Adventure Games | Casualicious

Little Folk of Faery

Posted by Ruff on December 30th, 2009

(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

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Before 2009 ends (and after a long absence from Casualicious), I hope to squeeze in a casual game review that I even promised to do a long while back. Little Folk of Faery, a game made by Kylotonn and Orange Entertainment, is a simulation game much like Virtual Villagers but with better graphics and a new twist to the genre. And what is this new twist? Well, it’s simple really, but I’ll leave out the explaining to the rest of the review.

The story of the game starts as the heroine of the game (that’s you) inherited a curiosity shop from her grandparents. Of course, she’ll begin to see the shop in shambles with a matching great tree growing at the shop’s center, but that’s where she comes in and cleans the shop up. Well, before all that though, you’ll have to help the fairy creatures that appeared near the tree rebuild their home too, prompting the game tutorial to run afterwards.

The gameplay of Little Folk of Faery is really much like Virtual Villagers. You grab little fairy folks around key points in the area and watch as they complete the quests you make them do. Max their stats through training on 4 different kinds of skills – harvesting, knowledge, discovery and music in order to make them work faster and more efficient. Of course, a couple of them should be gathering food, or else, you’ll be failing the main idea to keep the population happy and growing.

Little Folk of Faery Complete all the quests and you get to finish the game, it’s just that simple. But even though there are just 9 main quests and 11 secondary ones, it will still take days to complete the game as each quest branches out into separate tasks to fulfill. If you’re able to, having more than 1 fairy folk doing a quest will greatly help in finishing faster, and random events may also help or hinder your progress. Just watch out for wistful spirits when doing quests, since a fairy’s morale will drop fast if the spirit is not distracted by an able musician.

Completing quests will get you more enchantment points than just the daily routine of the fairies. Points are spent at the Tree of Knowledge section of the Tome of Lore (the book that tracks all your achievements in Little Folk of Faery). More knowledge will mean better fairy performance on tasks. Knowledge will also unlock quests, serving as prerequisites for your fairies to access them.

The Tome of Lore also tracks the characters you come across during your adventure through its Bestiary section. In here, you learn more about each fairy folk type as well as other creatures that inhabit your realm. Aside from this, the tome also keeps track of collectibles – little sparkling things that appear randomly throughout the whole map, giving you additional knowledge when you collect all of them. Just be sure not to pick up a fairy holding some collectible or else the item will be dropped and lost.

All the gameplay of Little Folk of Faery certainly feels like playing Virtual Villagers or any other similar game; however, there is still a little bit of twist as what was said earlier on the review. Completing quests in the fairy realm not only develops the realm’s state but the outside world too, which is the curiosity shop the heroine inherited. The main character will have flashes of memory as she recovers items in the real world. I noticed how the ambience of the shop also gets better as you progress through the game.

I know it’s not nice to compare one game from another since I’ve been doing it very much during the course of this review, but in the case of this game, comparison will fare it well. Little Folk of Faery has great graphics, an expanding and engaging storyline, and of course, the little twist that distinguishes it from the rest of the pack. Of course, it still plays much like any other simulation game – that is it will take you a very long time in order to finish the game and watch the story ending. Well, you can always just leave the fairies doing their share of tasks and turn the game off, come back tomorrow and I bet the tasks are all finished already.

All in all, Little Folk of Faery is definitely a game worth buying and I count myself very lucky to get to play it for free. It’s simple to play and engaging enough to keep you for hours until you give up and have a crack at it early the day after.

Little Folk of Faery Download

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Elementals: The Magic Key

Posted by Ruff on October 18th, 2009

(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Elementals: The Magic Key is a hidden object – adventure game that blends both puzzle and action into one casual game experience. Set in the fantasy world of Eiron, you play as a young wizard off to save his sister from the bad guys. And even with magic and wit by your side, it’s going to be one tough ride.

Albert is the name of the wizard in training and his trusty sidekick Fellian the Familiar is always there to give him advice. After his sister Lilian was kidnapped by the evil Sibelius, and the Key of Eiron shards scattered all around the world during the process, it’s now Albert’s task to gather all the shards back in order to prevent it falling into the hands of evil. Using magic, he has to crack witty puzzles and battle dangerous villains and of course, meet other friendly creatures along the way.

