Adventure Gamers - Forums

colpet - 26 July 2012 06:37 PM

I started playing 3 Cards to Midnight. I liked the puzzles and the twist of the HO scenes, but the penalties killed me. I couldn’t find a way to leave a puzzle unfinished and go back to it later - you either had to skip or reset - very frustrating. So, I’ll leave it unfinished.
I tried some demos. After quite enjoying Surface Mystery of Another World, I downloaded Surface Mystery Noise She Couldn’t Make (IMHO really dumb title   ). The first mini-game, boat and bubbles) really threw me off. It was arcade-like and I worked away at it for about 1/2 hr. I ended up resetting the game challenge so I could skip it. I’ll probably pass this one out of spite.  Royal Detective Lord of Statues and Eternal Journey New Atlantis were much more enjoyable and I’ll likely but the SE versions.

3 Cards to Midnight was a strange game. I can’t tell you whether I liked it or hated it. I liked it because it was not a typical HOG, But, at times, I really didn’t have the faintest clue what I was doing. I can’t tell you for sure that I ever finished it.

Strange thing about Surface Mystery of Another World There is another game in the series, and it is not the one you mentioned. But when I went looking for it on BFG using Surface Mystery as the keywords, the only results I got were for the one we played.

I really despised 3 Cards to Midnight for the very fact it tried way to hard to not be a typical HOG. It became a mess and really wasn’t entertaining at all, especially with the generic “I use Poser and Lightwave” to make the visuals…something that came out of the late 90’s that failed to create a consistent artistic vision.

The sort of HOG’s that are really amusing are either ones where you look for objects in the game world which contribute to either a whole object forming that becomes and inventory object, or something unique and fun like what MCF does in every release.

Anyways, I’m really enjoying Howlville - the Dark Past right now, even though I haven’t played the first one…who cares. A lot of interactivity, making it feel more like an interactive world than a interactive slideshow. From the gorgeous visuals that mix cold and warm color schemes, to the emphasis of mystery.

The only down side that practically almost ruined the experience was that almost every new room there is an HOG sequence. Sure a lot of these scenes are gorgeous, but every 30 seconds its another HOG. Thank god the puzzles are pretty amusing.

I loved the 3 Card games. The first one was a bit harder with the HO scenes so I turned it to easy. Even that had some challenge to a non-native English speaker. But the story really grabbed me and I wasn’t put off by the visuals either.

The sequel is easier as you group words there instead of building compound words. And it had subtitles, yay!

I enjoyed the fact that instead of just finding object you had a wordplay. The story was good and the puzzles actually made sense. They were a bit more far fetched on the second game but still working.

Maybe i need to give it another try since I didn’t get all that far into the game. Difficult HO and Bad Visuals. Ok ok, its not as horrible as I remember, but the character models are so generic and the lighting is just….so 2001. Art Director humor.

Is this actually a screenshot of the game?

How is does it look better than other environments?

This is probably my last post in the July Casual Games thread. Instead of creating an August Casual Games thread, I’m thinking it would be better if we went back to the way it was pre-conversion. Ie, just calling it Casual Games. That way we won’t have to backtrack to older threads to get a game reference. If anyone thinks this is a bad idea, let’s discuss it.

On the game front, my wife is also an avid gamer, although she limits herself solely to casual games. I was doing something the kitchen a few days ago while she was in the dining room playing a game. The soundtrack was gorgeous. The game’s title is Awakening: The Dreamless Castle. She is also playing Natural Threat: Ominous Shores. The latter is a game put out by Alawar Games. I have enjoyed other games they’ve put out, so I’ve downloaded the demo for both above-mentioned games. I’ll report my thoughts later.

Also, Grim Facade: Sinister Obsession and Grim Tales: The Wishes should be available as Standard Edition games in August. I enjoyed the demos of both, and will definitely be getting the full versions. Should be a fun-filled August.

Beating Howlville reaffirmed my belief that casual games need better endings.

Monolith - 29 July 2012 04:08 PM

Beating Howlville reaffirmed my belief that casual games need better endings.

Not sure what you mean by better, but I understand the frustration. Every game developer thinks they have started a “franchise” like the current Batman movie series. Therfore, there can’t be a “clean” ending; there must be a reference to a sequel. I find this extraordinarily annoying.

Designers/Developers/Publishers ... Please hear our pleas! Give us an occasional “one-off” game that leaves us satisfied with completing your “mission”.

rtrooney - 29 July 2012 07:36 PM

Monolith - 29 July 2012 04:08 PM

Beating Howlville reaffirmed my belief that casual games need better endings.

Not sure what you mean by better, but I understand the frustration. Every game developer thinks they have started a “franchise” like the current Batman movie series. Therfore, there can’t be a “clean” ending; there must be a reference to a sequel. I find this extraordinarily annoying.

Designers/Developers/Publishers ... Please hear our pleas! Give us an occasional “one-off” game that leaves us satisfied with completing your “mission”.

Not exactly what I mean by better but clean is also something always required by Casual games. The dark, limitless HOG’s tend to be the most entertaining. By better, I mean, actual endings.

Every casual game ends abruptly with some lame “omg, its you! I missed you”, then the sunsets.

Just so….not worth going through the whole story, no matter how intriguing the rest of the game was.

Aww, BigFish daily deal is just for club members now.
I have never joined so I would have that 1 free month so I guess I could use it… But I’m not sure I buy enough to renew the membership.

Interplay - 01 August 2012 06:56 PM

millenia - 01 August 2012 03:47 AM

Aww, BigFish daily deal is just for club members now.
I have never joined so I would have that 1 free month so I guess I could use it… But I’m not sure I buy enough to renew the membership.

I thought the Daily Deal was always just for club members.  FYI, though, the Catch of Week (a different $2.99 deal) is open to everyone.  Also, if you “like” their Facebook page, there is also a Fan Favorite deal each week for $2.99.  Between those two deals, that is where I pick up most of my casual games.  Neither of them require you to be a club member.

Maybe there is a misunderstanding. And it could be in either direction. The $6.99/month US fee entitles you to one free game per month. Additional games for members are also $6.99 US v the $9.99 standard price for an SE game. CE versions are also discounted for members, although I rarely buy them. And there are the special sales that are available to members only.

For me, it’s simple bottom line equation. I play at least one game/month, and if I only pay $6.99 for it rather than $9.99, I’m $36.00 ahead at the end of the year. If I see one more game/month that I “must” play because of a rave review I saw here, which frequently happens, that’s a potential additionl $36.00 in savings. And, if by being a “member” I have access to the occasional $2.99 and $4.99/game sale…..?

I’m not pushing BFG memberships. But I find it hard to see how anyone who plays casual games could consider this a bad deal.