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Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Parking Dash
Parking Dash, a new time management game from PlayFirst, the makers of Diner Dash, Flo on the Go, and Cooking Dash, is a fun and enjoyable game.You're Karma, a friend of Flo (famous heroine of the Diner Dash and Cooking Dash series), who inherits a parking lot (luckily) behind Flo's Diner. Flo encourages your entrepreneurial skills and to run a valet service instead of selling the lot.
There are some interesting twists to the time management aspect. As each customer appears, a timer is over their head. This lets you know how long they want to park. Since some spaces can blocked in, it's important to strategically place the cars that will be there the longest in those spots (and then to remember which ones will be there the longest!) Karma must keep the customers happy by picking up and delivering the car on time as well as managing the parking lot space limitations.
Play style is different from many of the dash games - more on that in a tip post to follow. There are bonuses to placing the same color car on a similar colored spot (just like sitting diners in the same color of chair). The cast of characters is the same from the dash games and have the same sort of temperaments. The businesswomen are still the most impatient. As the game progresses, there are upgrades that help improve the appearance of the lot, increasing either tip or patience level. I thought it was pretty funny to have a donut upgrade to help improve driver patience. Bonus points are scored by performing a series of events (parking cars, delivering cars, washing cars). The happiness of the customer is designated by their face. Big grin: happy. Small smile: content. Unhappy: red. Upgrades are choices at the beginning of levels and do not have to be purchased.
Graphics are very similar to other Dash games. I did love how the "bug" style cars have a little purple heart on top.
There is a radio station that plays music and you can change the channels a la Grand Theft Auto. This has no bearing on the satisfaction of the customers, but is a welcome addition to listening to the same music over and over. It does add a boost of speed for Karma, and can add to the hectic pace of some of the later levels.
What they did well: As in many of the Dash games, you get to see familiar faces - like Flo and Quinn (from Wedding Dash). The puzzle piece of placing the cars in a way that is accessible is a nice and different twist on time management games. Again, having the radio station dials is also an improvement over the same music.
What could have been better: The upgrades were not very compelling, and there weren't achievements to unlock. Not having hearts to show the happiness of the customers is such a different take for the Dash games, I found it a little difficult to know when a customer was just content vs bordering on angry. Sometimes the only "hint" was the sound of tires peeling out of the lot and then the -100 flashing on the screen.
It is a challenging time management game that both new players and veteran “Dash” fans will enjoy.
Recommended for: kids, fans of the Dash series or time management games
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Time Stand Still - walkthrough under construction
I'm still working on solving the Time Stand Still game. However, I'm submitting my current walk-thru. Updates to come very soon.Home:
1.) Go to the kitchen.
2.) Read the newspaper.
3.) Locate the telephone book on the chair.
4.) Open it and find the address for SOLVIG LIEDBERG.
Kiosk:
1.) Start talking to STINA.
2.) Look at your notepad to ask Stina questions.
3.) Watch the ads Stina shows after the interview.
Katarina's home:
1.) Open the door to enter.
2.) Use the notepad to ask her questions.
3.) After asking all the questions, leave the apartment.
4.) Go to the SOLVIG LIEDBER home.
Solvig's home:
1.) Interview Solvig. She will give you house keys. These keys will be used later - enter the home when it is empty.
3.) Go to the rear door to find the hissing sound, which is coming from the radiator. You will be unable to repair it because you need a key.
4.) Enter the living room/lounge area. (move so that you are facing away from the radiator)
5.) Go to the bureau. Try to open the top drawer. It is locked.
6.) Go to the living room.
7.) Find a rectangular photograph and take the key from the underside. Replace the photo and return to the desk in the lounge.
8.) Open the drawer with the key. Keep the wood plug, radiator key, and two pictures.
9.) Look at the photos, especially the differences (a window is removed in the later picture).
10.) Go to the kitchen and read the note on the table.
11.) Take the coffee mug.
12.) Return to the radiator area and place the mug in the left corner, just under the keyhole. Place the key in the hole to release steam.
Kiosk:
1.) Talk to Stina about Carl Bergsten, asking all the questions in the notebook.
Katarina's home:
1.) Ask about Carl Bergsten.
2.) Look at your map as you leave - there is now a new location.
Museum of Design:
1.) Read all of the panels.
2.) Go to the computer. You'll need a token to turn it on.
3.) Look for the panel that has 17 boxes. It will be a memory match game. Once you've matched the shapes, you'll get a ticket.
