Liesel's Game Reviews

This week, a unique puzzle game.



Azada

PROS

Original concept.
Engaging puzzles.
Mysterous atmosphere.
Some creative puzzles.

CONS

No way to turn sparkle clues off.
No way to turn timer off.
Some puzzles get repetitive.

PRICE: $6.99

Download the free trial here!

http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/1689/azada/index.html

Azada is an addictive game. Right from the opening screen with a musical score that's vaguely remenicient of the Harry Potter movies, you feel like you're being transported somewhere magical.

The story is that you've been magically summoned by a man named Titus, whose spirit is trapped in a magic puzzle book. The only way to free him is to go through the book chapter by chapter and solve the puzzles within it. As you go through the puzzles, Titus also reveals more and more of his story to you.

Each chapter consists of ten puzzles. Some of them are hidden object scenes that take place in various locations. These puzzles involve locating various tools in the scene and figuring out how to use them. Most of them are quite well done and manage to be challenging without being frustrating.

There is a large variety of other puzzles as well, some of which are more fun than others, many of which will seem familiar. There's the ever-popular Sudoku, only played with symbols instead of numbers, a game of Dots and Boxes played against a "spell" that magically makes lines, and a puzzle where you memorize a sequence of notes and play it back that resembles the old Simon games. Many of these puzzles are repeated several times throughout the game with harder and harder variations.

Each book chapter has a certain time limit in which to complete all its puzzles, usually between thirty and forty minutes, and using hints will decrease the time limit by five minutes. Most players shouldn't have much trouble completing the puzzles under the time limit, but there's no way to turn the timer off, which might cause some extra stress for certain players. In addition, during the hidden object puzzles and in the game's main study hall, the area around the cursor sparkles when it encounters something clickable, and there's no way to turn the sparkles off. Beginning players might find this helpful, but more advanced players might see this as annoying. It's especially intrusive at the end of every chapter, when Titus tells you to look around for the next source of magic and gives you a clue to where it is. The clue turns out to be irrelavent, since all you need to do is wave your cursor around until you see the sparkles.

Despite its slow pace, Azada is a solid game. While many people would probably like more control over the time limits and sparkle clues, it shouldn't hinder their gaming experience much. If you like puzzles, then you should definitely give this game a try.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Even though it's nowhere near Halloween, we've got a spooky game this week.



Vampires vs. Zombies

PROS

Engaging premise
Plenty of humor
Addicting gameplay
Unlockable castle rooms

CONS

Very repetitive
Many rooms in the castle serve little purpose
Very difficult to achieve Gold status on many levels
You can't replay levels after beating the game

PRICE: $6.95

Download the free trial here!

http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/15683/vampires-vs-zombies/index.html

Vampires vs. Zombies (not to be confused with Plants vs. Zombies) is a lighthearted strategy game in which two monster races clash. The story is that an evil dictator came up with a plan to take over the world by using television to turn humans into zombies. The vampires of the world don't like this, not because they care about the humans, but because previously they were the most evil creatures in the world and now they're being upstaged.

Despite the game's premise, you don't actually spend a lot of time fighting zombies. In fact, the game plays a lot like a spooky version of Farm Frenzy. You hire different kinds of vampires to harvest or collect goods, and they spend a good time wandering around and periodically harvesting something. By selling your goods, you can purchase machines that can turn the goods into weapons such as pumpkin bombs or garlic gas. All this is complicated by beams of sunlight you have to extinguish and zombies crawling out of the ground and attacking your vampires.

Each level has a certain goal you have to reach, such as producing a certain number of weapons or making a certain amount of money. Reaching the goals within a certain time limit will earn you a "Gold" ranking, while making a slighlty longer time limit will earn you a "Silver" rank, but if you take longer, you can still finish the level. Those who are satisfied with simply finishing levels might find this game too easy, since there's no time limit for actually beating levels, but those who like getting a perfect score on every level will likely find this game frustrating, since the time limit for the Gold ranking is usually very short. Be forwarned also that you can't replay levels to get a better score after beating the game - you'll have to start over from the beginning.

