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Casual Games Thread

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Joined 2003-09-16

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That is a beautiful plaque, Tim.

     
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Joined 2004-07-12

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I know. I had seen it before the open house. But once we got there and saw it together for the first time there were some tears.

     

For whom the games toll,
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That is such a sweet idea.  It started me thinking of all the pets I’d ever had and I’d need a pretty long plaque.  There were myriad dogs, cats, birds, ratties, tortoises, turtles, horses, fish and one snake.  We lived a rather nomadic lifestyle but there were always pets that went along with us.  (Try shipping two horses from Washington to California and smuggling a pocket snake aboard a plane).  There was never a thought of selling or giving any of them away.  And each was sorely grieved and well remembered to this day.

“If there aint no dogs in heaven, I don’t want to go”.

     
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“I don’t care who dies in the movie as long as it’s not the dog.”

Or, if it’s a John Wick movie, if it’s the dog that dies, somebody is going to pay.

     

For whom the games toll,
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Just wanted to alert the casual adventurers that there are a few free casual (HO) games going in the giveaway thread:
https://adventuregamers.com/forums/viewthread/2022/P675/#145804

Alex Hunter is gone already but there are a few of creepy/horror ones there if that’s your thing. Smile

     
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There are some good bargains here. I’m not sure if “Deluxe Edition” and “Bonus Edition” equate to “Collectors Edition.” but it’s probably worth a shot. Anybody who hasn’t played any of the first three 1000 Doors games, should put in a request. They’re the games that introduced the genre to “portal games.” I think I saw two Living Legends games mentioned, and they are pretty good as well. There are two or three more games that I would certainly recommend “for the price.” They are definitely not clunkers.

Thanks Dumbeur for the offer.

     

For whom the games toll,
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Thanks, Tim. Smile

     
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I recently played the demo of Royal Detective: The Princess Returns from Elephant Games. Elephant Games has been hit-or-miss recently. And by recently, I mean that they were one of the better developers five or more years ago. But since their heyday, the ratio of hits to clunkers has been about 1-to-3.

When I started the game, I was impressed with the quality of the graphics, and thought that this might be one of the hits. Then I got into the actual game, and it rapidly turned to clunker. You are the protagonist detective who is charged with finding/saving the titular Princess and her lover, the Prince. OK. That’s normal. Except their actual names are Princess and Prince. Not Princess Glenda, or Prince Fred. Princess and Prince! How lame is that?

The sound effects and music are not awful. That’s as far as I’m going to go. The voice acting on the other hand IS awful.

And then there are the puzzles. Almost all the ones I played in the demo are what I describe as the “tedious” type. I.e. the method for solving a puzzle is simple and obvious. But the number of steps required to solve the puzzle might take five minutes or more. Since the Skip button is available in 45 seconds, there’s a temptation. Granted, there are some puzzle types represented here that I actually like. A Hanoi Tower puzzle being one. So I’m willing to work through it even though I know I can skip and move on. Another puzzle type that I describe as a sequencing puzzle requires you to put a number of objects, usually marbles, in the correct order. (Anyone who has played Penumbra Motel remembers the three motel door puzzles. That’s the type of puzzle I’m describing here.) The method for solving the puzzle is quite simple. But the mechanics of the solution take forever. Skip! There were far more Skip puzzles than Play puzzles. in this game. There were also a couple of Hi-Q and penny-jump type puzzles. You might or might not like to play them. But they are tedious.

The game gives you 90 minutes to complete the demo. That’s more than enough time. I finished the demo in about 55 minutes. But then my tolerance for “tedious puzzle” pain might be lower than yours.

I often finish a mini-review by saying that I will not be buying this game unless there is a really good sale. Not in this case. I can’t think of any circumstance that would make me want to play this game to its conclusion. 2/5 stars.

     

For whom the games toll,
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Also just finished the demo of Dark Tales - Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum CE. I have liked this series of games from ERS (now AMAX,) for some time. This time not so much. Maybe it’s the CE version that’s off-putting. There are morphing objects to be found. There are collectibles to be found. While some people might like that, there is, for me, just too much extraneous stuff going on.

