Simulation 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.

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DinerTown Tycoon

Posted by Ruff on May 10th, 2009

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Who says Playfirst cannot deviate from the usual time management gameplay of all their Dash games? That’s because this time around, Flo of Diner Dash fame stars not in a time management casual installment but in a strategy simulation game with DinerTown Tycoon. And aside from Flo, we also get to see all the usual hungry citizens of DinerTown, as well as many of the familiar stars of previous Dash games.

DinerTown was put in a bad situation after the appearance of Grub Burgers, a new chain of restaurants trying to put all the DinerTown restaurants out of business. Grub Burgers are putting Ingredient X into all their burgers, transforming citizens into mindless zombies consuming large quantities of their products. The Mayor is no good in putting a stop to the madness, thus marks the cue for Flo to step in and unite all of DinerTown restaurateurs against the evil Grub Burgers.

Deviating from the usual time management gameplay, DinerTown Tycoon is a simulation game wherein you just plan your restaurants’ day to day activities and afterwards, let the game AI run and determine your day’s profit and accomplishments. You get to play through five parts of DinerTown, starting from Squid Row, Avenue Flo, Bistro Bay, Thyme Square and lastly, Champagne Falls. And your objective for each level is to drive a branch of Grub Burgers out of business by converting a set number of citizens into patrons of the local restaurants.

The game interface puts you on the top view of the part of the town you wish to play, putting you in perfect view of a Grub Burger branch and your very own restaurants. The first step is to view your goals for the level, reviewing how many customers you’ll need to satisfy against how your competitor is doing. In the Goal interface, you can also research on each customer’s wants and needs; however, research will cost you money, which mostly will hurt your finance more than just playing the game without research.

Next in the order of business in DinerTown Tycoon is the News interface wherein you get to see the daily paper about the day’s crowd number, what ingredient is in demand, and the daily chef challenge – an optional side quest you can play if you aim to slow down Grub Burger’s increasing influence. Following the news during preparation will mostly earn you big bucks, and the daily chef challenge is very much useful in later levels wherein competition is at its peak.

The Prep tabs are divided among the restaurants you own for each stage, wherein you can plan your menu for the day as well as the ingredients and décor you wish to purchase before proceeding in simulating the day’s activities. This is where heavy finance management comes in, which is somehow also the game’s greatest challenge as you progress through the levels.

Actual action in DinerTown Tycoon takes place in the Neighborhood tab, where you have an option to buy advertisements, purchase restaurants or start the day if you think you’re ready enough. Afterwards, just wait and click on customers who wish to give you tips. Flo may sometimes appear too, which is an added bonus as she hauls customers into visiting your active shops.

One thing really surprising about this game is its deviation from Playfirst’s run of time management games. It’s a fun new way to play all of the DinerTown characters and it’s like a new breath of fresh air since there’s no hectic clicking and dragging involved this time around. The game is still action-packed and the game is still challenging, just not that fast-paced as all of Flo’s previous games.

DinerTown Tycoon is also very dynamic in how you plan on approaching each challenge as they appear before you. This gives the game a replay value you’ll keep abusing as long as you own the full version, until of course if you play through all the game probabilities, which is something highly unattainable.

Bottom line is that the game is both innovative and fun, definitely a great new way of enjoying Flo and her gang of restaurateur friends.

DinerTown Tycoon Download

Westward III: Gold Rush

Posted by Ruff on January 10th, 2009

(5 votes, average: 4.80 out of 5)

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After guiding settlers and thwarting bandit gangs from the previous Westward games, it’s now time for your pioneers to stake their claim from Northern California’s vast riches in Westward III: Gold Rush. A bright future awaits three new heroes as they find adventure in this third installment of the hit life simulator franchise. There are new stories to tell and new challenges to face with the same old gameplay mechanics that ensures this game to be a hit for fans and non-fans alike.

Just like Westward II: Heroes of the Frontier, in this game, you are to choose between three pioneers each with his or her own story to tell. However, even though each will follow a different path towards their destiny, there’s one common denominator between them too, and that’s to start a new life in search of greater fortune in the west. Furthermore, choosing your alter ego will also unlock one free building for you to use, depending on your hero’s personality and expertise.

Westward III: Gold Rush plays the same as the earlier games of the series where your objective is to fulfill tasks and quests in order to build self sustaining settlements and continue on your mission. As the hero of the story, your main mission is to tend to the people living in your current town and keep them happy and well-supplied. Building different structures, searching for supply sources and providing jobs is only part of the story. Defending the town against bandits by hiring lawmen is equally as important.

All controls of the game make use of the mouse, with some alternatives using the keyboard buttons. You are provided with an action panel, a map and several other tools at the bottom of your screen. Above, you will find your missions, the store interface, and well, more buttons that you’ll go visit from time to time. All in all, the icons can be a bit confusing at first, but just as traditional Westward fashion, you’ll get use to all the tools in the interface as time goes by playing the game.

Westward III: Gold Rush is rendered in full 3D which makes the game beautiful to watch, but this means that some occasional structures can also block additional benefits of the map unless you rotate your view. Sound effects are very nice with many of the characters sporting some Texan accent to match the Wild West theme of the game. Controls respond perfectly and are easy to grasp unless you skip the tutorial and complain, and the game’s longevity ensures that you also get your money’s worth as you enjoy every bit of the simulation.

