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Casual Games Thread

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Joined 2003-09-10

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I just finished Surface: The Pantheon, which was reviewed earlier in this thread (I believe by Panthera). This is an ambitious game that’s aiming to be a sci-fi thriller, which is not an easy thing to accomplish with a casual game. It focuses on a train that mysteriously disappears, and the alternate dimension in which the passengers find themselves.

The story is told in video segments that can be replayed (which is helpful for following the story). The music is dramatic, and the voiceovers, especially that of the heroine, are extremely emotional.

My problem with the game is that the dramatic plot doesn’t fit easily into the gameplay. On the one hand, there are scenes of aliens zooming about on elevated platforms, a roaring fire on a train, and a woman’s gut-wrenching memories of her husband and child. On the other hand the gameplay often consists of sorting through pile after pile of debris, walking back and forth to match up pieces of severed tools, and bribing small animals so they’ll give up the items they’re guarding.

So we have a race of aliens smart enough to have created fiendishly clever devices, but not smart enough to fix them when they break. It just doesn’t seem plausible. Another example—a titanic battle won by tossing a deactivated electronic device at an armored creature.

I know the story/gameplay mismatch is a common issue with Hidden Object games (and story-based games in general). I’m not sure why it bothered me so much here – perhaps because the story really is quite dramatic, making the gameplay appear even more out-of-sync than usual.

BTW: a pet peeve encountered here and elsewhere—anyone out there who has worked in emergency services—are first aid kits frequently locked with elaborate keys, greatly increasing the time it takes to access them? I see this all the time in casual games. I don’t think I’ve ever met a first aid kit that can simply be opened up with a click to get the bandages out.

Anyway, Pantheon’s strength lies in its minigames, which are varied and sometimes quite difficult. So puzzle achievers will enjoy it.

I purchased the CE and played the Bonus Chapter, which takes place after the events of the main game. It contains some good puzzling, but the story doesn’t add that much to the story from the main game.

     
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I played the SE version of this game some time ago.

I liked the puzzles and other mini-games. But then I like puzzles

I’m fairly sure I commented on it, but can sum up my feelings in one sentence. The game producer’s ability was insufficient to meet the game designer’s ambitions.

     

For whom the games toll,
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I just finished the demo of the new Dire Grove game. I immediately purchased it. Lady K was right. It’s really good. It’s quite different in terms of mechanics, but there are familiar locations that tie the two games together. The graphics are exceptional. Music and sound is jacked up way too high. I reset mine at 35%. There are five levels of difficulty. I’m playing the easiest, as I’ve never played the game before. Level 5 gives you absolutely nothing. No hints, no sparkles, no skips. Plus when you “find” a puzzle, it’s timed. That could be brutal.

Puzzles in the demo range from easy to quite hard. The hard comes from the objective not being adequately explained rather than from the puzzle itself.

Seeing as we have two leaders, me for the first game and Lady Kestrel for the second, I’m going to nominate this pair for the next CPT.

     

For whom the games toll,
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I finished the new Dire Grove game. I bought the SE version. It is excellent. There are six puzzles that I consider difficult. They are very similar to the harder door puzzles in the first two Ravenhurst games. There is a Hint button and a Puzzle Hint button. I used both of them and still ended up using the Skip button. Very frustrating! I’m going to find a walkthrough and see what I missed logic-wise. The game is certainly worth a replay, or three.

There are some hidden object scenes. Certainly not as many as in the original game. And the ones in this game are much more diverse.

As I mentioned in another thread, this game was developed by Elephant Games, not BFG Studios which developed the first game. I’m not sure how this worked. There are many location similarities between the two games. But there are also several features that are totally new. Principal among them is the background search on the six main characters. This gives a nice bit of insight into their motivations. Maybe BFG provided a basic design document and Elephant took it from there. Regardless of what the system was, it worked.

That’s not always the case. You will recall that the developer of the original Phantasmat game, (which we played as a CCPT,) was not the same organization that did the second and third games. That developer was ERS Games, which, (personal opinion,) I thought did a miserable job of re-creating the atmospheric horror of the original game.

The new Dire Grove game is worthy of a CCPT nomination in it’s own right. It’s exciting that it might be paired with its predecessor. I think we all enjoyed the dual Enigmatis playthroughs. That said, I think we all realize that the older game will inevitably show a bit of age when compared to the new one.

