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Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) #1132004
11/15/17 03:13 PM
11/15/17 03:13 PM
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Jenny100 Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: Zurreen
So right now I am waiting for the Big Fish's "delicious" 65%-off deals to get some more HO games.

Don't know what you mean.
Big Fish is having a 65% off sale right now -- Today.
Did you check?

Re: Lost Chronicles of Zerzura [Re: Jenny100] #1132007
11/15/17 03:46 PM
11/15/17 03:46 PM
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Yes! Checked right after submitting that message, and there it was! I'd been waiting for almost a month now, and it shows up right after I - well, complained - to you. Maybe I should complain more often! LOL laugh

Are you going to get something too?

Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) #1132010
11/15/17 04:24 PM
11/15/17 04:24 PM
Joined: Oct 2000
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southeast USA
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Other than the new Fantasy Mosaics game I'm having trouble finding anything I want.

Re: Lost Chronicles of Zerzura [Re: Jenny100] #1132016
11/15/17 04:56 PM
11/15/17 04:56 PM
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Do you already have all the MCF, Phantasmat, and Dark Tales games? Those are usually good. (You can check out my reviews on some of them for more details.) Midnight Mysteries was really good, but it's been SO long since they have made one. :(

So what kind of games DO you like?

Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Zurreen] #1132019
11/15/17 05:23 PM
11/15/17 05:23 PM
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southeast USA
Jenny100 Offline OP
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I have 6 of the Midnight Mysteries games.
Not sure how many there were.

I think I have all the MCF games.

I have all but three of the Dark Tales.

I have the first Phantasmat, demoed the second and didn't like it, never tried any of the later ones.

Will demo a couple of the Surface games (I have the first four) and 2 of the 3 the Dark Tales games that I don't have.

Have you played all the Phantasmat games?
Was the 2nd one the worst?
I don't remember why I didn't like the demo.

EDIT --
Didn't care for the two Surface games.
Will try a couple of the Phantasmats.

EDIT #2 --
Wound up getting the two Phantasmats along with the two Dark Tales and Fantasy Mosaic #25.
That's 5 games at $3.49 each, which is plenty.

Re: Lost Chronicles of Zerzura [Re: Jenny100] #1132066
11/16/17 12:11 AM
11/16/17 12:11 AM
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I have all the MCF games (except the one that is yet to be released this Thanksgiving, of course). I have only recently started writing the reviews, but they are quite detailed and therefore should be helpful. The last game in the series so far is The Black Veil. As you will see from my review, I did not like it at all. But the one before it, Broken Hour, was pretty good.

As you probably already know, Eipix seems to have become the one and only developer of the Big Fish games. The good thing about them is that they now have the exact same Achievements in all the games they make. (Note: I tend to buy only Collector's Editions because many games tend to have the actual conclusion as the Bonus chapter. Don't really care for the Achievements so much anymore but do feel "obliged" to go for them if they are included. LOL :D). The bad thing was that they didn't do a very good job of capturing the "spirit" of Ravenhearst in the two games they developed: Key to Ravenhearst & Ravenhearst Unlocked. You can check out my reasons in my reviews. Rest assured that I *never* give any spoilers, so no worries there. smile

Phantasmat. Yes, I have played all of them, except the one I bought just today: Insidious Dreams CE. There are so far nine games, including the Insidious Dreams. And I agree that the second one, Crucible Peak, was not that great. I bought six after these two, just a few months ago, and wrote a review on all of these six. Can't remember them all off-hand, but I do recall that I liked Behind the Mask (CE) the best. I thought it was pretty original.

Surface. I played the first one, possibly the second also, a rather long time ago. I can't remember them too well, but I don't think I liked them either.

So which two Phantasmat & Dark Tales games did you get?

I got the following that I'd had on my list for a few weeks now. smile

- Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Persian Carpet

- Harrowed Halls: Hell's Thistle Collector's Edition

- Halloween Stories: Invitation Collector's Edition

- Mystery Trackers: Memories of Shadowfield Collector's Edition

- Phantasmat: Insidious Dreams Collector's Edition

- Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe's Lenore Collector's Edition

- Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven Collector's Edition

I am all "caught up" on my Dark Tales, Mystery Trackers, and Phantasmat "collection" now. Yay! laugh

Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Zurreen] #1132069
11/16/17 01:20 AM
11/16/17 01:20 AM
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Posts: 40,644
southeast USA
Jenny100 Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: Zurreen
So which two Phantasmat & Dark Tales games did you get?

Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe's The Mystery of Marie Roget
Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven

Phantasmat: Behind the Mask
Phantasmat: Mournful Loch

The Phantasmat: games I have now are the above two plus the CE of the first one.

And I have the Dark Tales games except for Tell-tale Heart and Lenore.

I can't say I really care for the "new look" that they gave Dupin for The Raven. He looks a mess.

