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Casual Games Thread

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I hummed a few bars as I took the pup for her, and my, morning stroll.  Smile

I’m up for it. Question is whether we all play one that we’ve never played before or select one that a few of us are familiar with.

I recently bought and finished Nevertales - Shattered Image along with another CE Fright that I got during BFG’s BOGO sale.

While I wouldn’t give it 5/5 stars, it was a solid 4/5. The bonus chapter was a good prequel to the game itself. One thing I really didn’t like is the fact that there is a “collectible” morphing object in every scene. They all must be collected in order to access the five bonus mini-games. The Fright game was also very good, but the bonus material isn’t worth the extra cost unless you get the game at a substantial discount. Get the SE instead.

     

For whom the games toll,
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Happy Birthday to the Casual Games thread!

A great idea just getting better!

Tim, that letter looks good.  I’ve stumbled on another one from ERS, Beyond the Unknown: A Matter of Time which I’m only just starting bur seems so far very good.  I’ll post more when I’m finished.

     
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Happy Birthday, Casual Games thread! Cool

I celebrated by actually playing casual games for the first time in my life. Tongue


The missus got me some casual hidden object games for the DS (well, one for the DS and one for the 3DS) for my birthday, thinking they were “my genre”. She’s obviously oblivious to the vastness of adventure games, bless her heart. Tongue

Well, I finally got to see what these dreaded HOG games are all about… Grin


Real Crimes: The Unicorn Killer - 1.5/5

Real Crimes: The Unicorn Killer is a game centering around the long hunt for Ira Einhorn (the real-life Unicorn killer), where you visit places he (and his victim) frequented. You basically solve 22 screens with hidden objects and 6 minigames (consisting of recognizing 5 finger prints amongst a dozen, reforming an image by swapping tiles, and what boils down to a game of Memory), and get a few lines of dialogue in between, relating to Ira Einhorn’s history. Extra challenge is added to the HOG screens by having a 10-minute timer (only in “detective mode”, “rookie mode” loses the timer), subtracting 45 seconds if you click 3 wrong items in a row, and by having one “double item” per screen (for instance “stir the pot” means you need to find a spoon and then find a pot and use the spoon on the pot). But it also helps you by adding 30 seconds to your timer if you find three items within a 10 second time frame, and you gain hints (that can blatantly show you one of your missing items) every time you complete a screen or solve a mini-game. Some screens have a Go-board in them, where you get an additional hint if you solve one of the world’s easiest Go-moves, and all screens have multiple nonsensical objects or object locations in them (like the outlines of a fish drawn in the sky).
The dialogue you get is just an excuse to change the scenery and go to a new screen with items to find, and even then do they manage to have multiple spelling errors in what amasses to less than 100 lines of text…
The game poses little to no challenge, the graphics are run-of-the-mill, the music is repetitive and the story is practically non-existant. I finished this in 2 hours and was glad when it was over…



Secret Mysteries in London - 2/5

Secret Mysteries in London (or Amsterdam, Paris or Berlin depending on your system’s language setting) is a 1920’s hunt for a serial killer by a forensic investigator, told in flashbacks through a journal found in present-day. The game features a bunch of hidden object screens in 3D, so instead of a static picture, you can explore an area in 360 degrees (but movement is limited to a rail-like trajectory). Graphics are decent, but the inability to zoom in makes you just click everything that *might* be one of the needed objects because you’re seldom totally sure. You can get help by the use of a flashlight that sparkles at the location where one of the needed objects can be found, but the flashlight needs “recharging” before you can use it again (meaning you have to wait about 30 seconds). The items you need to find are actual items that are lying around (so no drawn fish in the sky), but sometimes their location doesn’t make any real-life sense (like having a key standing upright on top of a lamp post). After every few hidden object screens you get a small minigame to play, and luckily these are at least somewhat diverse. The game is really easy, though, since you’re never penalized for clicking a wrong item or failing a minigame (and there’s no timer for additional ‘challenge’ either).
The snippets of the journal that come between each hidden object screen (or minigame) give some validity to the location change, but unfortunately, while you visit a few interesting cities (London, Washington, Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin), you never get to see any actual real-life spots there, just a few generic parks, alleys or houses. The game could basically have taken place (and stayed in) any 1920s city and no-one would notice the difference.
The present-day imagery of a journalist reading the above-mentioned journal has a nice cinematic quality to it, and the music that goes with it does indeed invoke a 1920s feel, so it’s not like the developers didn’t at least try to make it worthwhile. Sadly, the game itself isn’t overly fun (it’s mostly just hidden object screens after all) and the story has an unsatisfying resolution.
The text you get also has a number of spelling errors (especially near the end), but during the ending credits I noticed the game’s designers all had Dutch names, so I really played it in the wrong language - I should have played Secret Mysteries in Amsterdam instead. Maybe that version’s free of spelling mistakes?
I finished the game in a little over 3 hours.




