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Casual Games Thread
I’m currently playing the SE demo of Rite of Passage - Heart of the Storm. I may have been out of the loop because I don’t know whether this is the third or tenth sequel to the original game, Rite of Passage - Child of the Forest. Both were from Mad Head Games.
I suppose it happens with all developers who try to turn a successful game into a franchise cash cow. (See some of the recent Casual Friday AGSOTD postings for additional examples.)
I really liked the first two Rite of Passage games. This game doesn’t come close to matching those. The plot is vaguely similar. There is an event of some sort. In this case it is a celestial storm, that is causing mass destruction of a community you have been summoned to save.
Because the original game, Child of the Forest, is scheduled to be this coming Friday’s AGSOTD, I cant get too specific about the differences. Let’s just say that the plot line of the original game, while a bit preposterous when you first encounter it, started to make sense once you progressed through the game. It may not be as believable as Romulus and Remus, but it fits into the same category.
The antagonist in Heart of the Storm is seen, but unknown. Why is he the antagonist? Why is he apparently creating this havoc? If there is a revenge motive, what is it? None of this is answered during the demo. Which, of course, makes me wonder whether I really want to know the answers.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
I found a games list for Mad Head here
http://hidden-object-game-lovers.wikia.com/wiki/Mad_Head_Games
The demo of Heart of the Storm put me off—just seemed like a lot of noise without much of a plot—and entirely too much turquoise (or whatever that color is). Maybe it gets better later on, but there was too much of an “I already played this game” about it and I didn’t care for the puzzles I encountered in the demo.
I think Child of the Forest is the best of the Rite of Passage games. The Perfect Show was too dependent on hidden object scenes, and I had trouble finding many of the objects due to small size and blurriness. Hide and Seek and The Lost Tides were good enough to buy after playing the demo.
I think The Perfect Show was the first game, and Child of the Forest was the second game. I have Heart of the Storm on my to-buy list. I liked the demo—I like it when you don’t know at first which character is on what side, or what the story’s characters are hiding and/or hoping to accomplish. I’m assuming that will become clearer as the story unfolds.
You’re right about Perfect Show being the first game. It was, however, the second one I played, which is why I think of Child of the Forest as being the first.
I’ve not played either of the two games that preceded Heart of the Storm, so I don’t know if they were better, worse, or the same as Heart of the Storm.
You do get a hint of who the enemies might be, and an even smaller hint as to what their motivations might be at the end of the demo. Not enough information though to tell me if either is worth fighting or fighting for. I also miss the graphic novel approach to telling the backstory.
This might be a Buy if I get really desperate and there is a really good sale.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
Everybody!
I got a very nice offer from a forum member. Basically it’s a free Steam key for Lost Civilization. Which is a casual hybrid of sorts.
“Life” is a problem for me right now, so I was unable to accept the offer. But I said I would post it here. If anyone is interested, send me a PM and I will forward it to the donor.
Let me know as soon as you can.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
I got a very nice offer from a forum member. Basically it’s a free Steam key for Lost Civilization. Which is a casual hybrid of sorts…..If anyone is interested, send me a PM and I will forward it to the donor.
It’s gone, cuz I played it myself! But thanks for posting this, Tim. I actually enjoyed it more than I thought, so I thought I’d like to try some more. It was more story (lite) driven and less of a HOG, although it did have some of those elements including a “reverse” mode where you put things from your inventory (which shows up when you click on the HO hotspot) into the HO scene where they belong. Kind of a neat change from the norm.
And while I’m here, in lieu of me reading through 90 pages of this thread, is there a Casual Games Top 100 list or something like that? Here’s my preferences, if you will:
I’m not super into finding HO’s as the main focus. I prefer a story driven casual adventure or detective type game, with HO finding a secondary part of the game. I have played a couple Mystery Case File games (Prime Suspects and the original Dire Grove) but they were a little too HO focused for my tastes. I’ve also played Dark Alleys: Penumbra Motel, which was okay, but the story wasn’t all that interesting.
If there is no specific list of good/great casual games, suggestions that meet my stringent (hah!) criteria are most welcome!
