Member of: The Diving Bell Adventure Pub

Posted on 04/30/2011 07:22

A big thanks to all Sponsers & Pub mods/admin...
Quite neat to hear that BoomZap & GameHouse gave support,too.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !

Posted on 04/28/2011 05:49

I'm interested!
Luckily, my Faculty has so many Brits that our term staff meeting, originally scheduled for tomorrow, got bumped to today so that we can all watch the wedding tomorrow.
It's sweet that William & Kate will be here for Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa July 1st; I'm looking forward to attending!

Posted on 04/27/2011 20:36

WOW!
Absolutely GREAT news to learn that the Pub is moving!
Like some others, I'd kind of given up trying to participate due to the aimoo horrors/nonsense: no matter I tried to search, read threads, post... something messed up or I just plain couldn't get on. It was frustrating not to be able to follow threads from Today lists, and worse, I couldn't search the Master lists to catch reviews, etc.
Super depressing was to have missed the cool Birthday Party games...

Do you still need volunteers?
Where are you moving to?

Posted on 04/03/2011 13:43

I'm late to the party, too; I blame that on aimoo!

(When I retire, I plan to do rhymes for the local newspaper's talent column. )

CONGRATULATIONs Volnole !
Wishing you years of healthy, peaceful retirement!

Posted on 03/24/2011 21:46

I send big birthday greetings to you too, Small, & echo bella's wishes that you may enjoy many more!
 

Posted on 03/06/2011 17:00

Not sure if this is right place to post this, but...

What about having a dedicated thread for predictions/guesses re whether game releases are likely to show up at GameHouse?
(Seems we've quite a few FunPass members here... Just a thought...)

Posted on 03/06/2011 16:56

Great reviews, especially I liked text's.
Wondering if this game will show up at GameHouse as they have the Natalie's?

Posted on 03/06/2011 10:45

For those with GameHouse FunPass,
how likely this game will get to GH, please?

Posted on 03/06/2011 08:28

Agreeing with everybody re BFG CEs... though I've not kept up with BFG forums hullabaloo.

Excellent stats, thanks tex (& TnTexas)! Sure, ERS & BFG have a deal. Thus, all ERS games come out CE; that increases payout for BFG (& ERS) & pays forward the games' life cycles too.

It also, IMHO, degrades CE value. ERS games aren't getting any better, hence after setting bar with Puppetshow original, ERs now does mostly formulaic games, still really good quality for SE, but nothing special or fancy for CE.

No matter. I don't buy CEs any more. Nor do I buy SE of any CE game. If it doesn't show up at GameHouse (I've got FunPass), I don't play the game.

Embarrassed, yet I was tricked into staying a BFG member for many months due to waiting for the promised buy CEs with club credits feature. It's utterly shameful that BFG's Paul Thelen himself promised the feature would happen by end of 2010, and hasn't had the
professionalism to apologize for this lie/mistake, never mind to even
give a supposed real-time ETA for arrival of such a feature.

It seems clear that Gove nailed it perfectly ages ago: she notes that a credits-for-CEs scenario at BFG would invoke a cycle they do NOT want to move to, naturally for financial reasons!

Interesting: BFG's posted Revenues for 2010 were apparently record breaking...
the overseas debacle must surely have padded BFG's bottom line! As well, obviously many customers are quite happy to buy CEs.

* sigh * Now I'm just working on using up my remaining 10 BFG credits!

Posted on 03/06/2011 07:40

@ text

I adore your reviews & appreciate how ticked off you must feel over this latest BFG nonsense.

For ages BFG's ignored cleaning up its Reviews forums. Like you, I only want to read professional reviews from people who've played the game--or at least played the entire demo. Moreover, I don't want to read insulting or demeaning remarks about developers (or BFG) in game review threads either.
Why BFG won't implement your idea, or why good reviews can't have their own thread, who knows? Maybe you're not on BFG's "Chosen Few" list who can do what they prefer!

Actually, BFG's horrible reviews setup & my having to wade through so much rubbish to catch a few solid, useful comments is a key reason I quit participating there.

I love Diving Bell's reviews setup & master games listings!

I'm looking forward to your being able to do even more reviews here & thank you for all your contributions up to now here (& at BFG)!

Posted on 02/18/2011 06:53

Thank you Gove !

& thank you TnTex for preparing the list, without which we could not have Gove's predictions/valued input!