Having played these two casual HOGs, my question is this: “is this really it?”
Are these games representative for most of what’s out there in the casual/HOG genre???
If so, I don’t think I’ll bother with casuals (or at least HOGs) again anytime soon… Meh

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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TimovieMan - 01 August 2014 09:33 PM

Having played these two casual HOGs, my question is this: “is this really it?”
Are these games representative for most of what’s out there in the casual/HOG genre???

No. Especially not the DS ports.
Even on PC, those two are kind of primitive.

     
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TimovieMan - 01 August 2014 09:33 PM

Happy Birthday, Casual Games thread! Cool 

Having played these two casual HOGs, my question is this: “is this really it?”

Well the obvious answer is no! But from one Tim to another, I think you wife’s selection of games was a bit iffy.

Thanks for the birthday wish. But if you really want to find out how good a casual game can be I suggest you read the reviews that are posted here, and play the ones that rate well. I think you will be surprised as to how good the really good casual games can be.

But your comment also verifies that this thread and the games we play are considered the ugly stepchild of the AG community.

I expect better from you.

     

For whom the games toll,
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crabapple - 01 August 2014 09:44 PM

No. Especially not the DS ports.
Even on PC, those two are kind of primitive.

rtrooney - 01 August 2014 10:41 PM

Well the obvious answer is no!

I figured (and definitely hoped) as much.
The thing that worried me most was that Real Crimes had the Big Fish logo…

But from one Tim to another, I think you wife’s selection of games was a bit iffy.

No argument there. Tongue
But she has zero knowledge of adventure games (and probably even less interest). I’m just glad she didn’t get me Phoenix Wright vs. Professor Layton (which is a game I actually want) since she would have undoubtedly bought it locally meaning it’d be completely dubbed in Dutch. Sealed Lips
Anyway, both casual (3)DS games were very cheap and only “bonus” birthday gifts, so there’s at least that. Smile
Also, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth??? Wink

But if you really want to find out how good a casual game can be I suggest you read the reviews that are posted here, and play the ones that rate well. I think you will be surprised as to how good the really good casual games can be.

I think the Drawn games are the only casuals I actually have on my list of games to play (there’s so many classic AGs I never played, and so little time to actually play them).

But your comment also verifies that this thread and the games we play are considered the ugly stepchild of the AG community.

Not casuals, and definitely not this thread. But you may be right with that about HOGs, though, as those were what I was talking about with the “is this it?” statement.

I expect better from you.

I never said I had any actual knowledge of casual games, and if I hadn’t been given these two games, I still wouldn’t have played a HOG yet. Sadly, both games kind of confirmed my fears about HOGs in particular, but that still doesn’t mean I want to write those games off based on a very small and very unreliable sample size…

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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TimovieMan - 01 August 2014 09:33 PM


Having played these two casual HOGs, my question is this: “is this really it?”
Are these games representative for most of what’s out there in the casual/HOG genre???

Yes.

I’ve played quite a few casuals in the category adventures-lite. HOGs come in variations, some casuals don’t have HOGs, some casuals are better than others. But the essence is light on everything: uninteresting stories, mostly easy and repetitive puzzles (with some notable exceptions), elevator music, generic graphics, bad (voice) acting.

My own favorites are the Ravenhearst games and other Mystery Case Files. They got better and better. I really enjoyed them.

     

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I agree that Hidden Object games range widely in terms of quality. The games Tim(ovieMan) describes that he played on the DS sound like some of the very earliest PC HOGs, where they were a series of HO screens with very little story and no environmental exploration. I agree with Karlok that the later Mystery Case Files games were very good games. They were much more adventure-like, with more story and significantly larger environments.