Life is too short to drink bad wine…
Here’s a list of ideas:
Very few Hidden Object Screens:
Age of Enigma: The Secret of the Sixth Ghost
Azada In Libro
Drawn Series (start with Drawn: The Painted Tower)
Emerald City Confidential
Namariel Legends: Iron Lord
Nightmare Adventures Series (start with Nightmare Adventures: The Witch’s Prison)
More Hidden Object Screens, but with strong stories
Beyond: Light Advent
Dark Realm: Queen of Flames
Dead Reckoning: Silvermoon Isle
Enigmatis Series (start with Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek)
Fright
Lost Lands: The Four Horsemen (this is second in a series, but I haven’t played the others yet)
Nearwood
Otherworld Series (start with Spring of Shadows)
A lot of the HO games listed above have fantasy themes. For non-fantasies—games with a detective theme are Emerald City Confidential, Dead Reckoning: Silvermoon Isle and the Enigmatis series. Games with more of a horror theme are Age of Enigma: The Secret of the Sixth Ghost, the Nightmare Adventure series, and Fright. Beyond: Light Advent is a sci-fi adventure. Namariel Legends: Iron Lord has steampunk themes.
Thanks, Becky!! 
Life is too short to drink bad wine…
Possibly a little less tedious than reading through all the pages/messages here, you might take a look at TimovieMan’s AGSotD recap. Every Friday is a casual game. If one of the titles strikes your fancy, there is usually a mini-review of the game accompanying the screenshot.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
^ Thanks Tim! I’ll have to start reading the AGSofD, which I haven’t until you suggested it. Looks interesting!
Life is too short to drink bad wine…
I’m losing it! 
I tried the demo of Witch Hunters: Stolen Beauty, and really didn’t like it all that much. I did find the spot where sarahandus had her problem. (Unfortunately not during the demo. More on that below.) I am not usually the “try everything on everything” type of person. So, I looked at the lock, and only had one round object in my inventory. Tried it, and it worked.
That said, I did comment that the walking was not at all fun, and that the scenes were very slow to load, and that the slow loading interrupted actions that I wanted to make.
So I was looking at the BFG game manager, saw that I was out of demo time on the game. Had a “Brain Fart” and couldn’t/didn’t remember that this was the game I said I didn’t like. And proceeded to buy it.
I see Becky’s point about this being a good Witch story. It is, but I was very glad when it was over.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
I’m losing it!
So I was looking at the BFG game manager, saw that I was out of demo time on the game. Had a “Brain Fart” and couldn’t/didn’t remember that this was the game I said I didn’t like. And proceeded to buy it..
Which what I could call my mistake of playing the pearl on the chest.
I agree with you about that slow loading and that tends to lead to frustration and stupid actions.
I can’t really remember Witch Hunters: Stolen Beauty, but it’s in my bought list.
There’s more than one “stolen beauty” type game that is really more about “stolen life force” or “stolen youth” but I guess they think “stolen beauty” is a catchier title.
One time I mistakenly bought a strategy guide instead of the game, so I’m no stranger to brain farts.
I don’t like purchasing through the Game Manager. Too prone to error IMO.
Haven’t had a problem with Big Fish because it’s so easy to look at my purchase history, and almost all my casual games are purchased there. But with adventures, I’ve been known to buy a game in a fabulous sale and then buy it again at another fabulous sale on another portal, forgetting that I already own it. Most recently, Ether One.
Where Angels Cry: Tears of the Fallen is unusual for a casual game in that it takes in a setting (Medieval Europe) that, in other casual games, often contains fantasy elements. But this game sticks mostly to a sense of historical reality. You are an agent of a Cardinal in the Catholic Church, sent to Portonero Village in Spain because of rumors that the Inquisitor for the area has gone loopy and is bullying the local inhabitants. Well, even more than is usual for an Inquisitor. You disguise yourself as a Templar Knight and go to the village to figure out what’s going on. And it turns out to be a good thing that you’re handy with a sword. Your activities are well documented in the detailed journal you keep (in case you don’t come back alive?). You discover a tangled backstory involving the Inquisitor and the inhabitants and traces of an ancient pagan religion.
I love tangled backstories.
If you play Where Angels Cry: Tears of the Fallen you’ll encounter lots of medieval-themed inventory challenges and mini-games, as well as list-based and image-based Hidden Object screens, plus a few easy action sequences. You get to explore rural cottages and hideouts, a terrorized town, a church with secret chambers, a frozen forest, and a dungeon. You’ll spend time with wolves, a horse, a dying sheriff, a couple of monks, an Inquisitor, and a beautiful gypsy-like woman who refuses to dress for the weather. (Of all these characters, guess who is most at fault?) I played the SE version, and found the ending satisfying. But mostly it was pleasing to see characters acting, well, like real people with complicated yet understandable motivations.
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