The main gameplay of Elementals: The Magic Key is hidden object, that is to say, you have to find what Albert instructs you to in order to move on with the story. There are no random objects though, since all items you need to find will be needed to crack puzzles and other hindrances throughout your adventure. And if you find yourself stuck, Fellian’s hint button will help you find those items without any trouble at all.

In each scene, you have to speak with other fantasy characters, interact with the surroundings using your gathered tools and cast spells. Many times, you’ll come across mind-numbing puzzles in order to move on with the adventure. This will engage a pop-up window where you will play the mini-game. Some of the puzzles are quite hard, so if you find yourself wanting to quit, just wait for the door-like icon to activate and skip the puzzle behind.

There’s a second gameplay involved in Elementals: The Magic Key – the battle mode against the enemies you encounter along the way. This involves a unique turn-based system set on a chess-like board with various elementals for you to move. The objective is to eliminate all of your enemy’s elementals by using your own elementals against them.

This part of the game needs great planning and strategy in order to clear since in later levels, your enemy will also gain the power-ups that you also use, which is really quite frustrating if you don’t think before you act. Just remember the basic mechanics – 3 of the same level and kind of elementals can combine to form a stronger one when lined up together. Stronger elementals have more life and greater destructive power, so try to make them as soon as possible.

Power-ups for the battle mode are gained by helping characters in the adventure mode. They are very helpful whenever in a pinch, so use them whenever possible to clear as many enemy elementals as you can. Power-ups are activated through elemental fusions you make, therefore involving more strategy in order for you to win each encounter.

Elementals: The Magic Key is made beautifully with all animation, backgrounds and design made as flawless as possible. Sounds and visuals join together to form a fantasy world you’ll enjoy playing in, making the game very hard to put down once you already start playing. And there are full of surprises and twists in the story too, comparable to the most popular casual adventure games in the market today.

The gameplay is very unique and the storyline drives the adventure unlike most hidden object games that involve random item hunting. The unique battle mode and puzzle mini-games are enjoyable to play and are repeatable through the Bonus feature in the main menu. All of these making Elementals: The Magic Key one of the best adventures I’ve seen this year.

Elementals: The Magic Key Download

Scratches Director’s Cut and Murder in the Abbey Preview

Posted by Ruff on September 21st, 2009

(No Ratings Yet)

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There are two new digital downloads from Legacy Interactive and both of them has the term “eerie” in mind. Scratches Director’s Cut and Murder in the Abbey are two adventure games in the suspense department that are set to put shivers down your spine during play. Both are already available through retail in the past, and are now offered as digital downloads with added bonuses too.

Anyway, if you’re not familiar with the games yet, the following previews shows a highlight of what each game can offer for your gaming satisfaction.

Scratches Director’s Cut

An alternate ending and two additional hours of game play are included in this new chapter to the popular atmospheric mystery adventure game for the PC. Brimming with eerie twists and terrifying surprises, the game is set in and around a solitary Victorian mansion that conceals a terrible secret…a long since forgotten story from the past emerges to haunt the present. The careful combination of inventory-based and deductive-style puzzles are integrated with a riveting storyline, non-linear game play, intricately detailed graphics, and an entrancing soundtrack that immerse the player in a haunting Gothic atmosphere.

Murder in the Abbey

This game has monks, murder, and above all, suspense. An old abbey is the scene of a series of mysterious murders, and only one man can put a stop to the slaughter. Former Grand Inquisitor Leonardo and his assistant Bruno are sent by the Vatican to the isolated abbey to investigate the strange goings-on surrounding a carefully guarded secret. Yet, they’ve hardly arrived when their quest is overshadowed by an attempt on their lives.

Murder in the Abbey is a mystery of cinematic proportions whose suspense goes far beyond that of a conventional adventure game!

But don’t let these selling pitches dictate what you think of the game though. What I really suggest is to check it out at Legacy Games and see all screenshots and player reviews for more in-depth information.

Legacy Games

Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger! Preview

Posted by Ruff on August 11th, 2009

(No Ratings Yet)

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Here’s another preview coming from Her Interactive to prepare for the release of Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger! by September.

Enjoy!

You, as Nancy Drew, must stop a bomber from ruining the Redondo Spa clients’ rejuvenation and relaxation. The high maintenance clients won’t be happy if they find that their retreat is about to explode, even if the bombs are more prankster grossouts than dangerous.