One problem I noticed prevalent on Westward games is how the characters can get stuck on certain terrain when you queue them to walk on farther parts of the map. It seems that route calculations don’t work well, making them walk the shortest distance to the point where you want them to go, even though there are obstacles blocking their path. I guess this is already a recurring problem for most games of this type, but still, quite annoying as well.

Besides the route problems, Westward III: Gold Rush is still one very enjoyable game to play. There’s no doubt that the appeal of simulation god games help carried the franchise to the level it is now, but the overall idea and gameplay of Westward is still its greatest point. This game is definitely worth the buy, since well, you won’t get to go far with just the trial anyway.

Westward III: Gold Rush Download

My Tribe

Posted by Ruff on December 2nd, 2008

(6 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)

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From the tradition of Virtual Villagers, here’s another god simulation game where you try to build a thriving city starting with just a small select group of digital people. My Tribe in fact plays much also in the same fashion. But there’re many more things in store for the player in this game too, and that would be the main topic of this review.

The story of the game revolves around a group of adventurous people hailing from a thriving city nation. This brave crew consisting of both men and women of all ages are in search of uncharted islands located beyond the seas. However, on the twelfth night of their journey, a storm washed them away stranded on an island without any means to go back. This is an opportunity though to start life anew, and build another city from scratch using all resources found on their newfound habitat.

In all essence, My Tribe very much plays just like Virtual Villagers where there are no real objectives other than making your people thrive and build a self-sustaining system for them to achieve progress by themselves. However, before anything else, you’ll have to find a suitable island for you to start off your journey. And considering that you only play a fixed island for Virtual Villagers, this game is really much more dynamic in terms of game freedom and settings as you browse through the islands available for you to play in.

The game is much too familiar though during the actual life simulation. Your little people will roam about aimlessly unless you assign them specific tasks they need to fulfill and train. Basic necessities like gathering food, wood and rock are to be done on a regular basis, and when the need arises, you have to make your people construct huts, laboratories and other facilities to encourage progress. Consistent research and training are also essential, but power-ups appearing randomly while you play will cut a lot of your workload, so you really have to keep an eye on them and pluck them from the ground as they appear.

In terms of presentation, I can say that My Tribe is way better than the competition. Graphics are clean and I just love the special effects of rain and random flying birds providing a little source of entertainment. The menu interface can be daunting at first, but after playing for a while, you will notice that it’s actually very easy to navigate and user-friendly too to avoid unnecessary confusion.

This is definitely one dynamic game and there are tons of surprises awaiting the player whenever the tribe progresses and evolves. Research, discovery and even exploration are all part of the game experience, and mysteries abound to be analyzed too, so I guess these mysteries can be a useful objective in place of those found in most linear games.

Of course, you wouldn’t be able to progress enough in the game within just one sitting, and that’s why your tribe will still continue their daily routines even when your computer is off. This feature is really nothing new but is still very much convenient since it’s really quite tiring to watch your virtual people doing every little thing they desire. But still, the game is really enjoyable and addictive to play as a set and forget game. Remember though to check your people from time to time whenever available, just like how you care for an actual pet needing your periodic attention and obligation.

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Forgotten Lands: First Colony

Posted by Ruff on November 9th, 2008

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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All true leaders have great responsibilities behind their backs, but takes great pleasure too knowing that their nation is thriving in existence. In the Forgotten Lands: First Colony game, you get to take the role of that leader as you try to build a civilization from scratch, and lead your people into prosperity and greatness too on the way.

Forgotten Lands: First Colony tells the story of how a group of people had just appointed you as their new leader to bring them peace and prosperity once again. You see, even though all had benefited for centuries on the current land you’re living in, it still can’t hide the fact that all the resources in the area are already nearing depletion from daily use. Eventually, you have to find another place to settle the colony, and the Greensville Islands can be this future settlement that you’ve been looking for.

The mechanics of the game starts with a single building – the Town Hall. In this building, you can hire workers, merchants and other specialists like scouts and defenders to start populating the land. The basic worker units can then build other structures like farms and lumber mills to encourage prosperity and production to support your people, and afterwards, hire more people to populate these structures as you continue to expand your territory. The idea is much like the Warcraft games, but now, compressed into a small casual game download for you to enjoy.

The whole flow of the game is up to you to decide, however, for each level in Forgotten Lands: First Colony, you have to take into account your basic goals for each level too. While the basic gameplay is for you to complete all your level missions before the time expires, this does not mean that you’re too restricted in what you can accomplish during the course of your adventure. For example, if you’re tasked to gather a set amount of wood, there are a variety of ways to do so. Building lumber mills or trading gold for wood in a market will complete the same task, and this basically means that there’s much freedom on the part of the player when it comes to finishing each level.

I guess the only negative feature of this game is in its overall presentation. The graphics are not something you can brag about, but all the character designs are enough for you to distinguish each unit and enjoy as they work about growing your resources. Besides, I’m very much thankful about the low level sprite animations too. Making this game run on my slow computer is very much convenient, making me enjoy each minute of the experience.

Forgotten Lands: First Colony also features bonus levels with additional tasks you can play aside from the usual flow of the game’s storyline. Bonus levels are unlocked after completing certain chapters of the game, and successfully add a number of hours more to the gaming time making the game worth your purchase. The missions are getting harder and harder too as you go along the levels and bonus stages, but with a gameplay as addictive as this one, I won’t mind repeating the later levels for my own pleasure as well.

As far as casual games go, this installment is quite unique and very much fun to play. And if you’re tired of the same old gameplay we experience day in and day out of the casual gaming world, then I simply suggest trying this one out for a good and long breath of fresh gaming air.

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