Every few levels, you get a chance to use the weapons you make in an actual battle with zombies. The battles involve flinging pumpkins at advancing zombies with a slingshot while birds drop powerups you can use (the weapons you make in the regular levels). The battle levels are fun, but they're also rather simple.

One of the game's neatest features is the ability to explore the vampire castle between levels. Every so-often you can collect keys that unlock different rooms. Unfortunately, this idea fails to live up to its potential - most of the rooms serve little or no purpose. For example, the cinema hall only lets you watch the opening cutscene again and the balcony only lets you fling pumpkins at vultures.

This game had plenty of potential to be great, but it falls somewhat short. It's enjoyable, but it comes across as a pleasant experience rather than a gripping one. If you enjoy games like Farm Frenzy or you just like vampires, give it a try, but just don't expect too much.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

This week, a visual novel about the game of politics.



The Royal Trap

PROS

Gorgeous artwork
A gripping story
Four main paths with several branches
Fifteen endings
An original song that plays during the opening credits
Acceptance of homosexuality

CONS

Overpriced, but there's a way to get a discount at the Hanako Games Forum

PRICE: $19.95

Download the free demo here!

http://www.hanakogames.com/royaltrap.shtml

If you've been following this journal, then you probably know that I love Hanako Games. Hanako is a great visual novel writer and her games are wonderfully complex and imaginative. While her latest release might be a straight-up visual novel without minigames or other frills, it can still hold its own as a great game.

You are Madeleine Valois, valet and personal assistant to Prince Oscar. You have spent years trying to prepare him to secure a good marriage to a princess. As the game begins, you and Oscar are visiting the nearby kingdom of Gwellinor in a hope to strike the fancy of its heir Princess Cassidy, though she had other suitors visiting as well. Things seem to go smoothly at first, but then when the princess disappears and her brother Prince Callum recruits you to help find her, you find yourself wrapped up in a world of political intruigue, lies, and maybe even romance.

The artwork in this game is nothing short of beautiful. Done in a painterly style, it gives the feeling of being inside a storybook. The many event CGs are rich and detailed - they could very well be illustrations in a book. The artwork alone is enough of a reason to play this game.

Of course, pretty artwork is only part of a good visual novel. The meat of any visual novel is the story and characters, and as always, Hanako delivers in that aspect. The story is full of twists and the characters are very appealing. There's Gaston, a flamboyant prince who seems to be full of himself but is really a big softie, and Dolores, a sharp-mouthed page who longs for freedom. There are many possible romances for Madeleine, including a three-way romance and a lesbian romance. Hanako continues its proud tradition of including homosexuality in its games.

If you're a fan of visual novels, The Royal Trap won't disappoint. However, the game includes no minigames, stats, or other such frills, which might turn off gamers who aren't into flat-out visual novels. That shouldn't be considered a flaw in the game, though. The game accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do, which is tell a great story. It's a great addition to Hanako's standout game library.

Rating: 4 and a half out of 5 stars.

This week, a mall simulation game.



Mall-A-Palloza

PROS

Appealing concept
Engaging gameplay
Eight malls to run
Bonus levels with no time limits
Fast pace

CONS

Limited number of stores and extras
Can be beaten fairly quickly

PRICE: $6.99

Download the free trial here!

http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/7899/mallapalooza/index.html

Mall-A-Palooza plays a lot like a scaled-down version of popular sim games like SimCity and Roller Coaster Tycoon. In this game, you're taking ownership of several empty malls and trying to turn them into popular shopping centers by filling them with stores, decorations, movie theaters, and other odds and ends.

Each mall has four levels, and each level has different objectives. You might have to own a certain number of stores, make a certain amount of money, increase your daily profit to a certain number, or all of the above. You keep the stores you open from level to level until you open a new mall, so the game encourages you to plan ahead. If one of a level's objectives is to open sixteen stores and you had sixteen stores in the last level, you're ahead of the game - literally.

