You've been asked to cover a highly anticipated competition in New York City when something goes terribly wrong. Can you escape the world of illusions?
To say that the offerings presented in these 7 weeks of 2015 have been overall less than stellar is an understatement. Blam Games has corrected this with Dangerous Games: Illusionist which is in a word superb. There was an illusionist competition 20 years ago which ended in tragedy at a hotel which was devastated by fire and the winning magician ( a man in a red mask )apparently died. A hotelier restores the building, invites new illusionists for a second competition and a female journalist receives an invitation to commentate on the event. This is where the fun starts. The show begins with the man in the red mask mysteriously taking over the show. The hotelier explains that red mask is the man killed in the first show so many years ago. It is left up to the reporter, that's us, to decipher the coming illusions and determine why the masked man has become the embodiment of evil. Blam has drawn the game very well and the cut scenes tell a story in a quite interesting manner. In one well done segment during the demo we learn that red mask is an orphan taken under the wing of a magician and learns the tricks of the trade to become a master illusionist himself. The HO scenes are top notch and the puzzles are very creative indeed. We game players are given something that we can really get our teeth into. I often decry the sameness apparent in so many offerings. Dangerous Games cuts no new ground here since there has been many HOPAs wherein someone good becomes someone bad and the player's task is to determine why. What makes Illusionist so great is the manner in which the story evolves, both in the cut scenes and the game play. There are magician cards to collect. This is a must have game for me and I am sure lots of HOPA addicts like myself will feel likewise. Thank you BLAM for what will be a contender for 2015's game of the year.
When the intro to this game started my initial impression was that this would be a rather poor effort at Japanese anime. The cutscene is not well done at all. If there is any aim at offering any sort of a story line it is also lacking. To my mind, there is a man who has a sort of reverse Midas touch in that everything he touches withers and dies. There is a young lady sleeping in a field which becomes overcome by a huge black cloud or it might be dense smoke. That's it. Then the game starts. We get a series of jigsaw puzzles that are beautiful to look at. This is the game's strongest point. I completed the first segment of the game which consisted of about 15 puzzles. When completed there is a cut to a landscape and a lava flow ceases. Then back to the puzzles without so much as a how do you do. Therefore the apparent total lack of a cohesive story is what dooms the game for me. A developer should not even make a stab at a story if it ultimately gets told in a slipshod manner or not at all. I guess the game will have its supporters, mostly from those who revel at this type of game. For me, the total package is important and the package is missing too many parts.
The Art of Deception brings us into a new realm as far as HOPAs are concerned, this one being associated with the world of art restoration and I can guess also that art forgery is involved. Therefore a plus as far as the story line goes. Another asset this game has is the use of some imaginative puzzles most particularly one early in the game where box segments must be aligned from smallest to largest. Unfortunately for me the rest of the game ( and I am basing my opinion solely on the demo ) is rather mundane. We have another female protagonist, this time a journalist, who decides that interviewing an art restorer Lisa will be a front page story as Lisa is credited with fixing a long lost masterpiece soon to be auctioned. Lisa is sort of taken aback and acts strangely when approached by the journalist. Lisa suddenly takes a powder and we meet her boyfriend Felix who I knew from the get go would be a villain in the piece. Turns out he is at the demo end. So what started out as something novel results in being a repetition of countless other games. The gameplay is too easy for my liking so this one ends up being a no sale. There are morphs, collectible paint tubes and letters of the alphabet scattered around for those who cannot carry on without these extras. This is not among Eipix better efforts. It's a pass for me.
We recently got about 2 feet of snow and another foot is predicted over the weekend so Deadly Cold is consistent with current weather patterns. I'd rather have seen a new game set in the tropics to warm me up a bit. The story is nothing new as there have been a goodly number of games in frozen worlds that have been better presented. One of the Dark Parables comes immediately to mind. This game is OK but nothing in it ( demo only ) gets my attention to the point that I must have it. Our heroine is contacted by her BFF Kira to visit her and her new husband Victor. Upon arrival, bizarre weather events in the form of a summertime blizzard befalls the trio. Victor is apparently abducted by an ice golem, Kira is stuck under a broken streetlamp and its up to us to save everyone. Via HO segments, none with traditional word lists during the demo, and way too easy puzzles, the player makes progress. Did everyone note that VIctor's driver's license lists him as being 7 foot tall. Kira must be really tall also since she is only about a head shorter. At any rate we soon learn that Victor is more than we anticipated even though Kira is totally in the dark as to his background and what will be his involvement in this escapade as the game continues. The demo ends with the introduction of Vic's dad who is the ruler of some otherworld bound by snow and ice. The father is rather ticked off at his son that he married a human so he has one of his ice monsters take Kira captive once again and our quest continues should we elect to buy the game. There isn't enough in Deadly Cold to warrant a CE purchase. The story is old hat, the game play is too easy and there is a minimum of collectible items. At some future date I might use a free game credit but I will probably need to twist my own arm to do so. For me Deadly Cold is merely lukewarm. I give it a mild thumbs up.
