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
Dara100—I’ll have to take a look at youtube.
I didn’t replay the lighthouse level as much as some of the other sequences. It’s been a while since I played Dear Esther—maybe it’s time for another revisit.
EDIT: I just watched a youtube video of [spoiler]all the Dear Esther ghosts. I wouldn’t have noticed any of them without the use of the pointers/circles, except perhaps for the water reflection one and the blinking light. Which is, after all, just a blinking light. I think some of the ghosts are the videogame equivalent of dust eddies, or maybe outdoor dust bunnies. I really have to hand it to the people who noticed these ghosts at all. Very sharp eyes.[/spoiler]
I think Hidden Object games should switch from morphing objects to ghost objects. Even harder to find.
As I mentioned before, I finished playing Nightmares from the Deep - Davy Jones. It is the third game in the trilogy produced by Artifex Mundi.
I’m almost finished with a second playthrough, but I think I have enough information to make a cogent review.
If you have played the first two games. Nightmares from the Deep - The Cursed Heart and Nightmares from the Deep - The Sirens Call, you know the basic premise. Evil pirate, Davy Jones, of Davy Jones’ locker fame, comes to life and threatens your life as well as your daughter’s. Her name is Cory, btw, not Cora as I mis-typed in a prior message.
This game is much different than the prior two. That doesn’t mean better; just different. Let’s take the HO scenes as an example. All scenes are visited at least twice. But each visit is different in that you are searching for an umbrella in the normal search, but are searching for components that make up an object in the second. None of the HO objects are out of place. That is, there’s no telephone in what would be a 16th Century environment.
The puzzles are, to my way of thinking, easy. But that’s not to say they are easy. If that sounds like a non-sequitor, you’re right. The puzzles may be simple to solve, but they are also illogical. There are puzzles where you intuitively think a part of the puzzle is missing, but it isn’t. And there are puzzles where you think you have everything you need to solve it, but you don’t. I think gamers who want to be challenged by puzzles, but don’t want to be beaten down by them will enjoy this game.
And, those that played the first two games will remember the gremlin with the chest that collected coins that contributed to the game’s back story. Without giving away any secrets, the way that is accomplished in this game is done much better.
There is an interactive map, which you get by solving a puzzle, of course. It greatly helps because there is a bundle of back-and-forth walking otherwise.
And, similar to other Artifex-Mundi games, a click on the Hint button will tell you where you need to go, or what to do if you’re stumped.
Voice acting is quite good. Music is OK.
There are, however a few absurd problems. One: Davy Jones views mom, Sarah as a threat. Why doesn’t he just kill her and be done with the problem. Of course that would be the end of the game..but still? Two: Cory and Sarah arrive at the island on a ghost ship. At the end of the game Cory says “Let’s go home,, Mom.” Mom agrees! How are they going to accomplish that task?
3.5/5 Might have been more, but I hate stupid endings.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
And, those that played the first two games will remember the gremlin with the chest that collected coins that contributed to the game’s back story. Without giving away any secrets, the way that is accomplished in this game is done much better.
I remember the gremlin with the chest, and I liked that method of activating snippets of story throughout the game. I am now curious about the new method.
There are, however a few absurd problems. One: Davy Jones views mom, Sarah as a threat. Why doesn’t he just kill her and be done with the problem. Of course that would be the end of the game..but still? Two: Cory and Sarah arrive at the island on a ghost ship. At the end of the game Cory says “Let’s go home,, Mom.” Mom agrees! How are they going to accomplish that task?
I’ve often wondered this in casual games and adventure games. Sometimes the villain leaves a trail of dead or terrified people in his/her wake—why not directly take on the most persistent adversary ever—you? Occasionally the villain is setting an elaborate trap and gradually luring you in, which makes sense. But often you (the protagonist) just seem to be very, very lucky. Or very, very good. Or both.
