If you had to choose an older game....

I have a coupon to use, and it will only be enough for an older game. I've read reviews of these three here on 'Boomers, and still can't decide. Which would you go for:

Rhiannon
Legend of Crystal Valley
Chronicles of Mystery: Tree of Life.

I haven't played any of them yet so I can't help but I hope you get some good recommendations soon.

What kind of adventure games interest you? That may help you decide.

Ana

Reenie,

You can see a video preview of Crystal Valley on Big Fish. It's a large file game so there's no demo.

You can download a demo of Rhiannon from Big Fish, assuming you have their downloader installed.

Of those three, I liked Tree of Life best myself.

Gil.

THanks Gil!

What kind of adventure games interest you? That may help you decide. Ana [/quote]

I like games that are heavy on the puzzle-solving, and I don't mind taking lots of notes (and usually do! ). Mazes and sliders and music puzzles don't put me off at all, but I avoid endless pixel hunting, timed sequences or HOG. However, I did play Dire Grove and a Ravenhurst game, and both had limited HOG. I don't mind a good scare but draw the line at gore/abuse (won't play the other Ravenhurst for that reason).

Traveler, I'm going to the two games at BF that do have demos, and see what they are like. Thanks!

Reenie,

It's been a while but as I recall, Crystal Valley is fairly heavy on solving puzzles. Tree of Life had one that was a doozy for me but might be easy for you.

Rhiannon, I didn't get into at all because of the way you travel around. I never could figure out where the heck I was or get where I wanted to go. If that doesn't bother you, have at it.

I don't believe Tree of Life is on Big Fish so that's really only one demo you got out of me.

Gil.

I am a bit confused, is your coupon only good for a Big Fish game? Otherwise there are so many older games available now as downloads that many others could be recommended to you.
I am currently replaying the old Atlantis series and am in #4 Atlantis Evolution. So enjoyed the first 3 and now this one too. Much prefer the GOG (Good Old Games) download (remakes?) and have given away many of my old "hard" (disc) copies of some games.
Love, Betty Lou

Rhiannon, I didn't get into at all because of the way you travel around. I never could figure out where the heck I was or get where I wanted to go. If that doesn't bother you, have at it.
Gil. [/quote]

Gil, I played most of the one-hour demo on Rhiannon and I saw what you meant. It is VERY confusing to move around, being a slide show format. I kept going into and out of the same doors over and over. LOL I'm intrigued by it, but not sure I will go for it. I played half the demo of Tree of Life, and it is more conventional in terms of movement. May go for that one.

Betty Lou, yes my game coupon is only good for Big Fish. They sold me a game that had programming issues after the first segment of play, so it is a replacement sort of thing. And yes, I did play the Atlantis series and enjoyed them.

Reenie,

I really don't know why I have such trouble with slide show format (as in Carol Reed) because I love the LHOD games and most of them have been in that first person slide show format - at least, I think it's the same difference. Oh, well, maybe not quite the same but close. Maybe Billy just does a better job of keeping me unconfused about where I'm going. Or maybe he gives me more room to do it. I always feel as if my nose is about to bump into a wall in most other games where you don't move around freely. Sigh.

Have a good time with your replacement!


Gil.

I thought the older game "NiBiRu" was one for good puzzles and it's available in the "Large File" section at BigFish - but I don't know if it will play in Win7 OR if you have already played it, of course

Yes, I played Nibiru. Loved it. I have played so many games at this point that it is difficult to find a new one when I need it.

That is just how it felt for me when I played the Tree of Life demo, especially in the hallway. You turn around and a door is RIGHT there. ha ha

Crystal Valley is a nice game but very much an 'adventure light' and it has no voice acting. I wouldn't recommend it over the other two.

Rhiannon is all about solitary first person exploration and it has an interesting story. There are no characters to interact with. If you like that type of game it's a good choice.
Tree of life is a 3rd person game that has everything you expect from a traditional adventure game in the way of story and puzzles and it's a big improvement over the first game (Scorpio Ritual).

I'd say that Tree of Life is the safest choice unless you prefer the solitary exploration of Rhiannon.

I'd also go for Tree of Life, and I agree with HandsFree that it was a big improvement over Scorpio Ritual. It's a shame the series won't be continuing.

Reenie,

I played Rhiannon without getting lost at all, even when I get lost in real life going out of one shop in the mall , what I did it was to draw a map, the place is not that big. If you don't mind taking notes maybe you could do the same.

I would choose Rhiannon, but maybe I like different games than you do.

Rhiannon is 1st person, snapshot type. I found it more difficult than the other two games, and thought the story was more interesting. It's a solitary type game without a lot of conversation.

Legend of Crystal Valley is sort of a fantasy type game. The puzzles were on the easy side. It's 3rd person. The character you play and see walking around on the screen had sort of bizarre proportions, which bothered me.
***Mobygames picture***

Chronicles of Mystery: Tree of Life is also 3rd person game. It's the most professional-"looking" of the three games. If you've played the first game, Chronicles of Mystery: The Scorpio Ritual, you know pretty much what to expect. You play as archeologist Sylvie Leroux, investigating legendary stuff. Not as difficult as Rhiannon, but more difficult than Legend of Crystal Valley.

Thank you all! Those comments were very helpful, coupled with getting a little taste of two of the games via trial versions (Rhiannon and Tree). Legend does not have a trial version, but now I am pretty sure it would not suit me, based on your comments.

I had forgotten about the aspect of being alone in a game or not. I don't particularly mind being alone in a game, if it is a good story, but yes, it is more fun if you have other characters around. Oddly, I got a sense from the Tree trial game that I would be alone all the time, whereas in Rhiannon I was chatting with two other characters almost immediately. Maybe the beginnings of those games are not representative of the rest of their stories?

I think I'll go with Rhiannon first, since it is described as "harder." Few things are more appealing to me than a good head-scratcher.

Thanks again. I love having this game community!

Have fun Reenie!

Ana

Hi Reenie...Good choice! Had I seen this post earlier I would have recommended that one. Have fun.
Terri

Glad you've found something you think you'll enjoy, Reenie !!

Reenie,

I really liked Chronicles of Mystery: Tree of Life.

You'll love Rhiannon. It's every bit as good as the spooky, more popular Dark Fall, Barrow Hill and Scratches but has the added intrigue of Welsh setting and folklore, making it a very unique adventure game.

I like Rhiannon, while I wouldn't say it's exactly in the same league as Dark Fall. It does have a certain style and will hold most people's interest. I had gotten well into it when my XP went to bytesville, and I was forced to start it ALL OVER. Not as exciting the second time around, until I got passed where I had been before PC death. Nice graphics, a LOT of traveling and picking up things. It is worth the time and effort, even for the never seen cat.

I would of played first .. Chronicles of Mystery: Tree of Life.

But thats just what I would of played..

Have fun with your choice..

Interesting disparity of prices for boxed copies of Rhiannon at ***Amazon*** -- everything from $6.99 to $53.98

Yes, it is pretty amazing. A little noodling around before buying anything always pays off!