Now, Nancy Drew is undercover as the spa gopher catering to the customers’ eccentric requests while defusing bombs. From celebrities who escape here to the receptionist at the front desk—everyone is a suspect! Who is sabotaging the spa and can Nancy catch the culprit before the spa loses all of its clients?

Features:

First person POV empowers players to become Nancy Drew and crack the case
Story-based experience with a compelling mystery that moves forward with logical and clear goals
As Nancy Drew, players find clues, interview suspects, and solve puzzles to unravel the story
Intuitive game experience is easy to pick-up-and-play, user-friendly and forgiving
Delivers the instant gratification and rewards that mass market gamers expect
Innovative sparkling magnifying glass system eliminates endless searching for vague clues
Clear goals with lots of hints help the player navigate and solve the mystery
Lifelike characters with intriguing profiles and realistic graphics immerse the player in the mystery
Organic, story-based problems and puzzles involve true ‘detective’ work - not just observation and deduction (e.g. defusing bombs and snooping in private offices)
Redesigned UI gives player more options to interact with the environment
Point Rewards: The better sleuth you are, the more points you can earn to unlock bonus content
In-game riddles, activities, and puzzles add more brain-teasers to the game
Alternate endings: 6 different endings depending on choices the player makes

Screenshots:

Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger!

Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child

Posted by Ruff on April 26th, 2009

(6 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Faye is back once again in another hidden object adventure as we get to review today the sequel to one of Playfirst’s most successful series, Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child. As always, you get to immerse yourself in a stunning magical world filled with wonder and amazement in this installment. And of course, pit yourself in a whole new array of brain teasers along the way.

The story of the game starts with a woman called Brenna having the same recurring dream of her supposed to be husband and daughter. In the dream, her daughter was kidnapped and what follows next after her wake is a message from the same man who she remembers as her husband in her dream. Soon on the beginning parts of the game, she regains her memory of her husband and daughter. She now knows her real name as Faye and what follows next is a magical adventure to recover her daughter, Lyra from the clutches of the Fairy Queen of Dreams, Lilith.

Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child is set to follow the success of the previous Dream Chronicles games, which means that it also revolves around the same addictive gameplay. While it’s considered as a hidden object game, you won’t be shown any list to find in the scenes. All you have to do is to solve the situations as they come, by finding tools, interact them with the scenes and continue on your long journey ahead.

Of course, in the tradition of Dream Chronicles, you’ll still be amazed at how much work is put into the presentation of the game. All of the scenes are beautiful and the fantasy behind the game stands out very well on the realistic nature of the graphics. In a word, the presentation is just plain awesome, showing how Dream Chronicles is taken very seriously by its developers.

In terms of gameplay, I won’t even begin to show any dismay. All clicking functions are responsive and small objects still stand out without sacrificing challenge on finding them. Of course, there are still some partially hidden objects behind the scenes but I guess that’s prevalent on hidden object games anyway.

There is no time limit in Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child and there’s also no penalty for miss-clicks. However, this is offset by the limited hint system through a crystal ball located at the lower left of the screen. Your husband in the ball won’t show you object locations, but will almost always just remind you of what you need to do next. Either that or a polite explanation that he doesn’t even know what to say to you.

While there’s challenge in hidden object finding and interacting, Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child definitely shines more on the puzzle aspect of the game. I know there’s no less to expect coming from this series, but it’s still worth mentioning the innovative brain teasers you’ll encounter throughout the course of your adventure. There are puzzles I’ve never seen before on other games of this type, and the game explains the objective of each puzzle too, and not just some random mini-game pop-up.

All in all, the game is really a good blend of fun, challenge and addiction. It even introduces a brand new way of backtracking through the previous levels by the use of the Nexus Gateway. New levels can be unlocked on the gateway by finding and using Dream Jewels you can collect or forge throughout your adventure, therefore adding a new element of challenge in the whole gameplay.

Being a well-known brain teaser, it’s easy to get stuck on levels without much help coming from the limited hint system. Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child really needs a great deal of analytical thinking to play, therefore making it easier to play the game with friends if you need help in the in-game situations. Of course, you can always challenge yourself by playing solo, making it a rewarding experience as you finish each stage of the game.

In conclusion, you just have to try this game out and buy it if you have a chance. It’s a great addition to your casual gaming library and I recommend it very much as a perfect accompaniment during your free gaming time.

Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child Download