     

For whom the games toll,
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Joined 2014-05-05

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As a recent bout of insomnia led me to check my trusty iPad for something to play in the middle of the night… (cue woo-woo music)… I found The Beast of Lycan Isle CE.

This is possibly the most cockamamie game I’ve ever played, but in a good way—sort of like an old Twilight Zone episode. You play as Luna (ahem), a young woman looking for her best friend Tara, who has disappeared while researching a Wolf Man cult. You wind up helping Brina, a loony (ahem) old lady who plans to use concentrated moonbeams (ahem) to defeat the monster. Or does she? (Incidentally Brina’s voice actor is a hoot.)

The main storyline requires setting up lenses to focus Brina’s moonbeams. There is a lot of running around (alas, no teleporting) and freedom to wander. This lends a bit of the feeling of a “regular” adventure game. HOPs, such as they are, require finding objects that fit silhouettes, then placing the objects into the scene. Puzzles are varied and not overly challenging. There are only two skill levels (on the iOS game, anyway); the casual level is full of arrows and twinkles, while the expert level gives nothing on screen. There is no walk-through or strategy guide, only a one-step hint button.

The bonus game involves finding artifacts to equip a local museum and while it doesn’t really add to the story I enjoyed the continued gameplay. There are a few collectibles (“clues”) involving the items in a picture you have of your friend, but no other achievements per se. Get the SE if you have a choice. Available for PC, iOS, and Android, but not Mac. Plays well on a touch screen due to the limited hidden objects. (There is a left-handed option, too, whatever that is.)

Recommended to anyone looking for a creatively unconventional story in the paranormal line—perfect for a punch-card freebie.

     

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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Your description sounds quite interesting. I’ve never heard of the game. I’ll certainly try the demo if there is one. However, also based on your description, if I buy, it will definitely be the SE version. I’ll let you know what happens.

     

For whom the games toll,
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I played The Beast of Lycan Isle on PC a while back. I agree that the Brina character is a hoot. Not at all what you’d expect from a “grandmotherly” character. I enjoyed the exploration—the environments look great on a larger screen. The bonus game involved even more exploration, so I enjoyed that.

I recently finished Dead Reckoning: Silvermoon Isle (on PC) and was impressed by the vibrant Art Deco visuals. A murder has occurred on the grounds of a movie star’s mansion. The victim is the famous actress Veronica West (the game seems to be set in the 1920s or so, though the technology is a bit advanced for the time period). You get to explore the amazing mansion grounds while investigating the crime.

The game contains an on-the-spot technique when you interview people. You can compare a suspect’s statements to certain evidence—mostly what the suspect is wearing, holding, or doing—to figure out if they are lying or telling the truth. There’s also an evidence board, where each suspect has a case file that gives you some background information. And you do some camera work, which adds variety.

The game has many inventory challenges, and the inventory bar allows you to combine or complete items in inventory. There are also mini-games—gears, electrical connections, drawing a constellation, opening a safe, etc. One of the lockbox puzzles was different than usual, which intrigued me, but frankly, I’m not quite sure how I solved it.

This game is unexpectedly deep and long, with lots of places to visit and lots of things to do. Hidden Object screens involve silhouettes, slightly interactive word lists, and one that I recall that was almost riddle-like and revealed something of the murder victim’s character. There’s also a bubble shooter game that can be played instead of the HO screens. This bubble shooter was a bit more tedious than others I’ve played—maybe because it seemed to take longer to liberate the objects. There are some nice small touches with animation—particularly what happens with the toy airplane.

I didn’t guess the murderer, so I was surprised at the end. Though I do wish I had known enough about the murderer to truly understand the motivation behind the act once it was revealed.

I played the SE version of this game, and now wonder if the bonus chapter might have told me more about the murderer’s background as a further explanation. This typically happens to me when I get the SE version of these games. 

Instead of always wondering, I should just let it go.. let it go.  Pan  Either that, or only purchase CE versions so I’m not left wondering.

     
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Becky - 24 January 2015 10:00 AM

I should just let it go.. let it go.  Pan

Here, let me annoy you. Wink

     

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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Laughing  “I’m one with the wind and sky.” How’d you know I feel that way??

     
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Of those games where I have bought the CE, BOGO or other type of sale that made it irresistible, I’ve been disappointed many more times than I felt I was rewarded.

There are very few times that I wished I had purchased the CE. Angelica Weaver, our first CCPT was one.

If I “Let it Go,” and buy the SE, I know I can vicariously experience the CE on YouTube.

