Gamertell

This week there weren’t as many casual game releases as last week, but there was still a fairly adequate amount. It almost seemed like this week’s motto should be “Quality over quantity,” as quite a few anticipated and intriguing games were released.

The two most expected games were undoubtedly Alawar’s Farm Frenzy 3 and Ouat’s Pure Hidden. Which means, naturally, that they’re named as this week’s best bets. One’s your standard time management game, where you manage all sorts of farming tasks and animals. The other is a zen approach to the hidden object and casual genre, with a New Age feel and artsy design.

This week, time management games are the way to go. They dominate this update, so simulation and strategy fans should take note and see if there’s something they’d like.

This week’s best bets are: Pure Hidden (PC, Mac) and Farm Frenzy 3 (PC).

Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allen Poe Conspiracy
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Ghosts guide you through hidden object puzzles as you attempt to not only find important information to help you finish your novel, but also discover the truth behind Edgar Allen Poe’s murder.
Demo Available: Yes

Paradise
Genre: Adventure
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: A young woman named Ann Smith was flying across Africa when an unknown assailant shot down her plane, leaving her stranded with amnesia. If she can reach her father, she can find out the truth, but she faces a long journey before she reaches him.
Demo Available: No

Megaplex Madness: Summer Blockbuster
Genre: Simulation (Time Management)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: You are the brand new owner and manager of a multiplex. Your goal is to create a successful theature by taking good care of five theaters and making sure your customers are happy. There are also arcade mini-games included.
Demo Available: Yes

Megaplex Madness: Now Playing
Genre: Simulation (Time Management)
Availability: Big Fish Games
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Mac 10.4 and 10.5 (also for PCs)
Premise: Get ready to restore classic movie theaters! Do what ever it takes to get the theaters running and keep customers happy. Arcade mini-games also are accessible in the game.
Demo Available: Yes

Pure Hidden
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $9.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista, Mac 10.4 and 10.5
Premise: There’s no story in Pure Hidden, just artistic little puzzles to solve. There are 66 cream boxes. You choose to open them, playing one of the assorted puzzles within. When you do well, you unlock wallpapers for your desktop relating to the game.
Demo Available: Yes, a web-based trial is available at the Pure Hidden site http://www.purehidden.com/.

My Kingdom for the Princess
Genre: Puzzle
Availability: PlayFirst, Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow, RealArcade
Retail Price: $19.95
Platform: Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP and Vista
Premise: The sick King Sigmund wants to see his daughter, so it’s up to you to travel across the kingdom to bring her home to the castle. It won’t be an easy task though, since the kingdom’s been assault by natural disasters lately, not to mention a dragon, and you’ll have to use puzzle solving skills to find paths that will lead her home.
Demo Available: Yes

Farm Frenzy 3
Genre: Strategy (Time Management)
Availability: Alawar Games
Retail Price: $19.95
Platform: Windows
Premise: Scarlett wants to be president of the Farmers’ Union, and the best way to do so is show what a fantastic farmer she is. In an effort to win votes, she does a massive campaign tour across five countries where she helps farmers in order to gain their respect and their vote.
Demo Available: Yes

Passport to Perfume
Genre: Simulation (Time Management)
Availability: PlayFirst, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $19.95
Platform: Windows XP and Vista, Mac 10.4 and 10.5
Premise: Following along the lines of Chocolatier and Wine Maker Extraordinaire, Passport to Perfume lets players see what it’s like to become a perfume mogul in the 1940’s. You follow Sophia, who starts out a beginner and is working her way towards becoming a premier perfume artisan. The ultimate goal is to recreate Marie Antoinette’s perfume.
Demo Available: Yes

Editor’s Note: Due to so many casual games sites offering game plans or preferred member prices, which can cause a game to have multiple price-points, the games’ average retail prices is mentioned in Casual Friday.

Site [Big Fish Games] Site [PlayFirst] Site [GameHouse] Site [eGames] Site [Alawar Games] Site [Amazon] Site [Reflexive Arcade]