’t intense enough—the lurking evil will be against nature, twisted, and often involving an unspeakable sacrifice/transformation. The background story might include a family tragedy or an ancient curse. There is usually a hint of forbidden romance, and often a young woman whose innocence, health, or life is threatened.
Occasionally, gothic-style casual games unfold in a historical setting, but more commonly the story takes place in the present time, while harkening back to an earlier era – for instance, a contemporary story set in a medieval castle or a Victorian mansion.
Casual Game Examples
Here’s a brief description of some of the casual games I played on my gothic quest (all games, unless otherwise noted, contain “find” list HO screens). Game titles link to the AG screenshots for each game so you can get an idea of the visual styles.
Grim Tales: The Legacy – You explore an elaborate medieval castle in search of your sister and young nephew, while learning shocking truths about your in-laws. The castle features turrets stacked upon turrets, elaborate fireplaces, a torture chamber, latticed windows, halls filled with tapestries, and wolves at the door. Some modern machines and nursery items (plus trips through photographic memories) contrast with the gothic elements.
Gravely Silent: House of Deadlock – A tumbled-down castle, gravestones and crypts. A handsome aristocrat who marries and buries young wives (easy come, easy go). Each former wife has her own themed sanctuary/prison that contrasts with the original gothic “home.“
Dracula: Love Kills – Over the-top, campy gothic ambiance in Dracula’s castle and local village. Lavish interiors—a chair with gargoyles, a bookcase with a flying buttress. Van Helsing teams up with Dracula and Igor to defeat the Queen of the Vampires and her hideous red roots. At mid-game, the hunter, the bloodsucker, and the fool travel to the Americas. They then face a final showdown in a gothic fortress.
The Beast of Lycan Isle —Your friend is kidnapped and will soon be forced to participate in a sacrificial ritual. You team up with a feisty elderly woman to rescue her. Monumental stone structures, a quirky Victorian cliff mansion, moonlit forest paths. Nice use of fire and lamplight. (The Hidden Objects are silhouette/shape based.)
Secrets of the Dark: Mystery of the Ancestral Estate – Unlike the games described earlier that open with a gothic theme, Ancestral Estate places you in a palatial classical mansion on a Mediterranean island, which then transforms into gothic environments as a long-dormant evil returns. Mythical monsters, cascades of sinuous roots and branches, horned, fanged, winged, and/or tentacled sculptures.
Fallen: The Flowers of Evil (discussed earlier in this thread) – Starts out gothic, stays gothic. Gothic to the max.
Conclusion
After all this “research” – why doesn’t Gothic Fiction: Dark Saga live up to its title? I finally figured out that “Gothic Fiction” apparently refers to a historical tale told in random pages strewn throughout the gameworld – the relevance of which is unclear for most of the game. Dark Saga’s atmosphere does eventually become more traditionally gothic when the vines acquire a face (of sorts) and the story graduates from high school and moves to an abandoned church and underground caves. Still, IMHO, any of the games listed above are a more obvious example of “gothic.”
You are here: Home → Forum Home → Gaming → Adventure → Thread
