More proof for anybody who needs it that mobile games are now the prime focus:  BF has once again changed how they're informing people of what games are going to be released each week.

They still post a list, usually 3 CE for mobile, sometimes more if Android and iOS will be getting different games, and 2 CE's for PC/Mac.  Prior to last week (when they didn't post anything), screen shots were included for ALL the games listed.  This week, instead of screen shots, there's a video showing game play from only the games being released for mobile devices.

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lilyr wrote:

I was looking for something to play and started the demo of MYSTERY OF SARGASSO SEA.  I got 1/2 way through it and wasn't liking it all that much.  According to the Forums, the only walkthrough is a malware site.  I was going to delete it and then played the rest of the demo.  I think I'm catching on to how to play it and I'm enjoying it.  I didn't get all that far (Romanova's cabin) and have no idea how long it is, but it's definitely worth a PCC.

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Lily, I've played Mystery of Sargasso Sea and here are some of my comments:

Time:  6h 10m 21s (it times your game) and this included skipping 4 puzzles when I simply didn't have enough patience to finish them, as well as using the Hint constantly to move around near the end.

Journal:  there's lots of great info in the journal - it tells you the story ... YAY!  You have to look at the journal for clues as safe combos, etc, aren't put on the safe when you try to open it ... YAY! ... in this case it's chess moves.

Inventory Items:  you don't carry inventory items around until they're fixed (ie. no Plus Items in Inventory).  Eg. a broken pencil ... you don't carry the broken pencil around with you in inventory but rather when you find a pencil sharpener you have to remember where the broken pencil was and go back and sharpen it, then it goes into inventory.  I loved that and it definitely added to the difficulty!

Attention to Detail:  I tried to use an incorrect inventory item on the piano and the comment I got was: "I want to fix her piano, not make it worse."  LOL.  This was a very specific response, specific to the piano, and not just a generic response when you try to use an incorrect item.  I loved that - it showed great attention to detail and, I think, how much love and pride went into making the game.  It was the same with the double bass, which was not only specific to the double bass but also to the object I was trying to use.

When I got stumped:  when I had no idea what to do next ... I used the hint ... and was taken to a room I'd thought I'd already finished ... but there was either a new thing to access or a HOP!

HOPs:  42 !!!! - only a couple were graded E (easy) - all others were M (medium).  They were all junkpile lists with between 2 and 5 easy interactions.  I think most, if not all, were repeated - a couple immediately.  However, every time you replayed a HOP it looked exactly as you'd left it at the end of the first time you played it, which is good.  In one, the first time you smash a piggy bank, and when you repeat it you glue the piggy bank back together, feeling guilty.  LOL.  I got sparkles on a couple of HOPs, even though I was on playing on Expert without sparkles.

MGs:  23 - ranging from 1 x EEP (easy, easy peasy - removing planks, simply always taking the one on top) right through to HHHH (super, super, super hard - you had to move 1 token on the right through a labyrinth, moving the opposite token through a different labyrinth, so that both reached the top - I skipped this one as it was really late at night and I was too tired to continue after I'd tried and failed several times).  So there's a huge range of difficulty.

LOL:  1.  I had to find a "Handie-Talkie" in a HOS - I've never heard a walkie-talkie called that before (in German it's a talkie-walkie).  2.  I tried using a water siphon bottle on a crab and the comment was: "I wouldn't want to have to deal with Greenpeace."  The developers have a sense of humour, as judged by some of the comments.

Graphics:  very good atmospheric graphics, although they were a tad blurry.

The Game World:  it's a huge game world, with 18 locations just in the second half of the game!  Sometimes I had to go left/right/around corners/up/down/through walls - so very complicated - and I was so proud of myself when I got somewhere on my own!  That's why, as I said earlier, I started using the Hint to get around near the end as it was a lot easier than trying to remember how to get everywhere, as you go from boat to boat and through them all.

Credits:  Germanicus Brain Games.  They have a total of 8 people ... only 8! ... including 1 programmer, 2 artists and 2 animators.  But what's the most interesting is that there wasn't a single mention of BFG, which is highly unusual.  I jot down the order of credits for every game and it's unusual to have a developer come first in the credits but almost unheard of to not have BFG mentioned at all, as normally they have almost as many people listed as the developer and you get the BFG logo and people at the start, and the BFG logo and game name trademark at the end.

To sum up:  it's a good story but way, way, way too many HOPs that were all the same - junkpile lists with a couple of easy interactions, which made the game somewhat boring.  But I enjoyed the challenge, story and location.

Recommendation:  I'm glad I played it and don't begrudge my PCC at all.  I wouldn't recommend anyone pay for it but if you've got a PCC about to expire I can definitely recommend it.


 

has anyone played Keeper of Antiques?

and the DD, Detective Riddles?

I've finished 80 levels of Christmas Mosaic Puzzle.  The remaining 40 levels will probably have to wait until after the MC Castle Challenge is over.

TiramaSue wrote:

WendyDarling wrote:

GH just released  Mayan Prophecies Cursed Island but the rewiews mention tons of list HOs so I'm not going to bother with it.

Well, it's not really a new game. The game was first released on BF back in Oct 2013.  And the reviews in the BF forum weren't overly enthusiastic back then.
 

It's new to me since I don't have it, lol.  I have plenty of games older than that that I haven't gotten around to playing yet.  It's not like they go out of season or anything, if I'm playing it I don't care if it's one day old or 8 years old.   I usually only own about 1 of every 5  games they put out and even then I usually just have the SE so I can now play the CE version if I want.  Today it's Showing Tonight:Mindhunters from October 2015.  Basically either 1 star reviews or 5 stars, very little inbetween.  Reviews say there aren't many cursor changes, you have to click everything.  Not many HOs, either, and something about having to rotate the HO items.  Sounds like the 5 stars were from people looking for a game to actually puzzle over.  But first I need to finish either Masque of Red Death or Lost Lands 4 Horesemen.