Casual Friday: Update for September 5 – 11, 2009

This week was a catch-up week for many of the larger sites like Big Fish Games, PlayFirst and RealArcade.Instead of posting a lot of new releases, the majority of the game updates were ones that were released on other, smaller sites first. However, the new releases that did debut were from a wider variety of genres than usual. This week new entries were released in the adventure, hidden object, simulation, time management and action RPG genres. If we’d seen a new match-3 game, we’d have had casual game bingo!

Adventure game fans in particular should pay attention this week. Two games debuted. The first was Drawn: The Painted Tower, a new adventure game from Big Fish Studios. The second was a new installment in the James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club game series, Women’s Murder Club: Twice in a Blue Moon. If you’re looking for a good mystery, test drive both demos.

This week’s best bets are: Drawn: The Painted Tower (PC) and Youda Camper (Mac, PC)

Drawn: The Painted Tower
Genre: Adventure
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Iris is in danger, and the player must journey through various worlds in order to unlock the floors of the Painted Tower in order to save her.
Demo Available: Yes

Be Richer
Genre: Strategy (Time Management)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: You’ve just begun your own real estate and property development company, and it is up to you to create magnificent buildings and become a success.
Demo Available: Yes

Youda Camper
Genre: Simulation
Availability: Harmonic Flow, Reflexive Arcade
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows 2000, XP and Vista, Mac 10.4 and 10.5
Premise: You are tasked with creating your ideal campsite resort. You arrange the entire park area, make sure there are stores to purchase necessary supplies and entertainment.
Demo Available: Yes

Little Shop – World Traveler
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: RealArcade, GameHouse, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $19.99
Platform: Windows 2000, XP and Vista
Premise: You’ve been contracted to help create a collection. Your boss wants a wide variety of exotic, one of a kind souveniers, and you’re tasked with traveling around the world and searching hidden object puzzles to find them.
Demo Available: Yes

Fashion Fortune
Genre: Simulation (Time Management)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: In Fashion Fortune, you are given the opportunity to run and manage your own clothing store, catering to clients and hopefully becoming a huge success.
Demo Available: Yes

KrabbitWorld Origins
Genre: Action RPG
Availability: KrabbitSoft Studios
Retail Price: $14.95
Platform: Windows XP and Vista and Mac 10.5
Premise: A hack & slash, gothic fantasy where you pick one of six Krabbit characters to represent you, pick out your henchmen, then set out to stop the Necrotechs from destroying th world by assaulting the Celestial Shard.
Demo Available: Yes

Women’s Murder Club: Twice in a Blue Moon
Genre: Adventure
Availability: PlayFirst
Retail Price: $19.95
Platform: Windows 7, Vista and XP
Premise: The Women’s Murder Club must catch a serial killer who is roaming around San Francisco. He’s leaving a trail of clues behind, which you can thankfully put to good use.
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] Site [Harmonic Flow]