Re: Lost Chronicles of Zerzura [Re: Jenny100] #1132076
11/16/17 03:47 AM
11/16/17 03:47 AM
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Austin, Texas
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Originally Posted By: Jenny100
I have 6 of the Midnight Mysteries games.
Not sure how many there were.


Yes, there were only six:

1. Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy
2. Midnight Mysteries: Salem Witch Trials
3. Midnight Mysteries: Devil on the Mississippi
4. Midnight Mysteries: Haunted Houdini
5. Midnight Mysteries: Witches of Abraham
6. Midnight Mysteries: Ghostwriting

I have all of them too, but I liked the last one the best. Too bad they didn't make any more. Wonder why...?

Originally Posted By: Jenny100
I can't say I really care for the "new look" that they gave Dupin for The Raven. He looks a mess.


I agree. But I care even less for any of the new voices they have been using for him. They seem to be trying a different actor every time. But, what's worse, the voice actor does not even pronounce French words correctly, even though Dupin is *supposed* to be French!

Here is a list of all the MCF games released so far:

1. Huntsville
2. Prime Suspects
3. Ravenhearst
4. Madame Fate
5. Return to Ravenhearst
6. Dire Grove
7. The 13th Skull
8. Escape From Ravenhearst
9. Shadow Lake
10. Fate's Carnival
11. Dire Grove, Sacred Grove
12. Key To Ravenhearst
13. Ravenhearst Unlocked
14. Broken Hour
15. The Black Veil

And here is the list of all the Phantasmat games released so far (with the Collector's Ed. release date and average rating):

1-Phantasmat (February 8-2011) 4.5
2-Crucible Peak (December 6-2012) 3.8
3-The Endless Night (January 10-15) 4.0
4-The Dread of Oakville (July 9-15) 4.2
5-Behind The Mask (December 17-15) 4.4
6-Town of Lost Hope (April 7-16) 3.5
7-Reign of Shadows (October 6-16) 4.3
8-Mournful Loche (April 13-17) 3.7
9-Insidious Dreams (September 14-17) n/a

And here is the list of all the Dark Tales games released so far:

1. Murder in the Rue Morgue
2. The Black Cat
3. The Premature Burial
4. The Gold Bug
5. The Masque of the Red Death
6. The Fall of the House of Usher
7. The Mystery of Marie Roget
8. The Tell-tale Heart
9. Metzengerstein
10. The Raven
11. Lenore

Again, hope you will check out my reviews. I don't remember much off-hand. Play just way too many of these games, you know. laugh

Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Zurreen] #1132110
11/16/17 11:16 AM
11/16/17 11:16 AM
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 40,644
southeast USA
Jenny100 Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: Zurreen
1. Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy
2. Midnight Mysteries: Salem Witch Trials
3. Midnight Mysteries: Devil on the Mississippi
4. Midnight Mysteries: Haunted Houdini
5. Midnight Mysteries: Witches of Abraham
6. Midnight Mysteries: Ghostwriting

I have all of them too, but I liked the last one the best. Too bad they didn't make any more. Wonder why...?

I think Haunted Houdini was the one I liked best -- unless I'm confusing it with another game.
Wasn't that the one that was sort of an experiment -- between an SE and a CE because it included a strategy guide? For some reason they didn't continue that idea in other games.

Originally Posted By: Zurreen
But, what's worse, the voice actor does not even pronounce French words correctly, even though Dupin is *supposed* to be French!

I guess their voice actors never took French. I don't know which is worse, mispronouncing French and mangling it or not making any attempt at all. Either way, it's kind of jarring how his voice changes between games.

Originally Posted By: Zurreen
Again, hope you will check out my reviews.

Are your reviews all posted at Big Fish?

Re: Lost Chronicles of Zerzura [Re: Jenny100] #1132140
11/16/17 05:39 PM
11/16/17 05:39 PM
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Originally Posted By: Jenny100
I think Haunted Houdini was the one I liked best -- unless I'm confusing it with another game.
Wasn't that the one that was sort of an experiment -- between an SE and a CE because it included a strategy guide? For some reason they didn't continue that idea in other games.


I don't remember the Houdini game that well. Just that I liked it, as I liked all of the Midnight Mysteries games. I think, unlike a lot of the games these days, the Midnight Mysteries games were made with a lot of thought, and were well-prepared. Did you ever play the Ghostwriting? Again, I don't remember too much in detail, except that I thought it was especially well-done. In fact, I even wrote a review on it, something I *rarely* did in those days.

Quote:
I guess their voice actors never took French. I don't know which is worse, mispronouncing French and mangling it or not making any attempt at all. Either way, it's kind of jarring how his voice changes between games.


Yes, that irks me the most. French is my all-time favorite language, I just *love* it. So it *is* practically jarring to hear all the mispronunciation or no pronunciation at all. If they have gone to the trouble of creating/presenting someone who is supposed to be French, then they need to take the time and effort to find a voice actor fit for the role. It's not that hard, you know! I mean, we are talking about French, not some obscure Far-Eastern or some other far off place's language! LOL laugh

Quote:
Are your reviews all posted at Big Fish?


