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Casual Games Thread

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I agree 100%. I think that Of Fiends and Fairies is one of the best casual games I have ever played. I’ve never managed to get it past second place in the playthrough voting. Rats! But I have also played some others in the series, and felt that they came up woefully short. I have no explanation other than yours.

     

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I just finished Maze: The Broken Tower.  It’s very creepy and has a good story and not too many hidden object scenes.  I would recommend this for a playthrough.

     

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I just finished the new Grim Tales demo. The new twist, or old twist, since I hated the demo of the previous game, is that your dead father, who attempted to kill you and your sister Louisa in some game I have yet to play, restored you to a much younger version of yourself. Thus allowing you to interact with more youthful antagonists.

Where do the game designers come up with this stuff? Based on the demo, I say DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!

This is from Elephant Games, which I used to think of as a quality provider. No more!

     

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Lady Kestrel - 20 October 2016 07:18 PM

I just finished Maze: The Broken Tower.  It’s very creepy and has a good story and not too many hidden object scenes.  I would recommend this for a playthrough.

I know you liked Maze-360, as did I. Is this part of the same “series”? I know 360 had no connection to Urban Maze, which is a great game, and one I also think is overlooked as a playthrough candidate.

     

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Yes, it’s part of the same series, but it does stand on its own.  I like the typical Mad Head touches it uses to further the story.  It would be a good one to play as Halloween approaches.

     

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Well, we’re a little over a week away from the next playthrough voting start. Figure two weeks for that. And assuming no ties, we’ll right in the middle of the season. I’ll have to think of some more Halloween-themed games. (The antagonist in Urban Maze occasionally wears a Jack-O-Lantern as a mask, so I guess that counts.  Smile )

     

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rtrooney - 09 September 2016 10:43 PM
Lady Kestrel - 20 October 2016 07:18 PM

Holy thread resurrection, Batman!

Are there less interesting casual games being released, or is it just a temporary drop in interest by the thread regulars?

     

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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Multiple answers, other Tim!

The first is that we’ve always had the thread taper off during the summer months. Although I don’t recall it being this bad before.

Two, there are fewer “new” games coming out. Most of what is on the front page at BFG is the latest in a series. And my opinion has always been that once you get past the first three sequels, the quality drops considerably. I think the Grim Tales game I just mentioned is now on 11th or 12th iteration. Until the cash cow stops giving milk, there is little incentive to create something new. And that’s a real shame.

And I blame that on the BFG casual gamer. I think we have a more “sophisticated palate” when it comes to casual games. Whereas the average BFG casual gamer seems more than willing to buy and review with five stars any piece of dreck ERS can churn out. And that is not limited to ERS Games

Three, while most Adventure Gamers play Adventures exclusively, most Casual Gamers play both casuals and adventures. And the quality and quantity of new adventures coming out this year has been surprisingly good. So many of the thread regulars have been splitting our time.

Four, time constraints. Becky’s been busy writing her excellent AG reviews. I’ve been playing in a couple of bands. (Which is pretty good for a picker my age! I am twice as old as the next oldest player.) I know Lady K’s been busy of late. Colpet’s vet practice might have seen an upturn in business.

And finally, there’s the forum itself. During the course of the year there were an untold number of “Flash Playthroughs” for lack of a better term. Then there are events such as the “What’s in the Box” thread. When forum “regulars,” with limited time resources to spend, get drawn in too many different directions, something has to give.

Some of these factors may combine to affect the Casual Games thread more than others. But I’m fairly certain the AG Forum, as a whole, is experiencing what you see happening in the CG thread.

Still, this thread ranks very high among all threads as measured by Views. It rarely falls off past the third page. And, if we go back to the archived threads where we were doing reviews on a monthly basis, this thread has been posting for over six years. That’s not bad for a thread devoted to a gaming genre that many pretend doesn’t exist. (Recall the AGSOTD battles, and whether a casual game slot was deserved.)

So, with all the problems, I think we’ll survive. If not, I’ll be spending a lot more time at band practice! I would rather spend it here.

     

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I hate to say it, but as much fun as the play-throughs are, they tend to decimate this thread. Our most frequent posters are all commenting on the community game, and not so much playing or discussing other games. It’s a given that when we have limited time, the CPT will probably take priority. Do you think we could maybe try to be conscious of that and keep this thread up at the same time?