As for the ending—I remember asking a similar question at the end of Amerzone. Once you’ve accomplished your goal, maybe being stranded in the middle of nowhere isn’t supposed to be an issue. In terms of Davy Jones, maybe the bonus chapter gets them home?
In terms of Davy Jones, maybe the bonus chapter gets them home?
I thought of that possibility. I didn’t mention it in the review, but the game I played was the SE version. I looked at the reviews of the CE version on the BFG website. I couldn’t find a mention of what is actually contained in the bonus chapter. Although I do think it’s unlikely that the trip home is the topic. Who would they interact with? Everyone that knows how to sail the ship is now permanently dead!
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
In terms of Davy Jones, maybe the bonus chapter gets them home?
I thought of that possibility. I didn’t mention it in the review, but the game I played was the SE version. I looked at the reviews of the CE version on the BFG website. I couldn’t find a mention of what is actually contained in the bonus chapter. Although I do think it’s unlikely that the trip home is the topic. Who would they interact with? Everyone that knows how to sail the ship is now permanently dead!
There’s a playthrough which includes the bonus chapter in the CE on YouTube, if you’re really curious. The last 3 episodes of that playthrough have to do with the bonus game.
Around 17min 27seconds in, the daughter (Davy Jones’ daughter?) says “Come, Let me take you home” and proceeds to sail you home on the ship.
Thanks crabapple—I think you’re right about the girl’s identity. I wonder if she sticks around? What she can do seems handy if you want to go on a Nightmares from the Deep: Adventure #4.
Apparently, in games anyway, eternity doesn’t last quite as long as it used to. 
Wasn’t she brought back to life for the sole purpose of fulfilling the pact? Then she, Davy and all the other skeletons would be freed from their earthly chains, and rest in peace for eternity?
And then she reappears? Makes no sense whatsoever. I’ll give Becky kudos for thinking the way home was in the bonus chapter.
But I am in disbelief that this was the way this happened.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
Eternity (apparently) is the time it takes to get from the SE ending to the Bonus Chapter. Which, if you own the SE version, just might be forever.
I was just guessing, Tim. Because I didn’t know anything about the story that would have limited the guessing. 
I finished Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe’s The Premature Burial, which turned out to be a lot like the earlier game in the series The Black Cat. I didn’t like Premature Burial as much. Maybe all the casual games I’ve played in the past couple of years have left me a bit jaded? When I see dark, broiling mist surrounding a human figure, I sigh and think—yet again? Isn’t there an alternate way to show evil that doesn’t involve dark mist?
I thought the graphics were lovely. Detective Dupin seemed a little more human and less aristocratic in this game. Not sure that was a good thing. I think I liked him snooty.
As is my (admittedly unintended) habit, I was one rose shy of completing the collectibles. In this case, I could have gone back through the gameworld to find it, but I didn’t bother. Which would I rather have—another rose, or access whenever I want it to revisit the gameworld? Wither away, poor, lonely rose! You will never join your brothers! And I will never see that final cutscene, which (I assume) the completed bouquet would automatically trigger.
The puzzles were enjoyable, though I skipped a couple. The brooch puzzle in particular seemed dastardly. I only got the brooch to move once and there it remained while I shifted everything else around to no avail. I think there must have been a dab of glue on the brooch that everyone forgot to mention.
Overall, a pleasant time, if not an earthshakingly memorable one.
A search of the Moby Games database reveals 413 references to games with the word “dark” in the title. I’ve just played a casual game with “illicit” in the title (definition – forbidden or contrary to custom) – a word (according to Moby) that appears nowhere else in gamedom. As part of a game title, it’s unique.
Unfinished Tales: Illicit Love is, believe it or not, a game about Thumbelina – the famous (very tiny) fairy tale heroine. As the game opens, Thumbelina has found her prince. Not only is he a prince, but he’s exactly the right size. If you’re a woman who’s the size of a thumb and you find a prince of the same stature, it’s a good idea to hold onto him.