4.) Write down the colors and shapes below the ticket. You'll need this information later to open the puzzle box at Solvig's house.
5.) Go to handicraft exhibit (via the stairs) and use the ticket in the door slot.
6.) Find and take a small dowel on the floor (between 2 wheels).
Solvig's house:
1.) Return to the desk and open the top drawer.
2.) Select the puzzel box. Use the dowel and place it in the hole in the bottom right corner.
3.) Use the color/shape sequence from the ticket to solve this puzzle. Alternatively, you can bypass the puzzle (or return to the museum and write down the shape/color sequence.) (note: I believe the solution is always the same: red pentagon, yellow circle, blue pentagon, yellow pentagon)
4.) Once you have the correct order, a lever will activate, but you need to clik on the box to open it.
5.) Take the blueprints.
6.) Look at the couple's photo in your inventory, then look at the blueprints using the magnifying glass. A X will mark the spot in an upstairs room.
7.) Go to the sitting room and click the cabinet with glass panels. The cabinet will move, but the room can not be opened yet.
8.) Head downstairs and look at the diploma from the herb garden.
Kiosk:
1.) Ask Stina questions from the notebook.
Herb garden:
1.) Talk to the gardner and get 5 herb cards.
2.) Solve the puzzle. (Bypass or place in the correct order: thyme, rosmary, lemon balm, oregano, absintium, creeping thyme)
3.) Talk to the gardner.
4.) Enter the house.
5.) Look at the calendar.
6.) Speak with the gardner about Simona.
7.) Find Simona in the garden.
8.) Ask Simona your questions.
9.) Pick up the yellow jacknife from the ground.
Solvig's house:
1.) Go back to the sitting room and move the cabinet.
2.) Use the knife on the wallpaper to tear it. Use it on the wall
again to make a secret door appear.
3.) Enter the room.
4.) Read from the book on the table.
5.) Exit the house and look at the map - notice a new location.
Library:
1.) Use the computer. Use the mouse to read the entire article.
Solvig's house:
1.) Read the note on the front door. Take the attached key and chewing gum.
2.) Use the key on the padlock to open up the hut.
3.) Take the flashlight.
4.) Enter the shed.
5.) Take the batteries from the bench.
6.) In your inventory, drag the batteries over the flashlight. Voila - light.
7.) Go back to the secret room in the sitting room.
8.) Use the flashlight.
9.) Read the paper. Read all the papers, but most importantly the autobiography notes.
10.) You should hear a creaking sound as you're reading the papers.
Click on the carpet and it will lift up to show floorboards.
Library:
1.) Use the computer. Find the new topics - two articles about Dietrich Gunter's body. These articles have some important plot points.
2.) As you leave the library, notice that you have a new location on your map: Mona Redvall's house.
Mona's house:
1.) Examine the keypad. The most worn keys are the ones you need for the code. I believe the solution always is 1,0,2,9.
2.) Once the green light appears, open the gate.
3.) Ask Mona the questions on your notepad.
Herb garden:
1.) Don't enter the lodge, but head to the deck.
2.) Take the fishpole.
3.) Walk by the lake.
Museum:
1.) Don't enter the museum. Find the shiny token (below the bridge left of the museum pathway).
2.) Use the fishing rod and chewing gum to get the token.
3.) Enter the museum and use the token on the computer.
4.) Read about Carl and the buildings he designed.
5.) Notice St Olof's school on your map.
St Olof School:
1.) Try to talk to the janitor. (He won't talk to you now).
Home:
1.) Use the phone to call Solvig. Ask questions. You'll need to find a lost key and clock.
Solvig's house:
1.) Look at the green shrubs beside the house. There will be no key.
Katarina's house:
1.) Interview her.
2.) Ask to borrow her son's metal detector. (Oddly, this places you directly in his room; you don't have to navigate there.)
3.) Look at the orange box on the dresser. You'll need to finish a puzzle to open it.
4.) Look at the computer game boxes. click on the top box to move it - read the post-it note.
5.) Look at the orange box. Open the Guitar Basics book in an open drawer. Write down the musical notes.
6.) Go to the guitar and pluck the strings in the right order. (light blue, yellow, green).
7.) Press the buttons in the same order on the orange box.
8.) Click on the box to open.
9.) Take the metal detector.
Solvig's house:
1.) Use the metal detector on the bushes next to the door.
2.) Take the key.
3.) Enter the house and go to the living room, to the chest.
4.) Use the key to open the left drawer.
5.) Take the pocketwatch.
Herb garden:
1.) Talk to the fishing gardener.