Oh, yes. I used to write walkthroughs. You might have seen some on Gameboomers. Originally, I did them under the name zszubairie, but then I asked Marita to reveal the full name. I think some of them got changed, others might still be under zszubairie (which is part of my email address actually - LOL). But I don't have time for writing those, and there don't seem to be a lot of new/good adventure games either. So, recently, I just started writing some reviews. They are so few, I know they might be hard to find among all the other reviews. This link should help you get to all my reviews.

http://ugc.bigfishgames.com/profiles/852...5550.1501000325

And, oh! If you do check out those reviews - *and* find them helpful - please click on the Helpful vote. But again, only if you did find it helpful. It just makes me feel good, you know, to know that I helped a fellow gamer in some way. smile

Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Zurreen] #1132204
11/17/17 01:26 PM
11/17/17 01:26 PM
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Posts: 40,644
southeast USA
Jenny100 Offline OP
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This discussion should really be in the Casual forum now, with an appropriate title, so more people could contribute. But I'm not sure how to move part of a thread without moving each post individually. Let me know if you want me to attempt it.

I'll check your reviews. It's too bad you don't have the time for walkthroughs any more considering how many gamers want written walkthroughs. But walkthroughs do take a lot of time, and unfortunately many so-called adventure games have action sequences (mainly QTE's) at some point in the game that spoil the game and sometimes can't be gotten past without someone else's save. Casual games at least have a skip for them.

I'm not liking Dark Tales The Raven very much. It has nothing to do with Poe. It seems totally unrelated to any Poe story, but they tried to shoehorn it into the Dark Tales series. Plenty of dexterity-dependent "challenges" (I won't call them puzzles) too. There was also a particularly egregious part of the game (won't go into detail unless you want the spoiler) where you have to slowly hunt for the proper hotspots that don't appear immediately. Even checking the online walkthrough to see where the spots were, hotspot #4 wasn't registering and I ended up having to skip. There is a huge plot hole around this location too (unless it's explained later in the game). Then there are these mazes where you are a bug and you have to find your way to the keys and the end while avoiding enemies. The Raven had 3 stars at Big Fish, but I'd rate it at a maximum of 2 so far. I expect their later game "Lenore" is much the same. Don't know if that one is worth trying the demo, but I may eventually try Tell-tale Heart during a sale since it's an earlier one.

I finished Phantasmat: Mournful Loch. Not as good as I thought it would be -- ended up being a totally predictable plot -- actually just the outline of a plot. It was a very green game, somewhat blurry with lots of animations, a few decent puzzles. It was disappointing that the ghosts were just "things" and had no personality. I see you gave it 3 stars in your review, which I think is about right. I agree with your estimation of the deficiencies in story and characters. I didn't have the "flare-ups" you mention that made you have to go back to the menu. Maybe they were fixed at some point after you finished the game. I'll probably try demos for a few other Phantasmat games -- just not the 2nd one.

EDIT -- About The Raven -- Never had to skip so many minigames in a game. So many dexterity "challenges" that I didn't meet up with in the demo -- arm wrestling, karate (?) minigame where I couldn't even tell what it wanted me to do -- somehow you have to relate wooden rods to what your hands were supposed to do. The recharge squares for the bug maze were missing from the 3rd one and the enemies were faster and came right for you. So though I did the first two bug mazes (on easy), I had to skip the 3rd and 4th bug mazes. A multipart minigame with swinging blades that was sometimes related to timing the blades and sometimes to a trial-and-error sequence of what tiles to step on. A sequence where you have to shoot crows -- first aim properly at a crow to select it, then time the up-and-down, then the side-too-side indicators to shoot the crow. You have to shoot 10 crows. The skip didn't work on this one for some reason. Thread-the-needle type thing where you have to move an object through a narrow tube without touching the edges. I won't be replaying this one.

Re: Lost Chronicles of Zerzura [Re: Jenny100] #1132219
11/17/17 05:14 PM
11/17/17 05:14 PM
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Originally Posted By: Jenny100
This discussion should really be in the Casual forum now, with an appropriate title, so more people could contribute. But I'm not sure how to move part of a thread without moving each post individually. Let me know if you want me to attempt it.


Sure, go ahead. Just please be sure to send me a link to that forum so I too can benefit from everyone else's contribution. You see, as hard as I tried, I can't get Gameboomers to send me an email notification of anything but the private messages, and those too only occasionally. So it would be good to know where to go. smile

Quote:
I'll check your reviews.


Great! Be sure to give me a helpful vote, so I'll have an idea how many people found my review/work helpful. smile

Quote:
It's too bad you don't have the time for walkthroughs any more considering how many gamers want written walkthroughs. But walkthroughs do take a lot of time, and unfortunately many so-called adventure games have action sequences (mainly QTE's) at some point in the game that spoil the game and sometimes can't be gotten past without someone else's save. Casual games at least have a skip for them.


