nerd alert : big fish sampler

This past weekend I stayed in and played a bunch of 60 minute Big Fish trials. Not only is it free, but its a great way to get really good at telling which games are worth your hard earned dollars.

If you are looking for a solid casual game to fill some of your evening hours, let me tell you a little about the ones I played this past weekend...


01/
Gravely Silent: House of Deadlock Collector's Edition

 01/ spider brooch $52.00  //  02/ gargoyle ring $750.00  //  03/ skull candle holder $50.00  

 You awake from a dream that your sister is dying and needs your help. The phone rings and it is her mysterious husband telling you that she is dead. Head to the castle and begin to uncover the secret of his many departed wives - can you save your sister before she becomes the next?

This was a solid game, the hidden object portions weren't annoying, and the inventory items were interactive and usable. The grounds of the house are pretty spooky, and if you aren't a big fan of spiders (like me!) you might want to sit this one out - but that doesn't mean I wasn't genuinely sad when the hour was up.

Overall strength of the games story line 5/6
Quality of the graphics, especially in the seek and find elements 6/6
How far through the game did I feel I was after the hour 2/6
Odds that I would buy the full version of this game 6/6



 02/
Mystery Trackers: Raincliff Collector's Edition

 01/ plague mask $425.00  //  02/ pinball bottle opener $6.00  //  03/ purple rose $20.00

A University bus and five students have vanished in the mysterious, long deserted town of Raincliff. Its your job to find them and uncover the mystery of the town and the phantoms that guard it. Someone is watching your every move, and making sure you don't succeed.

It seems like the hour barely scratched the surface of this game, which is great because you'll definitely get your moneys worth with this one. The town is eerie and a bit confusing - there is a lot of back and forth between locations, as you unlock aspects of each with every visit. The graphics were high quality and the puzzles were somewhat challenging.

Overall strength of the games story line 4/6
Quality of the graphics, especially in the seek and find elements 6/6
How far through the game did I feel I was after the hour 6/6
Odds that I would buy the full version of this game 6/6


03/
Nightfall Mysteries: Asylum Conspiracy

 01/ apothecary bottle $7.50  //  02/ antique portrait $95.00  //  03/ door knob $10.00

Your character, Christine, visits a shutter-island-esque asylum in search of a long lost grandfather. Condemned, but still stirring with life, she searches though debris and helps other characters as she tries to unlock the mystery of the asylum.

Though i felt like I covered a lot of ground in this game, there wasn't a lot of plot progress as far as the overall story was concerned. The animation had me jump a few times, and was truly unexpected. The puzzles were good and the characters kept me guessing - but overall it was a pretty tired plot that I feel I've already played over and over again.

Overall strength of the games story line 3/6
Quality of the graphics, especially in the seek and find elements 5/6
How far through the game did I feel I was after the hour 3/6
Odds that I would buy the full version of this game 4/6



04/
Macabre Mysteries: Curse of the Nightingale Collector's Edition

 01/ perfume vial $175.00  //  02/ ballet stilettos $?  //  03/ nightingale $21.62

You have received a mysterious package from your grandfather (yes another grandfather pursuit), which includes a letter and a ticket for a ballet performance at his theater - a theater that burned down in 1960. Curious, you drive to the seemly abandoned building to find a strew of curious hauntings. Use your ticket to see the ballet performance and solve the mystery of the fire that destroyed the theater.

This was a wonderful game - very phantom of the opera inspired. Instead of finding specific objects in a scene, you are looking for items that combine to create one usable inventory item - which is a fun alternative. to how most hidden object games treat the general search for items. I could have stayed in this Victorian inspired dreamworld all afternoon.

Overall strength of the games story line 5/6
Quality of the graphics, especially in the seek and find elements 6/6
How far through the game did I feel I was after the hour 4/6
Odds that I would buy the full version of this game 6/6



 05/
Midnight Mysteries 3: Devil on the Mississippi Collector's Edition

 01/ riverboat $21.00  //  02/ bowie knife $175.00  //  03/ on the mississippi $8.00

You are a writer, and Mark Twains ghost appears in your living room - you are on the case. The devil is after his soul and you need to find out why. Go bak to parts of his life to uncover what happened to result in this cursed afterlife.

This is very text heavy, there are a lot of characters telling you what to do, rather than trial and error. The hidden object aspect is relatively lite, and the story is manly propelled by your movement though environments and your ability to solve puzzles. I liked this game, but part of me wonders if Sam Clemens is turning over in his grave.

Overall strength of the games story line 4/6
Quality of the graphics, especially in the seek and find elements 5/6
How far through the game did I feel I was after the hour 4/6
Odds that I would buy the full version of this game 4/6




So.. which one would I buy? Well it was honestly a tough toss up between Mystery Trackers: Raincliff Collector's Edition and Macabre Mysteries: Curse of the Nightingale Collector's Edition. But in the end i am going with pure story preference and choosing Macabre Mysteries: Curse of the Nightingale Collector's Edition - it was truly a great little game.

nerd alert : the 7th guest

You may not have been aware that Friday July 8th was Video Games Day... now you know.

In honor of the great holiday I decided to pay a visit to my overflowing (vintage?) game collection... where i found the 1992 classic The 7th Guest...

the 7th Guest was one of the first CD-ROM games ever released (floopys were on their way out) - even Bill Gates told everyone how cool it was... and let me take a moment to tell you about how hard i tried, over and over, to get this game to run on newer windows platforms. it never happened. i literally cried about it... not only because i was like 9 years old, but also because that's how cool this game was..

Nostalgia kicked in and i went to the internet to look up some info on the game, maybe read old reviews and look over the walkthrough ans screenshots to get some old memories going....

but what I found was better than I could've imagined - The 7th Guest has been made into an iPhone/iPad App.. to say the least I was thrilled, and immediately downloaded it.

01/ porcelain doll arms $12.00  //  02/ doll house $1,056.59  //  03/ brass telescope $865.80  //  04/ playing card decanter set $32.00  //  05/ skull cameos $3.25  //  06/ microscope set $40.00  //  07/ skeleton shoes $60.00  //  08/ chess vinyl decals $28.00

You find yourself in a mansion, with no recollection of how you got there... but you aren't alone... 6 (or 7?) other guests seem to be haunting the house, giving you clues and leading you to puzzles. The (rather annoying) owner of the house promises them their wildest dreams if they stay the night and solve the puzzles. but they don't know the truth about their host or what he's after (and neither do you - yet)

i will warn that this game is very frustrating. i know the last time i played it i was barely 10, but the puzzles are still hard. so hard there is also a free walkthrough app to help you out... there's no shame in getting a little help. but he (or she) who tames this title without the walkthrough will earn my eternal respect.

It took me the weekend to get through the puzzles, it was slightly difficult to get through the puzzles with my clunky fingertips on my tiny iphone screen, but I muddled through.

If you App people out there keep releasing titles as close to my heart as this, I may have to shell out some cash and get an iPad sooner than later.

5.5/6 polly toes - she says its the best $2.99 shes spent all year!