I am very frustrated with Lost Planet. Initially my reaction was this effort was among the terrible games that BFG has presented thus far in 2015. A spaceship crash lands on a heretofore unexplored alien planet. Before the astronauts can venture outside the ship ( it has been determined there is sustainable atmosphere ) certain repairs must be made and provisions gathered prior to opening hatches. A computer needs fixing, as does a plasma cutter. We must restore lighting and fill a backpack. Some of the work involves locating items and placing them within circles as is the case with the computer for example. There are traditional HOG segments. In these, some of the items needed are ridiculously obscure and quite difficult to find. I'd imaging players with either poor eyesight or those using laptops or smaller monitors will be befuddled. The characters are essentially paper doll cutouts with no movement and the game has no voiceovers. Once the ship repairs and other items located some of the crew is ready to explore the planet. One of the crew needs a dozen forms of plant llife and 17 crystals for reasons unknown. These can be found in a couple locations. Some are easy to eyeball and some hard to find. One thing I hate in games is having the cursor change to a hand to pick things up. This game does this all the time. Very annoying indeed !! There is a hand held computer that serves as a guidebook of sorts.
The game smacks of an element we have seen all to often in recent months. Either the developer is new and hasn't the know how or creativity to provide that which has become standard fare in today's HOPAs or this is a game that is many years old ( when the technology was in its infant stages ) and BFG is presenting it as something new. My guess this is a game created years ago. The good in Lost Planet are the HO scenes itself and the story. The bad is everything else. Unfortunately the bad outweighs the good. Had this effort been offered by Eipix, ERS, or any other of the better game makers, it might have been superb. Given who the creator is the game is lackluster. Nice try but no sale.
When I read the title of the TGT my emotions were mixed. On the one hand my enthusiasm level was piqued at the mere thought of taking the Mary Shelley classic and formulating a game. On the other hand, Frankenstein games have been offered before and they have been rather drab. Furthermore the offerings from BFG so far this year have left much to be desired. While this game seems dated in terms of when it was made, it passes muster on a variety of levels. We are all familiar with the Frankenstein story. I don't mind the degree of " poetic license " involving the story. Viktor Frankenstein needs our help since his experiments have gone haywire. ( Thank you developer for making the main character a gentleman ) In this story Igor is the evil perpetrator rather than the hunchbacked minion in the Shelley novel. The game story includes Elizabeth, Frankenstein's wife who by appearance needs some help with her eye makeup. The bride is tormented by an electrified monster and eventually abducted by Viktor's creation.
As to the game play, it is somewhat simplistic. The HO segments are quite ordinary with 4 items initially listed and then having a new one of a dozen total added after finding the first item. There is much interactivity is these scenes. The HO segments are well drawn and are crisp and clear. In fact the entire game looks good insofar as eye appeal is concerned. The puzzles are routine and offer little challenge to experienced gamers. Given the dearth of quality games thus far in 2015, Master of Death is a pleasant surprise. It's a decent offering at SE pricing. I am still not sure if I want to add it to my game collection. If so, a free game coupon will be used rather than a purchase. While not a stunner, I sincerely hope this game is a harbinger of better things to come from BFG.
What is happening with our favorite game provider?? Personally I can count only 3 games that have enticed me at all and I have only purchased one of them. We have been suffering through a litany of lousy card games, a couple of run of the mill Match 3's and an abundance of awful HOPA's. The best thing we have seen this year is Fantasy Mosaic 6. I think a lot of BFG fans are saving lots of money so far this year. This Mystery Tales from Domini is another dud. Too bad since this developer has accounted well for itself in the past. We have another dreary case of a young lady overcome by some evil witch who needs to occupy her body in order to continue her nefarious ways and torment the world. Mom ( and it's almost always a mom ) must vanquish the witch and save her daughter. Been there / done that I cannot imagine how many times. The characters are extremely wooden in their movements and speech patterns. There is some man who has built a new hotel on the site of an old mansion reputed to have previously been owned by the witch. He speaks with this never ending silly grin on his face broadcasting to the player that he will be one of the bad guys which we determine is true at the demo end. The witch isn't strong enough yet to take over daughter's body and she lets us in on the fact that only her diary can be used against her. Were I the witch, I'd keep that info a closely guarded secret. As in some other games done much better than this bomb, the mom gravitates to and fro in a parallel world, one seemingly normal and the other devastated. To its credit and this is faint praise indeed given the overall mess the game is, there are a couple of interesting HOG segments and a few of the puzzles require some thought. Had this game been released 5 years ago it would be better received by me. However it is 2015 and Twilight World does not cut the mustard. I have said before that perhaps BFG might better serve its clients by abandoning its new game every day plan. We have become so oversaturated with so-called new games that there is practically nothing these days that can be seen as novel or original. Why not have a new game once or twice per week. Then BFG can do a better job of critiquing games itself rather than offering so much junk. I have certainly been saving my hard earned dollars and delving into my purchase history to replay good games.Mystery Tales is a complete mess. Avoid it.
