Casual Friday: Update for August 14-20, 2010

Time for this week’s dose of casual games! There are no Mac games this week, but there are eight new games for Windows owners. They cover quite a few different genres, like simulation, shooter, match-3 and hidden object, so there’s a good chance you’ll find something that’ll interest you this week, even if past weeks let you down. There aren’t any highly anticipated casual games making their debut this week, but perhaps one of these games will become an unexpected hit

I also want to warn you. While Academagia (Windows) is one of my picks for this week, it’s also not the kind of game everyone will enjoy. It’s a life simulation along the lines of Cute Knight Deluxe (Windows) or Kudos 2 (Windows, Mac). It’s very text heavy, with lots of choices and things to do. For people who like those kind of things, it’s an interesting new endeavor worth looking into. There downside is, there is no demo and it costs $24.95. So even if you are interested, you may want to wait until there’s a price drop before picking it up.

This week’s best bets are: Chime Spirits (Windows) and Academagia (Windows)

Ski Mogul
Genre: Simulation
Availability: Alawar Entertainment, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $9.95
Platform: Windows XP, Vista and 7
Premise: Create a fantastic and popular ski resort.
Demo Available: Yes

Echoes of the Past: The Castle of Shadows
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Explore royal artifacts, rebuild an amulet and stop a witch from returning to wreak havoc.
Demo Available: Yes

Mystic Diary: Haunted Island
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Help stop a destructive ghost while also setting free trapped ghosts.
Demo Available: Yes

Chime Spirits
Genre: Puzzle (Match-3)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Restore harmon and balance by playing through match-3 puzzles.
Demo Available: Yes

Exorcist
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Garret Ghostfighter can see demons and uses his gift to stop them from harming innocent people. Help him find Mephisto and keep him from hurting people. I’m going to guess this isn’t a good choice for younger gamers.
Demo Available: Yes

Astro Bugz Revenge
Genre: Shooter
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Save Earth from Astro Bugz by popping bugs, bubbles and bosses in outer space.
Demo Available: Yes

Academagia
Genre: Simulation
Availability: Academagia, GamersGate
Retail Price: $24.95
Platform: Windows XP, Vista and 7
Premise: A life simulation that makes players students at the Academy of Magic. You have to attend classes, learn magic, make friends and undertake challenges n the hopes of becoming a success.
Demo Available: No

Robin’s Quest: A Legend Born
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Relive the story of Robin Hood in this hidden object game, and make him a hero.
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]