Adventure Gamers - Forums

I guess i’m the only one that doesn’t replay HOG’s.

Chudah - 29 December 2012 11:04 AM

Mystery Case Files: Shadow Lake
Mystery Trackers: Four Aces
Mystery Trackers: Black Isle
Witch Hunters: Stolen Beauty

I did check my “remnants” files, i.e. those dribs and drabs games leave behind after they’ve been deleted, and found that I did, indeed, play Dorian Grey. I don’t remember exactly why I didn’t like it, only that I didn’t. Otherwise I would have bought it.

Of the four games you mentioned, I own Shadow Lake and Four Aces. Black Isle is on my to-buy list, and while the sale is great, I think I splurged a bit too much in December. It may have to wait until January. BFG is bound to have a New Year’s sale, so I still might be in luck.

Mystery Tracker games have, I think, improved. Void, Raincliff, Black Isle and Four Aces are the four in their collection.While I liked Void, Raincliff was better and Four Aces was better yet.

I know that not all of us like every game another person thinks is good. Witness me not liking Dorian Grey. But, back in October or November, I was going through demos like stuff through a goose. One of those I played was Witch Hunters: Stolen Beauty. I couldn’t get through the demo. I thought it was that bad. I don’t think it’s worth $4.99. Just a heads up.

I’m sure I will post something before Tuesday. But, Just in case, Happy New Year to all of you.

Gamezebo has a nice list of their top 5 of the year.

http://www.gamezebo.com/news/2012/12/24/best-hidden-object-games-2012

I’ve only played Otherworld: Spring of Shadows, and am only halfway through since I promised my 6 year old niece that I’d wait for when she visits to play it (she absolutely loves HOGs and this one isn’t too scary for her).  So far, it’s an amazing game, and the puzzles are really interesting and challenging.  I haven’t played enough of the other HOGs this year to really compare it to, but I think it’s worthy enough for a top 5 list.

My top games for this year are Shadow Lake and Four Aces.

Chudah - 29 December 2012 08:46 PM

Gamezebo has a nice list of their top 5 of the year.

http://www.gamezebo.com/news/2012/12/24/best-hidden-object-games-2012

I’ve only played Otherworld: Spring of Shadows, and am only halfway through since I promised my 6 year old niece that I’d wait for when she visits to play it (she absolutely loves HOGs and this one isn’t too scary for her).  So far, it’s an amazing game, and the puzzles are really interesting and challenging.  I haven’t played enough of the other HOGs this year to really compare it to, but I think it’s worthy enough for a top 5 list.

I play these games with my 4 year old niece… She;s quite good at looking for items in the HOG scenes. We’ve been playing Awakening 4, and all she wants to do is play with the pony!

Along those lines, I would be interested in hearing what people’s top 3 casual games of the year were.  Long lists aren’t useful; let’s force ourselves to pick the very best. 

For me, I would say my top 3 that were released this year are:
MCF: Shadow Lake
Final Cut: Death on the Silver Screen
Dark Secrets: Sins of the Fathers

Great question! I’ll give it some thought. Although it will be hard to limit to three.

I just couldn’t limit myself to my Top Three Games of 2012.

It’s similar to a Netflix rating. While I rarely give a movie 5 stars, I also rarely give a movie 2 stars or less. If I didn’t think I was going to like the movie, I wouldn’t have rented it!

I also need to mention that these are games I played in 2012. I can’t guarantee they all were released in 2012.

I think I do have a Number 1 game. In terms of visual appeal, starting with the opening sequence, along with an interesting, convoluted, time-travel plot; uniformly above-average puzzles, etc. My best game of 2012 is (drumroll)

Angelica Weaver - Catch Me When You Can

The following eight, in no particular order are

Shiver - Vanishing Hitchiker
Enigmatis - Ghosts of Maple Creek
Emerald City Confidential
Lake House - Children of Silence
Mystery Tracker - Four Aces
FACES
Final Cut - Death on the Silver Screen

One final game would probably have made it a top-ten list, but I will be unable to finish it before 2013 rolls in. And I’m not going to try to get through it by tomorrow night.

That game is MCF: Shadow Lake

There were some other games that could have easily made it into the top ten if not for some singular flaws. Two examples:

Puppetshow - Return to Joyville was an entertaining game, but it was standard ERS fare with a premise that simply defied logic.
The recently completed Lonely Hearts Murders was an excellent game, but I experienced some severe technical difficulties on replay.

And there is a short list of games that could have easily made it into a top ten list, but fell short in one major area. All of the games in my top “nine” have been played more than once. That is, I enjoyed them enough to play them again.

For example, two games that I really enjoyed, but haven’t replayed…yet, are:

Natural Threat - Ominous Shores
Gothic Fiction - Sark Saga

So that’s my end of year list.

I really tried getting into Angelica Weaver: Catch Me if You Can, but her portrait in the corner of the screen just bugged me so much.  I admit, there were a lot of elements in the game that I liked, but between her staring at me and the bad voice acting, I gave up halfway through the demo.  Maybe I should give it another shot, though.

Anyhow, my list of favorites I played this year, although they weren’t all released in 2012 (please don’t blame me, I only started playing these games in September):

Abandoned: Chestnut Lodge Asylum
Agency of Anomalies: Mystic Hospital
Shiver: Vanishing Hitchhiker CE

Here’s another list of the best HOGs in 2012.  Never heard of the site before, but quite a few games that were mentioned among posters here show up on it.

http://www.unigamesity.com/best-hidden-object-games-of-2012/

They also have a list of best Casual Games, although there are some HOGs included there too:

http://www.unigamesity.com/best-casual-games-of-november-2012/

As much as I thought Shadow Lake might make my “top ten” if only I had finsihed it, I was wrong.

Lea Thompson might be a top-grade B-scale actress, but her role in this game is just plain annoying. “Return to the Motel!”

I think I used a Skip on two puzzles. Everything else was incredibly simple. According to the strategy guide I did just about everything out of sequence, but still managed to finish the game. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it shows some non-liniarity.

When I finished the game I was offered an option to find all the “morphing” objects. I didn’t even know there were any “morphing” objects.

And, since I had purchased the CE, I figured I would get to play the Bonus material. That would be whatever happened at the gravel pit I presume. Nope! Couldn’t access the extra material.

Bottom line is that this game would not only not make it into my top ten, it would compete for inclusion in the bottom ten. This game may have the MCF badge attached to it, but compared to, for example, Dire Grove, this game is an absolute bomb in my opinion.

Turns out the usual suspects gave the game “5 out of 5 stars” when the game was first released. But, BFG reviews for Shadow Lake became far less positive as more people played it. Tim’s opinion: If you have a credit, don’t waste it here.

Interplay - 03 January 2013 09:29 PM

True, though we’ve already established that the BFG reviewers tend to dislike games that break the mold (especially the more recent MCF games).  I would tell people to try the one-hour demo; that will give you a good idea if you’ll like it.

I think you missed the point of my message. I dislike the game, and I agree with those late reviewers who found similar flaws. The late-blooming negative reviews on BFG are, by and large from people who don’t think the game lives up to MCF standards. A more sophisticated group than I normally find. I would also say that the one hour demo might lure one into making a purchase. The value of which isn’t justified by playing the full game.