Unfortunately, before the wedding ceremony is finished, a young witch breaks into the castle and steals Thumbelina’s prince. Thumbelina is imprisoned, but manages to escape and makes her way through the kingdom to try to find her (former) fiancé.
Thumbelina is a determined, yet ditzy airhead. She giggles a lot and says “tee-hee.” She uses expressions like: “Oh, toad toes!” and “teeny tulips!” and “toppling tea tarts!” She totally treasures text that contains tons of “t”s. She indulges in “thumb” puns. She’s unfailingly sweet and kind. Still, she’s so silly that it’s difficult to identify with her. (Well, unless you’re legally blonde.) But on the other hand, she has a lot more personality than the typical casual game heroine.
Graphics, as in most of the Elephant Games works I’ve played, are colorful and collaged-looking – here the effect works especially well since proportions in this tiny world are so out-of-whack. This is a place where normal-sized mice are used to draw carriages and a hedgehog is big enough to carry a theater on his back. The environments also feature frequent ambient animations – leaves falling, a windmill’s blades turning, water rippling, or clouds broiling.
Illicit Love has more character interaction than is usual in casual games. Characters are voiced and presented in full-screen portraits without lip sync.
The game contains an especially clever puzzle series near the beginning involving the four seasons. After that, puzzles are typical of the genre – plenty of inventory challenges, nicely-presented but standard mini-games, lots of locked doors, chests, closets, etc. Hidden Object screens are list-based and slightly interactive.
This is the only game in which I have received an achievement for being inept on a massive scale: “Flight of imagination: More than 50 Wrong Interactions.” And that was near the beginning of the game! There’s also a “Be slow in a hurry: Finishing 1 hidden-object game in more than 10 minutes” achievement.
Bonus Chapter
The bonus chapter idea is something that held a lot of promise, but it didn’t quite deliver. Here you assume the role of the witch/villain from the main game (she has dark brown hair, in contrast to Thumbelina’s blonde tresses) and you see things through the witch’s eyes. You revisit many of the same locations as in the main game, but it’s now nighttime and colors are garish, with a red and purple sky.
The witch has a personality that is the opposite of Thumbelina’s. Not so much a typical, evil “bwahahaha!” personality (thankfully), but the type of person who considers herself above everyone else. She’s accustomed to ordering people around and getting her way. She thumbs her nose (sorry, couldn’t resist) at virtually everyone else in the game and spouts sarcastic comments about “peasants” and “commoners.” Still, she has some decent lines -– for instance when encountering yet another locked door: “At this rate, I should open up my own locksmith business.” And unlike most villains, she is open to the idea that some of her assumptions might prove to be wrong.
As the bonus chapter begins, the witch has been stripped of most of her magical powers. She can still transform frogs into minions, however, which can be armed or tooled up. They then can do tasks that are too messy or active for her. Magical cards containing various powers are scattered throughout the chapter. There’s also some odd confusion going on between wolves and lions – but, hey, maybe in a pinch, any predator will do.
I like the idea of contrasting “blonde” and “brunette” protagonists, with the storybook fantastical world vs. the dark, gaudy version. I even appreciate that the puzzles in the bonus chapter seem to increase in difficulty because now a brunette is solving them.
But in terms of gameplay and exploration – and, to a surprising extent, the story—the bonus chapter was way too much of a rehash of the main game. Towards the end, it became tedious. Since the bonus chapter was bringing out the “dark side,” I would have preferred something wilder, weirder, and, well, maybe just a teeny bit more illicit.
Clever research. “Illicit” is normally a word I would expect to see in a title of an HBO move starting at 11:00. Not that I ever watch such things.
I’m hoping that Tony Tough gets a few more votes, and that we can fold the casual into the mix.
Played two demoes recently. Those being Dark Strokes - The Legend of the Snow Kingdom and Off the Record - The Italian Affair.
I kind of liked both of them. But I didn’t love them. The thing that made them appealing is that they had nice variations on the hidden object theme. The former was an Alawar/Friday Games game. The latter was from EiPix, which is a developer I have really come to like of late.