If you've seen some of my walkthroughs (under Zurreen or zszubairie), you will note that they did tend to be pretty detailed. I used to have an ardent fan back then. He would actually print out a hard copy of every walkthrough I posted. According to him, my walkthrough on Still Life 2 was 78 pages long! That was in fact my last walkthrough. It was partly because life got just too busy, but also because good adventure games became so rare. I myself switched to playing HO games, and Marita (MagTRo) told me that it was too costly for Gameboomers to post a walkthrough with too many screenshots. As you know from playing HO games yourself, walkthrough for those games are practically nothing but a series of screenshots! You really can't follow those walkthroughs without a bunch of screenshots showing the solution to especially all the HO scenes. So I never even tried to write a walkthrough on them.

Re: Phantasmat: Mournful Loch. Oh, you checked out my review. Great! Hope you gave a vote (helpful or not, as you saw fit, of course). Yes, I think I made my "feelings" about it quite clear. LOL laugh I do try to be kind *and* generous but, above all, I do feel obliged to be honest with my fellow gamers. As I recall, I recommended the game only with a long litany of contingencies. LOL laugh

Re: Dark Tales The Raven. They actually say, every time you quit and come back to the game, that the game is based on a POEM by Poe. So that is probably why you are sensing the "disconnect," so to speak, with Poe. Guess they must have had to really stretch things to make a full-length game out of a mere poem. laugh

But I do share some of your disappointment with the game. It seemed pretty exciting in the beginning. And keep in mind I always play these games in the Expert mode, but still tend to finish each game in a day or two. With this one though, I don't think I have even played it in over a day. I don't like those dexterity-dependent challenges either. I also don't like all those rather silly Achievements - achievement if you don't ask Alan who he is, achievement if you give a sarcastic response, etc. It just forces the player to keep "referring" to the Achievements before moving forward in the game, and that is a real spoiler to the game itself! And, unfortunately, if there are Achievements, I do feel "compelled" to win them. So these silly "achievements" are spoiling all the fun for me too. :(

Oh, I should note that, based on what you said, I have apparently not reached too far in the game. I just brought Dupin "back to life," and have gone to some seaside area I forget because, as I mentioned, it's been over 24 hours already since I played the game! LOL laugh

Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Zurreen] #1132240
11/17/17 09:45 PM
11/17/17 09:45 PM
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 40,644
southeast USA
Jenny100 Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: Zurreen
Sure, go ahead. Just please be sure to send me a link to that forum so I too can benefit from everyone else's contribution. You see, as hard as I tried, I can't get Gameboomers to send me an email notification of anything but the private messages, and those too only occasionally. So it would be good to know where to go.

Looks like Marian moved it for us.

Originally Posted By: Zurreen
If you've seen some of my walkthroughs (under Zurreen or zszubairie), you will note that they did tend to be pretty detailed. I used to have an ardent fan back then. He would actually print out a hard copy of every walkthrough I posted. According to him, my walkthrough on Still Life 2 was 78 pages long!

Holy Mackerel!
No wonder you don't have time for more.

Originally Posted By: Zurreen
That was in fact my last walkthrough. It was partly because life got just too busy, but also because good adventure games became so rare. I myself switched to playing HO games, and Marita (MagTRo) told me that it was too costly for Gameboomers to post a walkthrough with too many screenshots. As you know from playing HO games yourself, walkthrough for those games are practically nothing but a series of screenshots! You really can't follow those walkthroughs without a bunch of screenshots showing the solution to especially all the HO scenes. So I never even tried to write a walkthrough on them.

There's usually one at Big Fish anyway.

Originally Posted By: Zurreen
Re: Dark Tales The Raven. They actually say, every time you quit and come back to the game, that the game is based on a POEM by Poe. So that is probably why you are sensing the "disconnect," so to speak, with Poe. Guess they must have had to really stretch things to make a full-length game out of a mere poem.

They could have done a lot better at fleshing out the poem -- which I'm very familiar with and which I've heard much better readings of than the one at the start of the game. If you've finished the game (or most of it) I think you'll see some of the other flaws that are very un-Poe-like. I don't know how far along you are so don't want to discuss spoilers. But there is nothing of the poem in the story of the game. It should have had an atmosphere more like the Midnight Mysteries games -- more of the hidden supernatural, associated in some way with ravens, and less some woman dressed in a crow costume running around getting vengeance.

Originally Posted By: Zurreen
But I do share some of your disappointment with the game. It seemed pretty exciting in the beginning. And keep in mind I always play these games in the Expert mode, but still tend to finish each game in a day or two. With this one though, I don't think I have even played it in over a day. I don't like those dexterity-dependent challenges either. I also don't like all those rather silly Achievements - achievement if you don't ask Alan who he is, achievement if you give a sarcastic response, etc. It just forces the player to keep "referring" to the Achievements before moving forward in the game, and that is a real spoiler to the game itself! And, unfortunately, if there are Achievements, I do feel "compelled" to win them. So these silly "achievements" are spoiling all the fun for me too. :(

One of the reasons I now avoid CE's are because the SE versions often aren't cursed with the bleepin' "achievements" that interrupt the game. The bonus game is rarely worth enduring the interruptions from "achievements" and popup and slide-in announcements when you find some "collectable" or other.