     

For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.

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Finished the Beast of Lycan Isle. I really liked it. Everyone was right about Brina’s voice. Although there was a point about a third of the way through the game that her voice and the graphics became a bit distorted. I wondered whether is was due to it being right at the point where I bought the game.

I won’t say this is the first! But it is rare that I don’t have to use a puzzle Skip button at least once, or resort to a walkthrough. This was one of those rare occasions. The puzzles could have used some complexity.

It was interesting to see the Credits. I’m used to seeing Eastern-European surnames as the Credits scroll by. I’ll have to look up the developer to see where they are located. The same five or six names appeared in most of the categories, so it would seem that this is a very small team of people. If that’s the case, this goes from being a fun game to being an exceptional game considering the circumstances.

One thing annoyed me. Becky and I have talked about this in the past. You find yourself in the crypt under the church where you are confronted with the werewolf, Brian. (I thought that was cute, Brina and Brian.) You are trapped. Brian knows you are out to save your friend, and the only way that can happen is if Brian dies. You are his mortal enemy. He has the opportunity to tear you to shreds then and there. Why doesn’t he do it? Other than because it would end the game. Instead, he locks you in the crypt, from which you escape. Which ultimately leads to Brian’s worst nightmare coming true. It happens all the time in adventure games, but particularly in casuals. It seems a lazy way to further a plot.

     

For whom the games toll,
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I also finished Dead Reckoning: Silvermoon Isle SE today. Very good game. I really liked the style. HO scenes were few and far between, with lots of variation in style.

I rarely use tutorials, but in this game, if I hadn’t I would have been dead in the water. I think I used the Skip button twice. The puzzles were fairly easy. But there were a few that had me stumped. I gutted out a few of those, but two just lost me.

I thought the suspect interrogations were interesting. Although I don’t think they led to a usable conclusion. Three characters were accounted for at the games end. But the remaining characters kind of vanished. I don’t know if their whereabouts are accounted for in the CE. I wondered what happened to them.

Despite the fact that only two characters died, the game made me think of And Then There Were None, the Agatha Christie AG based on her Ten Little Indians mystery.

     

For whom the games toll,
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Joined 2014-05-05

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I did Silvermoon Isle about six months ago and made these notes:

another top-notch production from Eipix, reminiscent of Final Cut… highly immersive… gorgeous hi-res deco art design… good storyline with multiple suspects & unique interview technique… contender for best of 2014. CE offers plenty of value added, although bonus chapter looks like they gave it to the trainee team and doesn’t relate much to the main game…

I do wonder is how these devs decide which series to put their games in, since Silvermoon Isle seems like it would slot very nicely into the Final Cut group. Also, the comment about the bonus chapter seems to apply to a lot of games—like they have the interns develop them for practice.

Eipix is by far my favorite developer at present, having done the Final Cut, Hidden Expedition, Myths of the World and Off the Record series. I never got past the demos of Danse Macabre and Sea of Lies, but maybe someday…. Amaranthine Voyage: The Living Mountain would have been excellent but suffered from the Eipix practice of using their developers as “actors”—their High Priest was squirming like he needed to go to the bathroom.

     

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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Joined 2012-03-13

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cluelass - 29 January 2015 05:43 PM

I did Silvermoon Isle about six months ago and made these notes:

another top-notch production from Eipix, reminiscent of Final Cut… highly immersive… gorgeous hi-res deco art design… good storyline with multiple suspects & unique interview technique… contender for best of 2014. CE offers plenty of value added, although bonus chapter looks like they gave it to the trainee team and doesn’t relate much to the main game…

I agree with this. It makes it all the more strange that I thought the latest, Final Cut: True Escapade, was very disappointing. The reviewers were right when they said that you don’t know or care who all the characters are and what happens to them. And I love the Final Cut series. But yes, Silvermoon Isle is definitely in the Top Games of the Year category.

     
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Joined 2003-09-16

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At GB, I posted this mini-review of The Emptiness demo:

After the demo, I marked this one ‘interesting’ and will likely purchase it. Using screen arrows to navigate reminds me of old school adventures. It plays more like an ‘escape the room’ game than the usual casual. I don’t like that you cannot skip cut scenes, but so far they have been short. No HOG scenes, but you must look for letters hidden in the surroundings. Clues are found by exploration. Though not inherently scary, the developers make use of sudden images and loud noises to scare the viewer. I did startle a few times.

     

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