Different kinds of stores are earned as you progress through the game, and each store can be upgraded two or three times, which will increase that store's rating and profit. A nice touch is that you can actually see a difference when the stores are upgraded. When you upgrade an arcade, you can see more games; when you upgrade a clothing store, you'll see more elaborate displays. Unfortunately, the selection of stores is extremely limited. Not counting extras like restaurants, there are six store types, each of which only has three store brands. Your malls will inevitably contain duplicates of the same store brand. A larger selection of stores would sure be nice.

In addition to building stores and keeping track of money, you also have to keep track of the mall's appearance rating. Even if you have no restaurants, your customers drop trash on the floor over and over and over, which means you have to hire janitors and spend a lot of time dragging them to litter. You can add trash bins as well, but they take up valuable "decoration spots" where you can place decorations, and decorations are essential to raise your mall's rating high enough to beat certain levels. However, that doesn't really matter, seeing as how your floor will still be covered with trash even if you have trash bins. In addition, you'll spend a lot of time dragging around your repairmen to fix electical problems at stores and your security guards to prevent robberies. When you've got a busy mall, it can get quite chaotic.

While the game has a great premise and some nice features, the limited options decrease the excitement factor. I had fun playing it, but I would have really liked some more choices for my stores and decorations. Perhaps there will be a sequel with more options.

Rating: 3 and a half out of 5 stars.

Missed another week - what else is new?



Cake Shop 2

PROS

Appealing concept
Many different upgrades
Addicting gameplay
Unused bonuses pay you money


CONS

Boring graphics
Cakes don't look appetizing
You can only buy one upgrade at a time
Gets repetitive

PRICE: $6.99

Download the free trial here!

http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/6645/cake-shop-2/index.html

You might remember my review for Burger Shop. In case you don't, let me give you an overview. It's a freakishly addicting time management game with unique gameplay, humor, and tons of upgrades, and I consider it and its sequel to be some of the best time management games on the market.

But as with any great game, there were bound to be some copycats of Burger Shop sooner or later. Thus came the Cake Shop series. I've only played the demo of the first Cake Shop, but the sequel is basically the same game, only with more features.

The storyline is the same as many other time management games - you're opening a bunch of different cafes that sell cakes and other foods. The gameplay is basically identical to Burger Shop - you select ingredients from a conveyor belt to build cakes and you use machines for other items such as drinks and popcorn. If you've played Burger Shop, you'll feel like you're in very familiar territory, only slower paced and not as much fun.

For one thing, the graphics are just dull. They are done in a "realistic" manner that robs the customers of any personality. Even worse, the cakes don't look appetizing at all. They look like stacks of circles, not at all like actual cakes. It's not until you get the ability to frost your cakes, very late in the game, when they start to look a bit appetizing. When I play a food game, I like to get a little hungry playing it. This game didn't make me hungry.

As with Burger Shop, you can buy different machines to broaden your menu. With the machines, you can serve drinks, ice cream, cotton candy, and more. Unfortunately, you can only buy one upgrade at a time and the levels where you can buy upgrades are spread out far from each other. Not only that, but whenever you open a new restaurant, you lose almost all your machines and you have to buy them again.

One neat feature is that there are various powerups to be found that can freeze time, fulful cutomers' orders, or make the customers more patient. While the powerups aren't original, if you don't use them, they're converted into money. An unused powerup might be the difference between a Silver score and a Gold one.

While Cake Shop 2 is obviously a clone of a much better game, it's still a good time-killer. If you enjoy Burger Shop, you'll probably have fun with this game, even though it's nothing special. However, if you can only afford one game or the other, buy Burger Shop instead.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

I haven't reviewed a time management game in a while, have I? Well, here we have one.



Jet Set Go

PROS

Unique gameplay.
Bright, appealing graphics.
Four travel angencies.
Levels that take place at travel desinations.
Many service awards to earn.

CONS

No apparent difference between customer types.
Upgrades could use more variety.
Only four formats for destination levels.

