Sable Maze: Twelve Fears Collector's Edition - New IHOG on Big Fish

Today's game for Club Members, tomorrow's game for all.

You can download Sable Maze: Twelve Fears Collector's Edition here.



As always, please remember to come back and tell us what you think.

Happy gaming!

Thanks, Marian.

Ana

Thanks, Marian.

Looks interesting. Thanks Marian.

Hi, Marian!

I downloaded the demo and loved it. I only have one Game Club credit so, if there isn't a really good sale tomorrow, I'll buy another Game Club credit and pick it up.

BTW, I just checked the reviews on BF's game page, and the rating has gone from 5.0 to 3.3. I'm still gonna take a chance, though.

Susan

Thanks for letting us know, Susan. I haven't played the demo yet, but the game sounds a bit different based on comments I have read.

Hi, Marian!

My demo lasted about 50 minutes. It was heavy on puzzles and all of the HO scenes I encountered were interactive. I guess you could say it is different but, for me, in a good way.

Susan

It sounds interesting - I'll check it out.

When relying on the reviews on BFG forum, I always take into account the reasons someone might like or dislike a game. I don't necessarily take the star ratings at face value. My standards aren't quite as strict as some other gamers. I've found the Sable Maze games to be good choices overall.

Hi, Sparkle!

I feel exactly the same as you do. I use the BF reviews as a guideline, but what some gamers enjoy, I hate ... and vice versa. I can't remember which game it was, but it received close to a 5.0 rating and all of the reviewers were gushing over it. I downloaded and played the demo, and I absolutely hated it.

I enjoy puzzles that aren't too difficult and, since the HO scenes became interactive (and some games even offer an alternative), I now enjoy them as well. Throw in an interesting storyline and I'm a happy camper !

Susan

Hi, Marian!

When I saw that BF had a half-price sale on this weekend, I was delighted; however, when you read the fine print, it's half off of the regular price. I really wanted this game so I bought 1 Game Club credit and picked it up for $6.99.

I don't want to sound ungrateful (okay, I am ungrateful ) but, when BF has a half-price sale, I wish it was half off of the Game Club price for those of us who are members, because we are only saving $4 while non-members are saving $10.

Susan

I had to read the fine print too, Susan. I'm glad you were able to pick up the game regardless.

With the Memorial Day holiday weekend coming up next weekend here in the States, I'm thinking it's a likely time that we might see the really good discount for Game Club members. Here's hoping.

Hi, Marian!

I'm sure BF will have a Memorial Day Weekend sale, so let' hope it's a 2-for1 sale and I can pick up a few games I've been holding off on !

Susan

Pros - 12 Fears doesn't take itself too seriously, a fine quality in a genre overloaded with pretentious portentous music, black smoke laden sturm and drang, and the pressing need to find a glasscutter instead of a brick. Dad rescuing Amber from the maze rooms reminds me of the times I've seen bumbling harried dads--the player character is a father so I'll stick with that--following a toddler from one calamity to the next. The facial expressions and postures of adult and child read on the one hand conflict between allowing exploration and minimizing disaster and on the other, blithe confidence until reality enters with a crushing left hook in the form of a pet cat that doesn't want to be mauled or a tree that won't get out of the way. In 12 Fears, teen-age Amber darts from calamity to calamity without considering consequences. As a kind-hearted allegory of the perils of shepherding a young person toward maturity and equally kind-hearted parody of HOPA formulaic plots, 12 Fears fires on all cylinders. I'm almost halfway through Dad's efforts to restore his daughter to safety, and thus far the game has only slipped into taking itself too seriously once or twice. I quite enjoyed letting Amber hang from a tree limb next to a balcony railing while I solved the puzzles needed to reel her in so that she could flit into life's next danger zone.

For me, the large number of mini games was a good thing.

Cons - For me, these mini games are nowhere near challenging enough. When I have finally found all the puzzle pieces to trigger a mini game, I want it to take longer to solve than it did to find the parts. Much Longer. I wouldn't have minded in the least if Amber had to tread water for another an hour while I solved a challenging freestanding puzzle. Amber could use some cooling off.

Another con for me are HOGs in general. As HOGs go, these are better than most. However, HOGs for me are not the point therefore I use hints in them all the time. My method is to wait until the last object (or rather what I fervently hopa is the last object) and then use the hint button. Even after using a hint in those for me tedious scenes, 12 Fears seems to plague me with a banner heralding my bravado in not using hints. As far as I am concerned, the absence of a blooming banner is a great reason to use a hint. Stop telling me I am not doing so.

Suggestion: Now that developers are trying to please by allowing custom settings, please, customize mini game difficulty. This means someone is going to have to give puzzle design serious thought. Sorry but I don't see an alternative. Nevertheless, customizable levels with genuinely more difficult mini games would be a pleasure.

12 fears does have black smoke. This is the one instance since Mad pointed out the HOPA fetish with black smoke, that I didn't mind those rascally tendrils. They worked within the framework of allegory and parody.

EDITED TO ADD: I would be willing to pay full price for an otherwise good game that had more difficult puzzles so long as developers do not start thinking more difficult means more pieces in a jig saw.

Thanks very much for that entertaining review, 8dognight.

I love it when a game thread from months ago is resurrected and commented upon - there are so many HOPA games out there at this point that it's easy for a game to be overlooked.