Casual Friday: Update for July 17 – 23, 2010

Morning everyone! The good news is, this week there are 12 new casual games available to play, with one also being playable on Mac and Linux computers. But, the next tidbit of information could be good or bad news, depending on the person – eight of them are hidden object games.

The non-hidden object games are quite diverse though, so don’t count out this week’s edition of Casual Friday just yet. There’s a time management game (Amelie’s Cafe: Summer Time), a match-3 game (DreamWoods) an action game (Banana Bugs) and a visual novel with simulation and RPG elements (Fading Hearts). So while the plethora of hidden object games may seem overwhelming initially, there’s a lot of diversity in this week’s update.

This week’s best bets are: Fading Hearts (Windows, Mac, Linux) and L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Windows)

Elixir of Immortality
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Search around the world to find a murderer and the Elixir of Immortality.
Demo Available: Yes

Hidden Mysteries: Vampire Secrets
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Claire’s vacation to Savannah, Georgia resulted in visions of evil. Help her track down vampires.
Demo Available: Yes

L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Help Dorothy and her friends find their way to the Wizard of Oz so Dorothy can return home.
Demo Available: Yes

Journalistic Stories
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Help reveal that Gloria Witkinson’s death was murder, not suicide, and find the person who killed her.
Demo Available: Yes

Simajo: The Travel Mystery Game
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: A young man has been trapped inside a board game he found, and must rely on his wits and Mr. Guide to get out.
Demo Available: Yes

The Pirate’s Treasure: An Oliver Hook Mystery
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Search around the world for the pirate Oliver Hook’s hidden treasures.
Demo Available: Yes

The Clockwork Man: The Hidden World
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: GameHouse, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $19.99
Platform: Windows XP and 7
Premise: Miranda and Sprocket head off to find The Hidden World.
Demo Available: Yes

DreamWoods
Genre: Puzzle (Match 3)
Availability: GameHouse
Retail Price: $19.99
Platform: Windows XP, Vista and 7
Premise: Help Emmy through 75 puzzling levels so she can stop the King of Pollution and save the fairy village.
Demo Available: Yes

Banana Bugs
Genre: Action
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow, GameHouse
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP, Vista and 7
Premise: Save the bananas from the banana bugs so the monkeys won’t go hungry.
Demo Available: Yes

Fading Hearts
Genre: Visual Novel/Simulation
Availability: Sakura River Interactive, Amaranth Games
Retail Price: $19.95
Platform: Windows, Mac and Linux
Premise: Help a young man named Ryou decide whether to live a normal life, save his friend or find out the truth about what’s happening in Sorayama. There are multiple endings and achievements to earn.
Demo Available:

Amelie’s Cafe: Summer Time
Genre: Simulation (Time Management)
Availability: Alawar Entertainment, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $9.95
Platform: Windows XP, Vista and 7
Premise: Help Amelie create and manage an amazing beach restaurant.
Demo Available: Yes

Echoes of the Past: The Castle of Shadows Collector’s Edition
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: It’s the sequel to Echoes of the Past: Royal House of Stone and, aside from that, a bit of a mystery. The page advertising it at Big Fish Games states it is a Big Fish Game Club Members game and just states the Collector’s Edition bonuses (strategy guide, extra adventure, art, wallpaper) and doesn’t say what the game is about.
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]