PRICE: $6.99

Download the free trial here!

http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/12220/jet-set-go/index.html

At first glance, Jet Set Go seems like a typical time management game. You play as April, a young woman who opens her own travel agency (surprise surprise). There's no storyline beyond that, but then again, most time managment games don't rely much on story. What really sets this game apart is that you have some levels that take place in the travel agency and others that take place at the travel destinations.

There isn't a conventional set of levels in this game. Instead, every time you take ownership of a travel agency, you are challenged to fill up three bars - the Excitment bar, the Appeal bar, and the Satisfaction bar. Once you have all three bars filled up, your agency earns a star, and once you have a four star agency, you can take ownership of a new one. You fill up the Excitement bar by satisfying customers in the travel agency. The Appeal bar is filled up by buying upgrades for your agency. Available upgrades are pretty standard and mostly consist of more comfortable chairs that increase customers' patience. Some more variety in the upgrades would be nice.

The agency levels mostly consist of moving customers to different areas and performing different services such as selecting destinations, booking hotels, and choosing meals for the flight. Most services trigger a minigame where you might have to figure out what will make the customer happiest or some other small task. Most of the minigames are fun, though it can get rather hectic to have them pop up over and over when you're trying to move the customers around.

As you play levels in the agency, you'll fill up seats in airplanes going to different destinations, and once a plane is full, you'll be able to play a destination level to fill up the Satisfaction bar. Depending on where you go, you might be serving the customers food, taking their pictures, or leading them in a dance. The destination levels are great fun, with nice, atmospheric music, but you'll notice that although each agency has different destinations, many of them share the same level format.

The graphics are bright, sharp, colorful, and very well-done. You can easily imagine yourself relaxing on a beach in Hawaii or dining in a fancy Paris restaurant. There is a large variety of customers, but unfortunately, there are no noticable differences between them. No variety in patience level, preferred destinations, or anything else. Varying customer types are most fun when they have individual traits.

Overall, Jet Set Go is a great time. While the customer types and destination levels could use more variety, the gameplay is addictive and the concept is highly appealing. You may very well find yourself wanting to travel somewhere after playing.

Rating: 4 and a half out of 5 stars.

This week, a historical visual novel.



Heileen 1: Sail Away

PROS

Historical setting.
Interesting characters.
"Quest" system that gives you points and a ranking.
Acceptance of homosexuality (considering the time period).

CONS

Only three endings.
Almost no music.
No event CG's.

PRICE: $9.99

Download the free demo here!

http://www.winterwolves.com/heileen.htm

Heileen 1: Sail Away is the first in a trilogy of visual novels set in the 17th century that center around a girl named Heileen (you probably figured that out from the title) as she accompanies her uncle on a voyage from England to the New World. You follow Heileen on her adventure and help her discover secrets, form relationships, and more.

The game plays like a typical visual novel. You make choices at several points in the story that influence Heileen's actions and the story's eventual outcome. However, what makes this game unique it its quest system. Several times during the story, you will be presented with a quest. It might be something trivial like embarrassing your uncle, or it might be something story-related like finding out what a certain word means. Through the choices you make, you might solve the quest, or you might not, and at the end of the game you're given a score for how many quests you managed to solve, as well as a ranking.

Heileen has a whole cast of colorful characters sailing with her. There's Marie, Heileen's best friend since childhood, Lora, her uncle's lover who's loose with her sexuality, Marco, the ship's jolly cook, and John, a dashing womanizer, among others. The choices you make when interacting with the other characters will influence how much they like (or don't like) you.

While the historical setting is appealing, the game features very little music or sound effects. Although you'll occasionally hear the ocean or the creaking of the ship, most of the game is played in complete silence, making for a very empty feel. There are also no event CG's and no gallery, cutting down on the possible art. It's a shame, since the setting has such potential for atmospherics.

Another major flaw is that the game only has three endings. While you might expect a freeware visual novel to have only a handful of endings, a commercial one should have plenty of endings to encourage replayability. In fact, I've seen lots of freeware visual novels that have more endings than Heileen. In addition, all three of Heileen's endings are basically the same - the main difference is which supporting character the ending centers around. Essentially it's one ending with three variations.