Originally Posted By: Zurreen
Oh, I should note that, based on what you said, I have apparently not reached too far in the game. I just brought Dupin "back to life," and have gone to some seaside area I forget because, as I mentioned, it's been over 24 hours already since I played the game!

OK so you got that far. That part was definitely ridiculous. You read a message from someone who says he's had nightmares ever since finding that "Sumerian heart" and then you end up using it on Dupin. The arcade stuff increases in frequency toward the end. The main game isn't very long. Going by the YouTube playthroughs the bonus game is about 3/4 as long as the main game. For example this list
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv_2SQLNWWxa3pjuM0TWCTmfmvns1EDdR
shows 12 videos for the main game and 9 for the bonus.

Re: Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Jenny100] #1132246
11/17/17 11:34 PM
11/17/17 11:34 PM
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 124
Austin, Texas
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Originally Posted By: Jenny100
Looks like Marian moved it for us.


She did? I notice the message in yellow ("Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Zurreen]"), but I found this under my old Zerzura post. So are we "appearing" in two places now? Somewhere other than under this Zerzura post?



Quote:
Holy Mackerel!
No wonder you don't have time for more.


Hahaha. Love your exclamation. laugh I always wrote so that gamers young and old would have no difficulty following my walkthroughs. I used to get queries (and compliments!) from 14- to 80-year-old's! Great days indeed. But I should note that Still Life 2 was an especially complicated game on which to write a (sensible) walkthrough. In all honesty, I might not even have written a walkthrough on it had I known what I was getting into! LOL laugh But ign talked me into it. Usually, you see, I always played games and then picked the ones on which I would write a walkthrough. This one was totally different. The game was not even released yet! The developers had sent ign an advance copy (guess they do that with walkthrough websites, to promote their games perhaps), and ign offered to send me that copy, free of charge. [The retail price would have been, as I recall, more than $49 plus tax.] They also wanted exclusive rights to publish my walkthrough, but I told them that I *always* post on Gameboomers as well as another walkthrough website. They agreed that it would be okay. They also wanted me to write and post the walkthrough before the game was officially released. But I was terribly overworked at my "real" job, told them so, and they agreed to let me have all the time I needed to do it. So, with all their concessions, I just couldn't say no. If I remember correctly, it took me about three months to write that walkthrough! Thankfully, they loved it! In fact, they wanted me to write another walkthrough - on Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper, before it was officially released also - on the same terms. But I really had no time even to play adventure games anymore, let alone write a walkthrough. So I had to decline. It was nice to be appreciated though. As I said, good old days indeed. smile
Quote:
There's usually one at Big Fish anyway.


Exactly my thought. And they tend to be pretty good too. The only problem is when Big Fish does not have a walkthrough on a game. For example, on The Veil of Mystery: Seven Little Gnomes. Have you played that game? Would you believe I tried to post a review two or three times, trying to "warn" the fellow gamers of the absolutely nasty bugs in that game, but Big Fish actually refused to post it because, according to them, technical problems should be reported to the techs and not in a "review." But the big problem with that is, if you see the forum on the game, people have been actually *cursing* up and down, and Big Fish never bothered to fix those bugs! And they aren't just little bugs, they are quite "fatal" bugs. I myself had to play the game, from the beginning(!), some four or five times before I could finally finish it. So I really wanted to warn other folks before they fell in the same "trap" but, as I said, Big Fish wouldn't let me. And so I ended up with that review you see which tells all but, in my opinion, *the* most serious problem in the game: fatal bugs... :(

Quote:
They could have done a lot better at fleshing out the poem -- which I'm very familiar with and which I've heard much better readings of than the one at the start of the game. If you've finished the game (or most of it) I think you'll see some of the other flaws that are very un-Poe-like. I don't know how far along you are so don't want to discuss spoilers. But there is nothing of the poem in the story of the game. It should have had an atmosphere more like the Midnight Mysteries games -- more of the hidden supernatural, associated in some way with ravens, and less some woman dressed in a crow costume running around getting vengeance.


No, I didn't like that reading at all. Not only did it go too fast, it sounded so - well, stilted; no "feeling" at all. And I totally agree that they could have done a lot better than that woman dressed in a crow costume running around getting vengeance. I am already bored with that, even though I am apparently far from the end. LOL laugh

Quote:
One of the reasons I now avoid CE's are because the SE versions often aren't cursed with the bleepin' "achievements" that interrupt the game. The bonus game is rarely worth enduring the interruptions from "achievements" and popup and slide-in announcements when you find some "collectable" or other.