2.) Go to the river.
3.) Find the crowbar in the river.
4.) In your inventory, drag the metal detector over the fishing rod. Place that in the water.
5.) Take the crowbar.
6.) Talk to the gardner and ask for permission to take the crowbar.
He asks for salvinia from the water garden.
Home:
1.) In the kitchen, open up the cabinet and take a glass. Fill it with water from the kitchen sink.
2.) Water the basil plant in the kitchen window.
3.) Fill the glass of water again.
4.) When leaving your apartment, notice that you have a new location on your map: the water garden.
Water garden:
1.) Find the salvinia. Place it in the drinking glass.
Herb garden:
1.) Give the gardener the salvinia in the glass. Take the crowbar.
Solvig's house:
1.) Go back to the sitting room; move the cabinet and enter the secret room.
2.) Move the rug and use the crowbar to pry up the floorboards.
3.) Select the box that says JUGO. Read the letter. Notice the birth date.
4.) Replace the items.
5.) Go back to the living room chest.
6.) Solve the watch puzzle.
(watch puzzle steps: 1. depress the top left knob and run through all the numbers in the bottom left window. 2. Do the same thing for the top right knob and right window. 3. The numbers are the days per month and months per year. It's backwards from American notation (so it's dd:mm) 4. Use the birth date from the letter. (16:9).)
7.) Flip the watch over and open the back. There will be another puzzle.
Peggle Nights
If you were one of the many original Peggle addicts, you will definitely enjoy PopCap Games' sequel Peggle Nights.If you're not familiar with the game, the player fires a ball at the top of the screen and watches as it falls to the bottom, hitting and bouncing from peg to peg. The purpose is to remove all of the orange pegs before you run out of balls - each level starts with a specified number, usually 10. At the bottom of the screen is a moving "bucket" - think of a Pong paddle, except this bucket can catch the ball. If it's caught, it's a free ball, otherwise, you lose it. There are bonus pegs - green ones that may give you an additional ball or a shoot guide (shows which peg you'll hit and how it will bounce), and purple ones that are point bonuses. If you score more than 25k in one turn, you get a free ball. As the ball heads towards your last orange peg, you get a slow motion, zoomed camera and Beethoven's Ode to Joy. Fireworks go off, the ball bounces around until it hits a bonus bucket that ranges from 10k to 100k points. (Unless you clear the screen of all blue pegs, which gives you a bonus, and the buckets at the end are all 100k.)
The only control you have once you've pointed the launcher and clicked to release the ball is that you can right-click to speed up the bucket. This is both fun and frustrating!
You can choose to play the adventure mode, 5 levels for the 12 characters, or a challenge mode, also with 60 level, that have a challenge goal, such as having the lowest score. I found I was good at that one. The player must unlock the challenge mode by playing the adventure levels. There is also an option to have Quick Play game of any completed level as well as Duel mode, where you can play 2 player on the same computer (either with another live body or the computer).
This Peggle introduces new ways to replay shots as well as a trophy room. It also adds a new Peggle Master at the end (but no spoilers here!) The cute characters (excuse me, Peggle Masters) all live out their dreams, which comprise the backgrounds of the Peggle levels.
What they did well: They didn't name it Peggle 2. While it's a sequel, if it were Peggle 2, I'd probably expect a little more. The background animations of some of the levels are simply awesome. Both the pumpkin hand-drawn versions of paintings and the lab backgrounds are my favorites. Playing against the computer in duel mode is hella hard, but is a great, fun challenge. It does seem at times the computer has some sort of inside advantage. The powerups are all different on different characters' levels. For example, the green pegs sometimes give an extra ball. Other times, you get a "flipper" like item to hit the ball to keep it in play, much like pinball. While I get very tired of repetitive things, it's amazing how much I love the drum roll, slow motion camera as I hit my last orange peg. It's great feedback!!
What could have been better: It's like a Peggle add-on. Some people may not be delighted that it's not very different.
Recommended for: fans of Peggle, arcade games, and anyone who likes fun.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Cake Shop
Cake Shop, a time management game from Elefun. You are Emily, a recent college graduate. An underwhelming cover letter lands you a job managing a cafe.Customers come in and their menu choices are displayed in a chat bubble. You'll prepare a layer cake, with one of three cakes, a filling (jelly?!), and another cake on top. Depending on your upgrades available in the shop, they may also order something else. Left-clicking on the item selects it; right clicking sends it to the customer. You can also click on the customer to send the item to them. Each customer starts out with a smiley face surrounded by a green timer. As they wait, the timer ticks away. Once the timer makes a round, the tip level decreases.