While Heileen is an enjoyable game, the lack of music, event CG's, and different endings cut down on the game's quality. Although the setting, characters, and quest system are appealing, the game overall feels like a teaser for the far-superior sequels: Heileen 2: The Hands of Fate, and Heileen 3: New Horizons.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Happy belated New Year! Here's a belated review to go with it.



Magical Diary: Horse Hall

PROS

You can create your own character.
Six dateable characters.
Good character development.
Lots of magic spells to learn.
Dungeon exams with multiple solutions.
Various trophies to win.
Large assortment of events.
An online "yearbook" where you can upload your character's picture.
Acceptance of homosexuality.

CONS

Aside from the exams, there are only a few opportunities to cast spells.

PRICE: $19.95

Download the free demo here!

http://www.hanakogames.com/magical_diary.shtml

Magical Diary may be Hanako Games's most ambitious game to date. Part life simulation, part visual novel, it creates a universe and invites the player to dive right into it. While some people might look at the concept and think "Harry Potter clone," this game is a far cry from the Potter universe.

The story is simple: you're a student in her first year at a school of magic. Her name and appearance are fully customizable, which means you can create a different character each time you play. In addition to the basic character creation, there are various accesories you can purchase which spiff up your appearance and raise certain stats. There are simple accesories like glasses and crazy accesories like bat wings. When you finish the game, you'll also get a yearbook page you can upload to the online yearbook for free, along with an icon of your character that you can use wherever you want (see my new icon here).

You'll spend plenty of time taking classes and studying, but this game has a multitude of events that keep things from getting repetitive. Depending on the choices you make, you might have the opportunity to go to the mall with a friend, run for school office, join a secret society, or eat out with your teacher. There are so many events that even after several playthroughs, it's very likely that something will happen that you haven't seen before.

The characters are a quirky, appealing bunch. There's a demon boy who is very interested in you but also has some secrets, a roommate who loves sports and junk food, and a grumpy, dignified teacher who will remind more than a few players of Severus Snape. There are six possible romances for your character, two of which are female. As is typical of Hanako Games by now, this game potrays homosexuality in a positive light, which I as a lesbian will forever applaud.

Thoughout the game, there are several exams that take place in the school's dungeons. They involve a variety of tasks, such as trying to get over a chasm or trying to beat an opponent to the exit. The neat thing about the exams is that most of them can be solved with many different combinations of spells. You might find a strategy that you really like, or you might want to try a different approach every time you play. This adds to the already great replayablity.

If the game has any downside at all, it would be that there are only a few opportunities to cast spells outside of the exams (this is a magic school, after all), but that's a tiny flaw. If you enjoy life simulations and visual novels or if you just like magic, this is definitely a game to try out.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

Last review of the year and still in the holiday spirit.



Dawn's Light: Another Christmas Tale

PROS

Many fun puzzles.
Humorous dialogue.
A charming holiday feel.
Full-bodied character art.
Free.

CONS

You can only save at certain spots.
Some maps are more convoluted than they need to be.

PRICE: FREE!!!

Download the full game here!

http://johnwizard.com/game.php?game=9

Yes, John Wizard did it again. What's a better way to get people interested in your game than a free spin-off? Why, two free spin-offs, of course! Again, you don't need to have played any of the Dawn's Light games in order to enjoy this game, though it does help if you play the first Christmas Tale game first.

Once again, you play John Wizard, creator of the Dawn's Light games. His nemesis John Naught is back and this time he steals John's hard drive in order to copy all of his scripts for his own games. Once again John must call upon the aid of characters from his games, only this time they're the minor characters Virgil and Swordhand, whom you may or may not remember, depending on how familiar you are with Dawn's Light.

As with the first Christmas Tale game, there are no battles. Instead, you'll be treated to a large number of puzzles, some of which are more fun than others. You'll get to ride a horse and jump over rivers, pack toys for Santa's elves, and other various tasks. As with the first game, some areas are inaccessable until you obtain certain items, such as a wrench that can yank open vents. The problem is that some of the inacccessable areas are smack in the middle of very convoluted maps. It can be very tedious to backtrack to certain areas once you obtain the item you need.