I totally agree. I still continue to buy the CE's though because, in some games at least, the real ending showed up in the bonus chapter. That's just plain devious, I think, a cheap trick just to sell CE's. Then again, it's more annoying to reach the end of a game, only to learn there was more we never got to see in the standard edition ... :(

Quote:
OK so you got that far. That part was definitely ridiculous. You read a message from someone who says he's had nightmares ever since finding that "Sumerian heart" and then you end up using it on Dupin. The arcade stuff increases in frequency toward the end. The main game isn't very long. Going by the YouTube playthroughs the bonus game is about 3/4 as long as the main game. For example this list
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv_2SQLNWWxa3pjuM0TWCTmfmvns1EDdR
shows 12 videos for the main game and 9 for the bonus.


All I can say is Uh-Oh! LOL laugh

Re: Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Jenny100] #1132254
11/18/17 12:26 AM
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Originally Posted By: Zurreen
For example, on The Veil of Mystery: Seven Little Gnomes. Have you played that game?

I haven't played it. From what you say, it sounds like I don't want to either.

Originally Posted By: Zurreen
Not only did it go too fast, it sounded so - well, stilted; no "feeling" at all.

They might as well have gotten Dr. Sbaitso to do it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV3pYZZ2jEw

Originally Posted By: Zurreen
I still continue to buy the CE's though because, in some games at least, the real ending showed up in the bonus chapter.

I usually search reviews of the CE at Big Fish for the word "Bonus" and see if anyone mentions whether the main game is complete or not. Of course I have to click the "Show More" button for every single review on the page before searching. But for many games there is at least one reviewer who actually finished the game before reviewing, and can say whether the main game was complete.

Originally Posted By: Zurreen
Then again, it's more annoying to reach the end of a game, only to learn there was more we never got to see in the standard edition ...

Usually you can check YouTube. Of course watching someone else play a casual game isn't usually that interesting.

Re: Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Jenny100] #1132260
11/18/17 02:56 AM
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Originally Posted By: Jenny100
I haven't played it. From what you say, it sounds like I don't want to either.


Not if you want to risk having to play it 4 times! The first time the hammer disappeared from my inventory after only a couple of uses. I didn't realize I still needed it, so I continued to play until I could play no more. Thankfully, the game has its own strategy guide, even though it is only a SE game - they didn't even make a CE for it. I say "thankfully" because there doesn't seem to be any walkthroughs on the game online! Anyway, it was because of that strategy guide that I realized the hammer had disappeared "prematurely," so to speak. So I started the game from the beginning. But shortly after I did, it crashed; and when I tried to get back in, I was told my profile had been corrupted and that I would have to create a new one. Ughh. So I started yet again and, as I recall, there was one more problem and it was finally in the fourth try that I was able to finish it. I should note that I recently tried that game again and yet another problem occurred. I was at the very end of the game, but I didn't have the item necessary to finish it. So, back to the game's strategy game again, only to find that a HO scene had never appeared! I did not bother to try again this time.

I should note, however, that I played it in whatever the hardest mode was. My brother, who rarely plays games, plays them only in Casual mode. [As he puts it, he plays to enjoy, not to get stressed. LOL] If I remember correctly, he didn't have as many problems, probably none at all. Perhaps the problems occur when you play out of the game's own intended sequence, which is not possible of course when you are playing with no hints or sparkles, etc., to guide you where to go next. Do let me know if you ever play that game though. As I just indicated, there might be no such bugs in Casual mode. And it really was kind of a nice game, if it just weren't for those bugs...

Quote:
They might as well have gotten Dr. Sbaitso to do it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV3pYZZ2jEw


Checked out the link. Pretty funny! Although I think even good ol' Sbaitso was speaking more slowly than the guy reading the Raven poem! LOL laugh


Quote:
I usually search reviews of the CE at Big Fish for the word "Bonus" and see if anyone mentions whether the main game is complete or not. Of course I have to click the "Show More" button for every single review on the page before searching. But for many games there is at least one reviewer who actually finished the game before reviewing, and can say whether the main game was complete.


I know that a lot of players like to read the review and/or try the demo before getting a game. I don't though. I just read the description to decide what to buy. Besides, as I said at the beginning of the thread, my brother tends to buy almost all of my games anyway, while I get TV/movie DVDs for him. So it's only when a problem occurs that I turn, not to review, but a forum, if any. smile

Quote:
Usually you can check YouTube. Of course watching someone else play a casual game isn't usually that interesting.


No, it's definitely not interesting. But then, as I said, I usually get my games as gifts. There are others that my brother and I choose together, the ones I get from Big Fish. But, again, we focus on the game's description than the reviews. You see, we often note that many people don't like what we like, and vice versa. So reviews would not be helpful anyway. smile

Re: Lost Chronicles of Zerzura [Re: Jenny100] #1132273
11/18/17 09:43 AM
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Zurreen, I'm reading some of your reviews right now. In the one for Hide and Secret: Lost World, you said, "In short, this game is very little like the first three Hide and Secret games that attracted so many fans (which might well be why they didn't make another one!)."