Which brings us to the basic gameplay. There’s a lot of stuff going on there as well. There are dialog trees. And, while that seems like a good idea, i.e. having a choice as to the direction the dialog takes, it doesn’t work that way. You still end up in exactly the same place. So, if nothing changes, why bother?

I’m definitely not going to spring for a full CE version. By waiting for the SE, I can skip the miscellaneous stuff that contributes nothing to the game. Even then, I will probably wait for a really good sale.

     

For whom the games toll,
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Sadly I haven’t found much of anything lately that really interests me enough to buy.

I did replay the James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series. Except for the first one, Death In Scarlet, I thought they replayed pretty well. At least considering they are hidden object games. My favorite is Little Black Lies.

     

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Joined 2003-11-10

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I hadn’t played a casual game for quite some time before I recently purchased and completed Shadow of the Karthala, and found it abysmal.

What casual games would you guys recommend to someone who’s picky about story, acting (oh that awful evil priest…) and immersion ? I know back then I loved the Mystery Cases Files…

     
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Ninth - 12 April 2018 11:35 AM

I hadn’t played a casual game for quite some time before I recently purchased and completed Shadow of the Karthala, and found it abysmal.

What casual games would you guys recommend to someone who’s picky about story, acting (oh that awful evil priest…) and immersion ? I know back then I loved the Mystery Cases Files…

I think most people who visit this thread absolutely loved Karkala. It was also one of the best attended of the casual playthroughs.

I think you have to be a bit more specific when describing what you like. Mystery Cases Files covers a lot of territory. From the first two or three Ravenhurst games, which got generally positive reviews, to Shadow Lake, which many people, me included, absolutely hated. Right in the middle is Dire Grove, which was both well-liked, and was another of the well-received playthroughs.

     

For whom the games toll,
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I have a few steam keys to give away for casual HO if you want to see what they’re like, Ninth.  I have no idea how good they are.

     

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rtrooney - 12 April 2018 01:36 PM

I think you have to be a bit more specific when describing what you like. Mystery Cases Files covers a lot of territory. From the first two or three Ravenhurst games, which got generally positive reviews, to Shadow Lake, which many people, me included, absolutely hated. Right in the middle is Dire Grove, which was both well-liked, and was another of the well-received playthroughs.

My favorite was Dire Grove (which I loved), and then Ravenhurst 2. The other Ravenhurst I liked but not as much as the second one. And I didn’t mind Shadow Lake, although it didn’t make a lasting impression.
I also liked Gatsby a lot, if that helps Smile
And the first Princess… can’t remember the exact name… but it was a very very pretty series, which I found went a bit downhill as new installments were relaesed.

     
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dumbeur - 12 April 2018 04:03 PM

I have a few steam keys to give away for casual HO if you want to see what they’re like, Ninth.  I have no idea how good they are.

I’ve copied the casuals from your post on the Giveaway thread. Hope you don’t mind.

House of 1,000 Doors: Family Secrets Collector’s Edition
House of 1000 Doors: The Palm of Zoroaster Collector’s Edition
Weird Park
Twisted Lands Trilogy: Collector’s Edition
Small Town Terrors Pilgrim’s Hook Collector’s Edition
Small Town Terrors: Galdor’s Bluff Collector’s Edition
Small Town Terrors: Livingston
Shadows: Price For Our Sins Bonus Edition
Space Legends: At the Edge of the Universe
Mystery Masters: Psycho Train Deluxe Edition
The Emptiness Deluxe Edition
Living Legends: The Frozen Fear Collection

I can certainly recommend both 1000 Doors games. I vaguely recall the Living Legends series as being fairly good, but I can’t recall this specific game. Other than those, I would suggest Ninth play the demos on BigFish to see if they are interesting. If they are, he can get the Steam key from you.

Thanks again for the offer.

Tim

     

For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.

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