The music largely consists of instrumental versions of Christmas carols, some of which were used in the first Christmas Tale, but there are a few new tracks, such as a country-like version of The First Noel and a jolly rendition of Deck the Halls. Just like in the first game, the music tracks make for a great way to get you in the holiday spirit.

Yet again, you can't save wherever you want. I know I've mentioned this several times before, but it's one of my biggest RPG pet peeves and it seems especially pointless in a game with no battles. There's also a point where John Wizard and his friends are sucked into John Naught's poorly-made game. The game has a puzzle where you have to push columns to change the colors of the floor tiles. The puzzle itself is fine, but if you fail to get it right, the reset switch doesn't work - you have to quit the game in order to advance further. I assume the broken reset switch was to illustrate how John Naught is such a bad programmer, but all it does is inconvenience the player.

While it's not as good as the previous game, Another Christmas Tale is still a good time. Since it's free, there's no reason not to try out both games and have a good time. Of course, you might be itching to try the Dawn's Light games after you're finished, but that's probably the whole point.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Merry Christmas! Today we've got something appropriate for the season.



Dawn's Light: A Christmas Tale

PROS

Numerous puzzles.
A charming Christmas-y feel.
Plenty of humor.
Ends with a discount code for purchasing Dawn's Light.
Free.

CONS

You can only save at certain points.
Rather obviously a form of advertisement for Dawn's Light.

Price: FREE!!

Download the full game here!

http://www.johnwizard.com/game.php?game=8

How do you get people interested in your game? Well, you can advertise it, of course. You can brag about the game's cool features to all your friends and anyone else who would listen, you can offer free demos, but perhaps one of the slyest ways to get people interested in your game is to offer a free spin-off game. Such is the case with Dawn's Light: A Christmas Tale, a fun, lighthearted spin-off that doesn't require you to have played Dawn's Light in order to enjoy it.

You are John Wizard, the creator of Dawn's Light. On Christmas Eve, his nemisis John Naught steals all the Christmas presents, so through the magic of interdimensional travel, he gathers the characters from his game Dawn's Light to help him recover the stolen gifts and save Christmas.

There are no battles in this game - instead, you'll be spending most of your time solving puzzles and completing sidequests. The puzzles come in a large variety and include such quirky tasks as matchmaking for couples and testing toy robots. With only a few exceptions, the puzzles are great fun and challenging without being frustrating. There are also some items that will grant you access to new areas, such as a hammer that can break rocks and a pair of sheers that can cut bushes. The thrill of being able to access new areas when you receive one of these tools adds to the fun.

In addition, the game contains a good dose of humor, constantly breaking the fourth wall and poking fun at RPG cliches, even making fun of Dawn's Light itself. You have to admire someone who makes fun of himself in a good-natured way. While some of the cutscenes are long, they are a genuine pleasure to read.

Some of the music tracks are recycled from Dawn's Light, but others are cheery renditions of Christmas carols such as Ding Dong Merrily On High and Jingle Bells, which makes for a charming, whimsical atmosphere. It may sound silly, but I consider playing this game a "holiday tradition" that gets me in the Christmas mood.

As with Dawn's Light, you can't save wherever you want - instead, you can only save when you see a red book on a table. While this may not be a major flaw in gameplay, it is certainly an annoyance, especially when you've just solved a puzzle that takes a lot of time and you have to backtrack to a save point in order to save your progress. The game even includes a joke about how annoying it is to have to backtrack to a save point, which makes one wonder why the game developers decided to go this route.

Even if you've never tried Dawn's Light, Dawn's Light: A Christmas Tale offers lots of enjoyment. It's definitely worth a download. Plus, if you complete 100% of the game, you'll be given a discount code for buying Dawn's Light. Sly, John Wizard, very sly.

Rating: 4 and a half out of 5 stars.