Could you explain how that success led to changing the formula for the worse? I can sort of see it if the final analysis was that people were replaying instead of buying new ones; however, that doesn't seem quite right because continuing the winning format in future games would have guaranteed more purchases.

Edited to Add: I am reading your reviews with great interest and have already marked one as helpful.

I have another question. How do I read game credits to find out who is the main creative force behind a particular game? Knowing this, sometimes it's obvious, makes it easier to look for more games that person was involved in making.

Last edited by 8dognight; 11/18/17 12:42 PM.
Re: Lost Chronicles of Zerzura [Re: 8dognight] #1132285
11/18/17 12:55 PM
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Hello, 8dognight. Thank you for reading my reviews, and even marking one as helpful! smile

I am afraid I have no idea why developers shift from a good and successful formula for the worse. All I do know is that "Hide and Secret: Lost World" was in fact the fourth, but also the last game in the series. This tends to happen when the development team changes or is changed by whomever actually financing the game. I know it has happened to other games I really liked, like Gothic. The formula was changed drastically, from a real-life type of environment to something pretty cartoonish! Turned out that the original development team was replaced. :(

In the case of Hide and Secret: Lost World, however, don't get me wrong. The earlier three games were rather primitive, so to speak. This fourth one was pretty advanced, by comparison. So I guess it was trying to keep up with the times. But I just thought that it drifted too far maybe; and the fact that it was in fact the last game in the series, made me wonder that the changes might not have been welcomed. So just a bit of speculation on my part, no more. smile

As for trying to figure out who the main creative force may be, I am afraid the credits really are not always so revealing. It would probably be better to google around, checking reviews and forums. Nowadays, there is just so much wealth of information online on practically every game. There are even full-length websites on games that have been especially popular, and you can learn a lot on their forums too. So I would search the web for more detailed information on any game. Your anti-virus should warn you if a particular site is not "safe." Hope that helps? smile

Re: Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Zurreen] #1132288
11/18/17 01:28 PM
11/18/17 01:28 PM
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Originally Posted By: Zurreen
Not if you want to risk having to play it 4 times!

I don't have much patience for that sort of thing. There are plenty of games that behave themselves. I had a game called "Dark Sisterhood: The Initiation" that did something similar. Big Fish claimed they fixed the bug, but it continued to happen -- you were supposed to get a necessary object from solving a certain hidden object scene, but you didn't, and couldn't continue the game. I think there was a workaround where you had to be careful to avoid selecting a prominent object before you selected all the others.

Originally Posted By: Zurreen
I know that a lot of players like to read the review and/or try the demo before getting a game.

I don't read many reviews unless I know the reviewer. So many so-called reviewers turn in a review after only playing the demo. If they are warning about excessive pop-ups in the game, that usually doesn't change. If they are warning about bad voice acting, that usually doesn't change. But if they are warning about too-easy puzzles, that might very well change later in the game.

Originally Posted By: Zurreen
But, again, we focus on the game's description than the reviews. You see, we often note that many people don't like what we like, and vice versa. So reviews would not be helpful anyway.

And estimation of puzzle difficulty is all over the map. But something like
"does the main game end on a cliffhanger or does it have a real ending"
is something you can sometimes get from reviews written by people who finished the game. Sometimes the SE actually has a better ending than the CE.

Re: Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Jenny100] #1132312
11/18/17 05:49 PM
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Originally Posted By: Jenny100
I think there was a workaround where you had to be careful to avoid selecting a prominent object before you selected all the others.


I am pretty sure that was the problem when I played The Veil of Mystery: Seven Little Gnomes recently. I already knew where to go, so I did, and that was perhaps why the hidden object scene disappeared, which was also supposed to provide me with an object that I was to then use to open a grave where I was supposed to find the clue as to where to go as well as another object that we needed at the end.

Quote:
I don't read many reviews unless I know the reviewer. So many so-called reviewers turn in a review after only playing the demo. If they are warning about excessive pop-ups in the game, that usually doesn't change. If they are warning about bad voice acting, that usually doesn't change. But if they are warning about too-easy puzzles, that might very well change later in the game.


I agree. But another problem is that, even if they have finished the game, there are just so many reviewers out there and they tend to mix personal preferences with the objective quality of the game. As you might have seen in my reviews, I don't hide my personal likes/dislikes either. In fact, reviewers are *instructed* to give their personal and "honest" opinions of the game. But I do try to make sure the readers would know what suited or did not suit my personal taste and (what I hope to be) an objective assessment of the game.

Quote:
And estimation of puzzle difficulty is all over the map. But something like "does the main game end on a cliffhanger or does it have a real ending" is something you can sometimes get from reviews written by people who finished the game. Sometimes the SE actually has a better ending than the CE.