We could choose a recent game to play together to compare experiences. My suggestion would be for something like Cadenza: Music, Betrayal and Death which is highly rated by the gamers at Big Fish, is recent enough that not everyone has played it (I haven’t play it yet), and isn’t a sequel (so no one feels that something has been missed if they haven’t played previous games in the series). Another idea would be to try Dead Reckoning: Silvermoon Isle as soon as the SE (non-Collector’s Edition) version is released, which should be soon. Again, the gamers on Big Fish have rated it highly, it’s so recent that few of us would have already played it, and it’s an original game that’s not part of a series.

I’m sure others will have great suggestions to add.  Smile

     

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Becky - 02 August 2014 09:23 AM

Another idea would be to try Dead Reckoning: Silvermoon Isle as soon as the SE (non-Collector’s Edition) version is released, which should be soon. Again, the gamers on Big Fish have rated it highly, it’s so recent that few of us would have already played it, and it’s an original game that’s not part of a series.

I’m sure others will have great suggestions to add.  Smile

I played Dead Reckoning and enjoyed it very much. Good game. Another one that is very good is Eternal Journey - New Atlantis. That is not new and Tim(movieMan) should try it to see a different causal game.

     

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If you like puzzles, I’d suggest playing the first Azada game before any of the others. Otherwise the surprise ending will not be a surprise. (I enjoyed it—got a good laugh out of it)
http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/1689/azada/index.html

The gameplay in the first Azada is completely different from any of the others though—nearly 100% puzzles, most of them easyish.

One of my favorite series was the Snark Busters series.
http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/8913/snarkbusters/index.html
http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/12414/snark-busters-all-revved-up/index.html
http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/17585/snark-busters-high-society/index.html
Had fun with those. Still replay them occasionally.

Another one I liked—nothing like the original story
http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/10383/sherlock-holmes-hound-baskervilles/index.html

Try the demos before you buy anything.
Some of the newer ones “look” good, but when you play them you find they have big congratulatory fanfares popping up all the time for every little thing you do—something that annoys me no end.

     
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Unlike some “regular” adventure games, casual games are quite linear. So it wouldn’t be hard to set benchmarks. E.g. “On days 1-3 we’ll play until you find a way to enter the castle.” Obviously setting benchmarks is a little more difficult if nobody has played the game. With games such as the 1000 Doors series, setting benchmarks is a bit easier as the game is broken up into discrete “chapters.”

I’m guessing, but it seems that approximately half of the people who play in the Community Playthrough have played the game before. I would guess the same would probably hold true here.

     

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rtrooney - 02 August 2014 02:11 PM

I’m guessing, but it seems that approximately half of the people who play in the Community Playthrough have played the game before. I would guess the same would probably hold true here.

In community playthroughs, the only person that needs to have played the game before is the playthrough leader, which in this case could simply be the one who sets the benchmarks…

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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What would be the best way to choose a game? Does everyone want to vote for suggested selections? Or do you want to appoint a leader and let him/her choose the game? Or some other method?

     
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TimovieMan - 02 August 2014 04:18 PM
rtrooney - 02 August 2014 02:11 PM

I’m guessing, but it seems that approximately half of the people who play in the Community Playthrough have played the game before. I would guess the same would probably hold true here.

In community playthroughs, the only person that needs to have played the game before is the playthrough leader, which in this case could simply be the one who sets the benchmarks…

True, but it still boils down to 50% want to play again, but want to do it in a group environment. That’s certainly been my primary motivation. And 50% haven’t played before, but will do so because they know they’ll have the help and hand-holding they wouldn’t have if they played the game alone.

     

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Becky - 02 August 2014 04:32 PM

What would be the best way to choose a game? Does everyone want to vote for suggested selections? Or do you want to appoint a leader and let him/her choose the game? Or some other method?

Either way works for me. If the former, I suggest everyone interested in participating put in a list of games they would like to play by a week from today. (August 9, 2014) Nominate as many as you want. We’ll vote during the following week, and declare a winner on August 16, 2014. Then a quick determination as to who will lead the playthrough, set some ground rules, and we’re off and running.

Or, we can simply nominate Becky!  Cool

     

For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.

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