Adventure Gamers - Forums

Colpet—thanks for the recommendations! I will be investigating what your list has to offer. Most are games I wouldn’t otherwise have tried, but I’ve been wanting for a while to find good puzzle games to analyze.

For me, a puzzle’s cleverness is only part of the picture. I appreciate a puzzle more if it furthers the story or shows something new about one of the characters. I like mini-games if they are different than the usual, but also if they are presented differently. It shouldn’t matter that a puzzle is beautiful, but for some reason, it does. Some of the puzzles I’ve enjoyed the most were ones where the solution made me laugh. (This doesn’t happen often in casual games—a lot more in adventure games.)

The only recent Big Fish game I’ve played and enjoyed recently is Crystals of Time—mainly because it wasn’t full of “achievements”, “collectibles”, and other extra junk that detracts from the game.

Crabapple—I had passed that one by because it has so many HO screens. Sounds like I should give the demo a try. Was there a lot of emphasis on the time travel aspect?

There were some rooms where you could go back to a previous time in the same room, find an object, and bring it back to the present with you.

I’m becoming a great fan of EIPIX Entertainment games, such as Amaranthine, Myths of the World, Final Cut, etc. I think they are making very good casual games, all in full HD graphics quality and great music. What do you think, Becky?

I’ve played Final Cut: Death on the Silver Screen and Off the Record: Linden Shades by Eipix. I agree with you about the music—very atmospheric. And the stories are usually more complex than the average HO game, which I like. I haven’t found an EIPIX game that wowed me yet, though, partly because (especially in the earlier games) the environments are quite crowded and there are a lot of HO screens (at least, that’s how it seems in the demos).

I recently purchased Danse Macabre: The Last Adagio CE by Eipix because I was impressed by the demo and I enjoy games about music. It’s next on my “casuals to be played” list.

colpet - 01 April 2014 02:56 PM

Here’s my favorites of the 42 games I played last year:
Timeless Lost Castle
Break the Curse of the Crimson Gems
9 Dark Side of Notre Dame
Mystery Trackers 4 Aces
Redemption Cemetery Salvation of the Lost
Mayan Prophesies Ship of Spirits
Nightmare Adventures Turning Thorn
Enigma Agency Case of Shadows
Corpatros the Hidden Village (liked this one a lot)
Nearwood
Nightmare Mysteries Amphora Prisoner
Ashley Clark Secrets of the Ruby
Questerium Sinister Trinity.

Thanks for the list. I tried Crimson Gems and was glad to see it had no appreciable “interruptions” to the gameplay by unwanted extras.

I also tried the standard edition of “Forsaken Bride” and was happy to see it also had no appreciable “interruptions” (unlike the CE). I don’t mind “Fluffy.” At least not much. He seems to be fairly quiet during the brief time I’ve played the game, though it’s weird to have to use your hint feature to fetch stuff in high places.

I also tried the standard edition of the “Last Adagio” that Becky mentioned. Although it has an option to turn off what they consider to be “helpful” messages, that doesn’t seem to work. The junk is not as intrusive as in the CE, but I’ll have to think about that one.

I finished MCF Fate’s Carnival, and was sad to see it go. One of the best games I’ve played in years.
I started Alex Hunter Lord of Mind. So far the mini games have been tough, but fair.

crabapple - 02 April 2014 11:13 AM

The only recent Big Fish game I’ve played and enjoyed recently is Crystals of Time—mainly because it wasn’t full of “achievements”, “collectibles”, and other extra junk that detracts from the game.

I played the demo for Crystals of Time. I enjoyed the character bios at the beginning—a new way to introduce the story. The interior of the mansion was intriguing. I loved the music—very atmospheric.

The downsides for me—the repeated list-based HOs and the grammatical errors. I know that “achievements” detract from the game for you. For me, frequent errors in the text destroy immersion.

colpet - 01 April 2014 02:56 PM

Here’s my favorites of the 42 games I played last year:
Timeless Lost Castle
Break the Curse of the Crimson Gems
9 Dark Side of Notre Dame
Mystery Trackers 4 Aces
Redemption Cemetery Salvation of the Lost
Mayan Prophesies Ship of Spirits
Nightmare Adventures Turning Thorn
Enigma Agency Case of Shadows
Corpatros the Hidden Village (liked this one a lot)
Nearwood
Nightmare Mysteries Amphora Prisoner
Ashley Clark Secrets of the Ruby
Questerium Sinister Trinity.

It turns out that I already own about half of these, so they’re moving up on my to-be-played list. I’m gradually investigating the others.

I was intrigued to see Nearwood on your list. I was impressed with its graphics and the believable creation of a fantasy world. I’ll have to replay and pay more attention to the puzzles.

I played the demo for Corpatros: The Hidden Village. Very little hand-holding.    I like the scrolling effect—it’s different for a casual game. The puzzles are also a bit offbeat, which I like.

Glad to hear you like Corpatros. I think it got panned at the BF forum, but I quite enjoyed it. I’m playing Alex Hunter now. Good puzzles too.

I played Alex Hunter Lord of Minds and Surface the Pantheon. Both had some good puzzles. Surface had 2 mini-games tied into the characters and places in the story, a bit awkward for me since I don’t watch the dialogue or cut screens.These 2 puzzles were easy enough to do with logic, so I didn’t need any WT or hints.

I checked out the player ratings on Big Fish—Corpatros received 1 and a half stars from the BF players, while Alex Hunter and Surface: The Pantheon each received more than 4 stars.

So apparently it isn’t the quality of the puzzles that makes for the different ratings. Fascinating, isn’t it?

colpet - 28 April 2014 08:32 AM

I played Surface had 2 mini-games tied into the characters and places in the story, a bit awkward for me since I don’t watch the dialogue or cut screens.These 2 puzzles were easy enough to do with logic, so I didn’t need any WT or hints.

That is exactly the type of puzzle I enjoy. I don’t see that very often in casual games.

I’m now deep into Danse Macabre: The Last Adagio. The story is reminiscent of Phantom of the Opera, though with twists. The graphics are intriguing—they start out sparkling and lovely in the public parts of the theater, and are becoming increasingly gritty and dark further in. I haven’t found anything remarkable about the puzzles yet—though I am very much enjoying the bubble popper that can be substituted for most of the HOs. The story unfolds very slowly—I’m hoping it’ll pick up soon.