I haven't read any reviews to be sure, but that sounds about right: that the reviews can at least tell us whether the SE ending was real or not. But I prefer not to let my own personal impression of the game "colored" in any way by reading what are in effect someone else's impressions. Just recently, I played a few games, absolutely loved them, and was curious as to how other people reacted - and was, well, sad to see some really terrible reviews out there. I am thinking of one game in particular: Next Life. I loved it! Even had my brother try it, and he loved it too - and he is not game-savvy at all. But then, I happened to find a review online, got curious as to what that person had to say, and it was very bad. What's more I totally disagreed with him on just about every point. He had his own "idea" of what the game "should" have been about, based on just the name, and then got mad because the game was not about that at all. Funny thing was that I thought his initial expectation was wrong to begin with! The game was titled NEXT Life, *not* AFTER Life. And I think there are a lot of people like that out there. They get annoyed, even angry, sometimes even for the wrong reasons, and then they in effect "vent" their frustrations, rather than giving an honest "review." That was probably why I decided to start writing reviews, even though it pays nothing, of course (so few people even both to give helpful votes, you know! LOL!) Just hoping to be fair. smile

Re: Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Zurreen] #1132325
11/18/17 07:23 PM
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I have also seen reviews for CEs that are downright misleading in terms of describing the content of the game; for example, saying that in a particular CE there is no bonus chapter, when it fact there is. When I see stuff like that it kind of makes me crazy.

Re: Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Marian] #1132331
11/18/17 07:56 PM
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Originally Posted By: Marian
saying that in a particular CE there is no bonus chapter, when it fact there is.

I can see where they might think that though.
Some games had a weird way to access the bonus chapter.
For example when you hit "Play" to start the game, it gave an option of either main game or bonus game (with bonus game unavailable until main game was complete) and the person forgot about seeing the bonus game there and was looking for it in the "Extras" folder or the Main Menu screen.

Re: Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Jenny100] #1132334
11/18/17 08:10 PM
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Very true. The download page always mentions the bonus game, though, so far as I know and remember, so if it says there is a bonus game and the player can't find one, it ought to give that player pause. But perhaps there are folks who don't look at the game description. I think people should be more careful, though, when making pronouncements like that.

Re: Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Marian] #1132344
11/18/17 09:50 PM
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Originally Posted By: Marian
I think people should be more careful, though, when making pronouncements like that.


Exactly! That's the reason I don't like to read reviews, certainly not before playing a game. It seems a lot of people don't take proper care. They see it as a way of either venting or showing their exuberance, rather than the responsibility it is for letting other gamers know what they can or cannot expect from a game, and even then in just their particular opinion.

Re: Casual Games (moved from Lost Chronicles of Zerzura in Glitches) [Re: Marian] #1132416
11/19/17 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted By: Marian
Very true. The download page always mentions the bonus game, though, so far as I know and remember, so if it says there is a bonus game and the player can't find one, it ought to give that player pause. But perhaps there are folks who don't look at the game description.

I doubt many people look at the description after finishing the game. Even if they did, if the bonus isn't visible in the Extras or as an option on the Main Menu, they might think it wasn't there despite what the description says. After all, how many game descriptions have you read that were inaccurate in some way?

Originally Posted By: Marian
I think people should be more careful, though, when making pronouncements like that.

I think developers should be more careful about designing their game interface. There should not be any confusion about how to access the bonus game. You shouldn't have to do something that looks like it will start a new game and overwrite your one and only save.

Whether the game can be finished in a few hours, whether the person stretches the play time out over a few days, or whether they play the bonus and don't get around to playing the rest of it for weeks -- don't expect the player to remember something they saw a single time the first time they started up the game. The bonus game needs to be clearly labelled once it's available, and not hidden behind the same Play button that's used for the main game. Nor should it be hidden behind a "mouse over" option that only comes visible if you scrub the screen for it.

Sometimes I can't even find the EXIT GAME on the Main Menu -- and I know for sure there's one of those. It's often quicker and easier to try the Escape key or Ctrl-Alt-Delete than mousing over the whole screen looking for letters to light up.

So if games get reviews saying there is no bonus game, I blame the developers poor menu design rather than the reviewers.

Originally Posted By: Zurreen
I am pretty sure that was the problem when I played The Veil of Mystery: Seven Little Gnomes recently. I already knew where to go, so I did, and that was perhaps why the hidden object scene disappeared, which was also supposed to provide me with an object that I was to then use to open a grave where I was supposed to find the clue as to where to go as well as another object that we needed at the end.

With "Dark Sisterhood: The Initiation" the problem was not that the hidden object scene didn't appear. It was that in this certain hidden object scene if you selected the prominent object (that was hard to avoid), the game would immediately kick you out of the hidden object scene before you'd found everything -- before you found the object that was necessary to progress in the game. You'd be kicked out of the hidden object scene without the necessary object and would never be able to get back into the scene again to get the object. Dead end. Even if you started the game over and replayed to that point, it was easy to accidentally click the prominent object and get kicked out even when you were going out of your way to try to avoid it. And of course the game didn't let you save before this hidden object scene. And Big Fish never fixed this obvious problem. Four years later, fresh download of the game, and the bug still happens.

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