I’m guessing there will be a Father’s Day sale in the near future. I’ll probably pick them both up then.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
The thing that made them appealing is that they had nice variations on the hidden object theme.
I’m also seeing this in other recent games. And it’s a good thing, as the standard HO screens were becoming pretty boring.
Break the Curse: The Crimson Gems
This is one of the games recommended by colpet because of its puzzles. I finished it this weekend and, coincidentally, it’s now available at Big Fish for the next few days for $2.99.
Break the Curse distinguishes itself from the standard Hidden Object game in several ways. There are only a handful of HO screens, and they are all of the “find 10 of the same object” variety -– no listed-based HOs at all. The game references Edgar Allan Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher, as well as Poe’s other works. Your guide for part of the game, for instance, is a talking bird named Nevermore.
Graphics are stylized and sinuous – lots of winding vines, elaborate curved shapes carved on doors and window frames, and massive stone pillars and ironwork. The environments have a Gothic ambiance, although with a hand-drawn, graphic-novel-like character. Part of the game takes place in a mansion (a common enough setting) but part also takes place in a carnival, which is a rather uncommon location for this type of game. The carnival is a creepy place, with menacing monsters and magical items left strewn about.
Odd things are taking place in the mansion, including a beautiful woman whose offer of love was scorned by a magician. Both members of this problematic couple are hiding unusual powers and abilities. But the carnival is just as quirky as the mansion, with a carnival master named Lorenzo whose “office” includes a weird laboratory, eerie masks on the walls, and a skull on his desk.
Puzzles have a wide difficulty range, including some minigames in the dastardly category (a few of these I skipped). The game features little handholding, though there is a hint system that directs you where to go if you don’t know what to do next. You’ll encounter inventory challenges, locked barriers with unusual keys, pipe connection puzzles, tile puzzles, tangrams, sliding blocks, and a variation of Match-three.
My favorite challenges were the stringed pegboard (quite different from the usual string puzzles), the golden dial gate puzzle, and the Creatures of Myth sequence – though I never did understand the sphinx cat numbering system. (If anyone who has played this game can explain the sphinx cat puzzle, I’d love to know what is going on there.)
The game’s ending was also unusual, as it resisted a fairy-tale-happy conclusion. This game is aimed at players who like a challenge and enjoy stylized graphics, and look to find something that’s slightly offbeat and imaginative.
Thanks for the heads up to both you and Colpet. At $2.99US it was impossible to pass up. There was a game I reviewed some time ago that was packed with diabolical puzzles.
By that description alone Break the Curse: The Crimson Gems deserved a play. I’ll wait for the sale to pick up the other two I mentioned.
There are some really good games on the CPT roster. I’ve played Gray Matter, and despite the JJ hype, I really didn’t like it all that much. I probably won’t play if it wins. It’s tied with FPFP, which I love. But the game is available in two versions, and in the last voting I voiced an opinion that the floppy disk version was the only one worth playing because it was the only version that contained all the original game’s content. There are a few “black market” versions that are DOSBox-ready, but I don’t know on which version they are based.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
Tim—maybe you’ll be able to best the sphinx cat in Break the Curse without cheating and can then explain his feline mathematical system.
If you remember the name of the game with diabolical puzzles, let me know. Was it one of the 9: The Dark Side games, maybe?
BTW—there’s what appears to be a one-day sale at Big Fish right now—SEs for $3.49 and CEs for $6.99. They’ve been running a lot of sales lately, haven’t they?
Re: the Community Playthrough and Gray Matter—I enjoyed the game the first time I played it. I have a theory that there’s more going on than meets the eye (I suspect that other characters are also running a magician’s Grand Game). I’d like to replay the game with that in mind to see if I’m wrong/right/absolutely insane.
The game was The Torment of Mont Triste which I rated 0/5 for story and 83/5 for puzzle difficulty.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
You are here: Home → Forum Home → Gaming → Adventure → Thread