Each level is about 2 minutes.
Upgrades, called "fittings" are unlocked by a combination of available money and amount of tips earned. Upgrades include a coffee and a cappuccino machine; a cotton candy machine; three soda machines (cola, orange, and fresh, whatever the heck that flavor is - Fresca, perhaps?); three ice creams: strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla; two popcorns: sweet and salty; and three creams: peach, forest fruit (again, any idea what flavor that is?), and chocolate. The player must balance spending money for the fittings and towards building a house. As Emily gets depressed, building the house pumps up her attitude. The better her attitude, the more patience the customers have.
The trick is to make sure you keep all the upgrades filled.
What they did well: Towards the end, it did get difficult to manage all of the upgrades. Having the house building impact her attitude was a different and interesting take. It was easy to see the patience level of the customer and how much time you had left to serve them to get the best tip.
What could've been better: Overlooking the weak story design (why would a college graduate fly somewhere to manage a cake shop?) and weird character movements (really, just drag the image across a screen and have her flip her hand out for a taxi), Cake Shop was mostly just a time-waster. I didn't get any rewards out of playing it. Graphics were very low end and the music was repetitive. Speaking of repetitive, how about having to click through the same dialogue any time I wanted build something on the house? Additionally, it would make more sense for her attitude to make her a slower waitress, rather than affecting the patience levels of the customer. I encountered a pretty major bug when deleting a name. The screen and computer freeze. Behind the full-screen game is a Windows text box, asking if I am sure I want to delete that file. Once you click OK, you can go back to the game or close the game.
Overall, if this had been designed by a set of first year game students, it would be passable. Since it's not, I'd only recommend it for kids, who might not notice all the glaring issues.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Cassandra's Journey: The Legacy of Nostradamus
Cassandra's Journey: The Legacy of Nostradamus brought to you via JoyBits, is a mostly hidden-object game.In addition to the levels, there are 3 "divination" games that are unlocked via progressing through the story. They are unlocked at levels 4, 13, and 20.
The story is that a woman comes to you, Cassandra, who has recently started her divination business. She wants to find her brother. You have inherited your grandmother Serena's sense of fortune-telling, but need additional help from Nostradamus' ring. You start to have a vision of him, which oddly starts out with him IMing you.
There are two gameplay options: timed or relaxed. Like most hidden object games, there are penalties for random clicking (30 seconds), and hints that can be collected throughout the levels. There are blue, red, and green gems, which are banked as points. You spend the points on one of 3 items to help locate: a wand that glows brightly when lit (2 points), a general area highlight (1 point), or an object locator (3 points). The points add up quickly so if you want to be a lazy player and not look hard, there are lots of opportunities to acquire and use the hints. However, you get a time bonus and bonus points for not using jewels and/or hints, so to maximize your score, you want to use as few as possible.
There are other puzzle types: click to place the tile; "fix" something in the hidden object screen (reassemble a pizza; a building roof), match 3 to get a key and jewels, a semi-crossword, etc.
What they did well: The intro music was nice. It does have multiple types of puzzles to solve. They use the gamut of hidden object lists: riddles, puzzle pieces, lists, outlines. For their find-a-difference puzzles, there were 3 pictures instead of two, which made it slightly more challenging. They also used crosswords and match-3.
What they could've done better: First, proof-read. The text has quite a few glaring spelling errors. Plus, the conversations made little sense and the characters were less than believable. I'd prefer you not give me characters and text to read unless it really means something. Level 11 was very annoying to me, because you really don't do anything. The circles around the find the difference scenes made it difficult to detect the last few differences because the circles were so large. The book to start each level has even and odd pages. The odd pages automatically updated the picture to the left, which you could click on to start. In order to access the even pages, you had to physically click on the page on the book, then the picture. I encountered a bug that made a ticking sound loop over and over. Closing and restarting the game fixed the problem, but it happened more than once. Each divination can only be accessed once a day. There were a few random, odd voice-overs. I was very disappointed in the "magic tricks" which were glorified logic puzzles, optical illusions, and puzzles that have been passed around in e-mails for a long time.
Overall, it was not a very solid game, but kids and fans of hidden object games who want to play all varieties might enjoy it.