Posted on 02/09/2011 13:38

I bought Island Realms promptly when it released a while back.
Despite having been really excited, like others here, I've never finished playing it. Its instructions are very poor / non-existent & though gameplay is quite intriguing, fun even, not knowing how to strategize to succeed isn't!

I don't understand why no walkthrough has been commissioned for this game?

Posted on 02/03/2011 19:52

I really appreciate your answers re when games may get to GameHouse & I esp. enjoy your explanations re why!
It seems I may have a rather long wait for a few of the more intriguing-looking games, or else I may just get them direct from dev site.

Posted on 02/03/2011 17:03


Great reviews & comments; thanks all... just wondering if you expect it to get to Gamehouse one day?

Posted on 02/03/2011 16:58

This is a fantastic game! Been playing non-stop for a couple hours... very unusual for me for this type of TM genre.

Usually I find that these games, e.g. Dash series, get a bit tedious after some time of steady playing, but this one... it's not at all boring! It's marvelous, each level is fresh. I even replayed levels to achieve all golds thus far. (I've just reached the Campsite.)

Earlier I'd become somewhat angry as I hadn't noticed the difference btwn ostrich & regular eggs in customer order picture; hence I was serving customers wrong item & thinking, "Stupid game; there's a bug! Why the hell won't damn customers accept my lovely cooking?"

Very addicting, time flies, not too click crazy either. I also like the little memories & the mouse, though some levels I failed to find it? The storyline's made me a bit nostalgic a few times, too!

Anybody finished yet?  It looks like there's going to be a big fireworks finale to end the game? 

Posted on 02/03/2011 10:19

Game:  Death at
Fairing Point - A Dana Knightstone Novel

Genre:  i-hog /
casual adventure

Developer:  Boomzap

Bought from:  BFG

Standard version

______________

Impression:  Game
comprises literally puzzle after puzzle woven around an old mystery of love
& murder. It's roughly 1/5
HO-searches & 4/5 interactive tasks & puzzles--with 2/5 being
specifically picture puzzles & twists on, e.g. spin, rotate, jigsaws. Other puzzles include knots, painting, pipes,
logic/order, assemble, etc: good variety, well balanced per integration &
difficulty & great effort made by devs to fit puzzles into story context.

Pro - Lots of different puzzles. Easy to play. Good
instructions. Minimal backtracking. Decent story. Good length.

Con - Not very difficult overall IMO, only a few tricky
puzzles/tasks. Puzzles heavy on jigsaw & picture type. A couple click here
or there filler-type puzzles.

Widescreen ?  NO !

Tech glitches?  None, played beautifully under Win7-64 bit.

Gameplay:  Well
arranged with good pacing. Divided into
6 chapters. Interactive quests split
across 3-4 nearby screens. Cutscenes
quite nice with good voice-acting & unobtustive. Game journal tracks finds & clues, but we
don't need to look at it if we prefer more challenge. Game does a fair bit of hand-holding, so
player shouldn't get lost or jammed up.

Graphics:  Very nice,
clear, & character drawing/artwork is attractive. Good variety of
environments & locations. Historic/period touches show effort at authenticity.
HO-searchs are sensible with appropriately-sized & sourced items.

Sound:  solid,
non-intrusive, no silly bleats or blares announcing "good for you"!

Anything special? 
Nothing new re puzzles yet design of tasks in chapter levels is very well
thought-out & not many "housework" chores. Devs really tried hard
to integrate puzzles into plot believably. Not boring!

Overall Verdict:  IMO
excellent value for $... good-looking, well plotted, a pleasing variety of
activities & puzzles, light on the HOs & good length (close to 6 hours for me @ no
puzzle skips & taking relaxed approach).
minus a few sips !

 

* I'm curious re what the CE bonus content includes,
especially per story advancement. Can someone please post?

Posted on 02/03/2011 09:54

@ gove, dvdiva, etc
Game looks pretty good...
As it's from Alawar, does that mean it should eventually get to GameHouse?
(Thanks!)

Posted on 02/03/2011 00:55

@ turtlelady61

Glad your op went okay & that you're home safely...
hoping the healing/recovery is smooth & fast for you!

Posted on 02/01/2011 20:40


Definitely grab the demo asap...
I'll play the game with you, but already I know the answer: "Sure, that was what's her name."

Posted on 02/01/2011 20:37

@ oregonpandora

OK, love & harmony can be restored... DVDs are on their way to you via express post, though!