Here it is. January 21st and there have been lots more awful games than even mediocre games let alone the smattering of good offerings. Today's Royal Flush Solitaire is among the dregs that we are supposed to pay for. Purportedly this card disaster combines a form of solitaire with 5 card draw poker. The player if he doesn't fall asleep after about 10 minutes of this ineptitude selects cards to form the best 5 card hand possible. YAWN !! As in all games of this type the player can purchase power ups and other such items that are intended to enhance the enjoyment of the game. Unfortunately this mess is so bad it is impossible to enhance. Every now and again, the game is raided by the cops. Why ? The tournaments are described as being legit. The blame for allowing this to be selected as a new game of the day must be laid at the feet of Big Fish. Stylistically this appears to be something created years ago and merely taken out of mothballs. This royal flush needs just that..... a flushing.........into the toilet !!
Starting with Match Gems 4, and continuing with #'s 5 and 6, this developer of grid games is far and away at the pinnacle of its game. Using 3 colors in each grid is the finest innovation to come along in games of this ilk. So far no other nanogram maker has even considered doing likewise. Furthermore, Match Gems does not force feed its players with an overload of easy grids early on in the game. There is one easy to fathom tutorial at the onset ( for folks new to the genre ) then there is no hand holding at all. Personally I never use hints while attempting completion of any grid. There are certainly lots of hints for those inclined to use them. The background music in MG6 is unobtrusive, actually it's quite easy on the ear. Our penguin friend who starts each MG finds himself this time in a truly alien world. Our job is to enhance it by completion of the grids. As in all MG's there are 20 groups of 5 grids each. I have only completed the demo so far yet I assume after group # 20 there will be some random and difficult 10 x 10's as there are with its predecessors. A few years ago, the World Mosaic games stood out among its peers. Today Match Gems cannot be topped. Lovers of grid games will gravitate toward this effort. For those who have yet to appreciate the genre, give any MG a shot. You just might be pleased at having done so.
At one time, ERS was one of the bell cows of the PC gaming world. Top notch games were generally provided. Of late, this is not the case. Twilight Phenomena is an example of the decline of this once superb developer. For starters, the story line is a rehash of one given to us hundreds of times. A sister is visiting her sibling, this time at the Strauss Circus which is a venue that has long pleased the sisters entire family. We know of course this is not to be a pleasant reunion. The evil ringmaster has abducted a sister and her remaining sister ( this was so lame I didn't even bother to register their names in my memory ) will of course be the eventual rescuer. The ringmaster is a wanna-be scientist seeking miracle cures. What he has managed is producing a gizmo that combines animal forms such as a turtle and giraffe combo. The nefarious evildoer has plans for the kidnap victim and those of us willing to keep on with the game will foil the plot. Count me among those who will not reach the conclusion.
One of the things ERS does, or should I say does not do, involves lip movement during cut scenes. ERS uses eye movement, limb movement etc. Heck, in this one the kidnap victim even is shown with her chest rising and falling while breathing. If this can be done, why is it that we never see folks actually moving lips while talking? This has always been an annoyance for me with the developer. We encounter transformed entities that can be resubstantiated to their normal selves via elixirs that our heroine formulates. The first of these is a girl/monkey. There is a wheel of fortune type object that dispenses coins used to heal animals of their deformities. The HO segments are nothing new but I guess that is to be expected in all games. We get to photograph certain objects which are clues to expanding the story. A couple of the puzzles were novel. I liked the one wherein the player must match an item ( such as a piece of meat ) with one of 6 bizarre flower pots in a version of the old cup and ball game. Most puzzles though are quite routine. Given this is a CE, I found no collectibles or morphs. Doesn't mean they are not there, I just didn't see any. As a circus themed game. all of the Weird Park offerings are heads and tails above the not so Incredible Show. I do hope ERS gets back on its game and improves its offerings. Sadly this effort is far from phenomenal.