Hints (spoilers):
On the first find a difference:
Crow, bunny, pizza, scarf, sandwich on table, chair placement, sunglasses on head, picture (red shirt), photographer's bag
Words in crossword:
page2: forune, that, grandmother, magic, guess
page 3: Ring, help, have, mission(6)
page 4: greatest, talisman, with, thing
Chapter 13 find-a-difference:
chair, chick, banana, gramophone, postman, leaf, basketball, cactus, crow tag, small picture on board
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Diner Dash: Seasonal Snack pack
Diner Dash: Seasonal Snack Pack is another in the very popular time management Diner Dash series brought to us by PlayFirst games. Try them all for free at Big Fish Games:Diner Dash
Diner Dash Flo on the Go
Diner Dash Flo on the Go
They even created a version for kids:
SpongeBob SquarePants Diner Dash
Diner Dash: Seasonal Snack Pack is not for the faint of heart, and not for people who are new to the Diner Dash series: it gets up and running very quickly!
The player joins Flo and her Grandma for fun and excitement waiting tables at 5 new restaurants: it starts out at Coral Cover Cafe Waterpark (summer). All of the customers from previous Diner Dash games make an appearance, with all of their little peculiarities. The businesswomen like to be served fast. They don't like noise. Bookworms are slow to order and eat, and have more patience, but they don't like noise. Cell phone guys don't mind noise, and they are also impatient. Families don't mind noise and are moderately patient. The girls don't like noise and are moderately patient. Tourists like to be served quickly once seated, and often want you to stop and take their picture. (I still hate that breaking my chains!) Fitness ladies don't mind noise and are moderately impatient. They rarely order dessert. Lovebirds are patient, don't mind noise, but their kissing annoys tourists, bookworms, cell phone guys, and the girls.
Points are gained for chaining together actions: taking orders, delivering food, picking up the checks, clearing the tables, delivering "extras" such as appetizers and desserts. The level of patience left is shown by the number of hearts under each table. Quick service earns hearts.
There are bonus items, which include drinks (serve to tables to improve their patience/hearts), a podium (talk to people while they are waiting to improve patience), flowerpots for a bonus when seating tables, and appetizers and desserts. Each person in the dining party has a specific color - that color can also earn a bonus, if you seat them in a matching same color seat. This is, as always, one of the best ways to earn points and gain expert level.
The story continues to four other restaurants (and 3 other seasons): the Crypt Cafe, Hometown Harvest, Winter Wonderland, and Romantic Rendezvous. (Don't you know Cookie would love it there.)
Unlike the other Diner Dash games, which gradually introduces characters, colors, and bonus items, the first two levels have the drink bonus, flowerpot bonus, and podium available. The customers and colors are varied. In level 3, the snack station is opened up. Level 4 gives desserts. By level 6, all of the customers are unlocked and so are the purple colored customers. It's quite a challenge!
As an FYI, when playing against a waiter/waitress to earn more points than they do, the biggest points are earned by seating groups (matching customer color to the seat, of course) and taking the check. Use these to your advantage. You also can get a bonus if you seat people at a table where you've placed a flowerpot...but be quick because the rival waiter/waitress will get the bonus if they seat people there!
What they did well:
The graphics are improved, and it combines all elements from the previous games. The story line is fun, and it is a challenge even for veteran Diner Dash players. The competition levels where you have to earn a certain number of points more than the other waiter/waitress are a lot of fun. It was fun to see all the different customer types come through the water park slide, and the other restaurants are all unique.
What could've been better:
The music. It's disappointing that there isn't more variation. Also, they expect that the player is familiar with the Diner Dash family, as they don't introduce the different customers and describe how to maximize points with them. I also wish they'd take the Crypt Cafe and had the customers dress up for the season.
Recommended for: fans of Diner Dash or time management games.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Restaurant Rush obession
Sorry it's been a while since I've updated the game blog, but I've been busy with the Restaurant Rush game. I got all the way to the 60th restaurant and got stuck, so I had to start all over.So my tip is to spend your money wisely on three things: recipes, jukebox music that improves patience by 40-50%, and at the Farmer's Market. Beef and vegetables are the best to upgrade, because they are used in so many recipes.
Sadly, one of my jukebox songs (for 50% more patience) got bugged somehow. Whenever I clicked it, the program crashed. Anyone else have problems with that or know how to fix it?
I ended up with the 3rd best option (not following my tips above), and am in the process of replaying the game. The bonus to finishing the game is that it allows you to start with the recipes you purchased in the first go-round. (Prices for tea and soup, along with all upgrades including the tea and soup machines, farmer's market and jukebox songs) start over. So I'm giving it another run through to get to the best ending.
More game updates soon, though!
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