     

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rtrooney - 21 October 2016 07:07 PM

So, with all the problems, I think we’ll survive.

Naturally. If the adventure game genre has proven it can’t be killed, then I’m sure the casual genre (being so closely related) will do the same (and by proxy, this thread too).


Edit: hmmm, that analogy sounded better in my head. Tongue
But I’m sure you get my drift. Innocent

     

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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Lady Kestrel - 21 October 2016 03:45 PM

Yes, it’s part of the same series, but it does stand on its own.  I like the typical Mad Head touches it uses to further the story.  It would be a good one to play as Halloween approaches.

I played the demo. Not sure whether I like it or not, but considering there’s a CE for $7.99 sale at
BFG. I decided to buy it. Based on what I’ve seen in the demo, I think it would make a good playthrough candidate. Although, unlike some other playthoughs we’ve done, this game doesn’t seem to have distinct segments. I’m not sure how I would break it up for playthrough purposes.

BTW, there’s apparently another series out there called Sable Maze which has nothing to do with these games.

     

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I go months without playing a Casual game & then have a phase when I’m in the mood! I do try some of the demos for games you feature in AGSotD Tim but if I’m not grabbed by them I prefer to keep quiet!
I did end up playing as well as Cadenza - Music, Betrayal and Death the other 2 Cadenza games in the series which I very much liked as they made a refreshing change to the complete fantasy/horror worlds of most Casual Game offerings. I’m more interested in psychological and/or detective type games set in a more realistic world & don’t mind HO screens!  Smile

     
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Well, I’m glad that the Casual Friday AGSOTD serves a higher purpose!

Of the AGSOTD shots I’ve posted, there are a few games I describe as games I really didn’t like. Well, maybe a bit more than a few.

I know there are differing opinions. But I REALLY didn’t like the first Cadenza game. For reasons I first posted in this thread when I reviewed the game, and later, when I posted it, with commentary, as an AGSOTD.

I don’t think I’ve ever received such a negative response to any of my commentaries as I did with this game.

I must have done something right.

     

For whom the games toll,
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Strange how often I wind up playing two new games that have a lot of similarities. Nevertales: Hidden Doorway and Sable Maze: Sinister Knowledge both have literary storylines that require traveling through multiple genres to save the world.

In Hidden Doorway, you are trying to rescue your boyfriend (sorry guys) and prevent “Taleworld” from being corrupted. (Taleworld is the only common element from earlier games in the series, not characters.) You wind up going through portals to different stories, such as mystery, sci-fi, historical fantasy, and someplace sort of mythical. You face some problems so you have to “rewrite” the story.  This has the usual Mad Head goodies and gameplay is quite challenging in places, requiring several consultations with the strategy guide.

In Sinister Knowledge, you have to navigate a labyrinthine library (try saying that six times) to collect magic Tomes and recapture the evil that has escaped from each one. For example, in the Mystery section, you have to outwit Moriarty and trap him in the Tome again. You also travel through Adventure, Horror, and Science Fiction areas. The artistic detail in the library is really impressive, and the gameplay and voice acting are excellent, but the music is poor.

Both of these are excellent games, 4 stars out of 5. Either one could make a very good playthrough — with each chapter in a different genre, everybody gets something they like.

     

These days I go everywhere with a carpetbag containing a crowbar, a flashlight, a screwdriver, an oilcan, a ladder, a zipper tab, and a chihuahua.

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TimovieMan - 22 October 2016 08:47 AM

Naturally. If the adventure game genre has proven it can’t be killed, then I’m sure the casual genre (being so closely related) will do the same (and by proxy, this thread too).

To put some of what I said in context, the Casual Games thread has been around for about six years. It has more than 400,000 views and about 1500 posts. On the other hand, the “What’s in the Box” thread, which is really nothing more than a variation on a theme (damn! whenever I type something like that, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a theme from Paganini comes to mind,) has gathered less views, but considerably more posts. And it has only been open since 30 July.

It would appear that the threads oriented towards (guessing) games are currently the most popular. Certainly more popular than regular discussion threads. “Adventure Game Scene…Uh” Is another guessing game thread. It’s been active since 2012, two year less than Casual Games, but at 900,000+ views, has twice the views of CG.

I’m not even sure what my point is. Other than to say that “game” threads about adventure games, of all genres, seem to be more popular than discussion threads about games.

     

For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.

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