My August Games Update

I've been having less time for some leisure and/or extra time on PC gaming. I just happen to learn to enjoy reading the Harry Potter books and just can't take my nose out of it. I'm expecting to finish all seven books in a little more than a month. So I'm stuck and can't review much for now.

Though I think I would recommend the games I'm currently playing whenever I get tired of my reading craze. I have one from Pop Cap titled "Big Kahuna Reef" and one from Big Fish which is the "Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate". I'll probably review the latter one once I got the chance to finish the game. It's something to look forward to for me.

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Pop Cap Games on my list

Just got a hold of some of the games collection from Pop Cap. Its really different from Big Fish games as the games are really simple, their concept might have originated from the earlier computer games. I'll try them out and see if this games would interest me.

I've been playing Pop Cap games before like bejeweled and bookworm. But I would probably look for more of their games and looking forward for the best game they have.

I'm not sure if I can reach really high scores on their games but probably try to know techniques or strategies.

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Midnight Mysteries - The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy

This is another one of the hidden items game from Big Fish. I'm not a fan of Edgar Allan Poe's work but I've read some of his tales and poems. The game is basically based on his stories or somehow with the sense of how he interprets his investigative mind to his narratives. I'm not really sure if the stories in the games are very same as those in his tales so it's up to Edgar's fans to judge.

Though this game is shorter than other hidden item games such as Ravenhearst, there's still some uniqueness in the puzzles. There are jigsaws, strategy puzzle, IQ challenge, etc. And this is easier because you get a lot of help including also that there's no time pressure.

In the course of the game you have the chance to experience collecting information from the people you encounter in the game. They will try to give you relevant details for the case you are investigating. The investigations mostly involve cases that Edgar Allan Poe has written in his tales. But the bottom line is to search for facts regarding Edgar's murder.

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Youda Sushi Chef

Japanese food fans or not, this is a game that'll challenge you in cooking the different kinds of sushi. Plus you got to learn the Japanese names of each of the sushi ingredients.

In Youda Sushi Chef, you got to mix sushi ingredients, accept takeout orders, accept reservations, order more sushi ingredients from your supplier and do tricks when your customers are getting angry waiting for their food. I think the most challenging is memorizing the different mix of sushi recipes especially when you are under pressure. You need to have better focus or at least a chef mind to remember all those stuffs. Though you have full time access to the recipes all throughout your game, make sure you don't take a lot of time peeking on every sushi recipe.

Takeout orders and seat reservations are part of the game and somewhat confusing when they pop out on top. These things might be optional but it helps you get more respect from the customers and that means more money.

Every level you got the chance to name your own restaurant. You also have the option to identify your player as either a male or female.

Rating this game, I'll still favor Cooking Dash in terms of seeing Flo move around the restaurant and in having different restaurant concept for each level. But if you're the kind of person who likes cooking and fond of memorizing things, Youda Sushi Chef gives you those stuffs.

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Cooking Dash

Flo's work doubled in Cooking Dash now that she needs to cook and serve all her customers with a little help from grandma and from her chef friends. The first game, which is Diner Dash, where Flo's work is to get orders, give seats to customers, serve food and clean the tables will have additions in Cooking Dash. So basically, the cooking activities will be added. This is a time management game where you need to earn a certain amount of dollars to reach your goal and go up another level.

For those who have not played Diner Dash before, no worries because I think Cooking Dash is better. In Diner Dash I was thinking it's unreasonable to just have one waiter in a restaurant that has a lot of customers, though sometimes you get to call help. In Cooking Dash it's the same thing but at least you're trying to push Flo's career in this one to get to the top and be the best chef in town.

What I like about this game is that in every level you got to work on a different kind of restaurant. Like for once you have an all breakfast restaurant, another is a fast food and a Japanese restaurant. In this game you need to think fast on a strategy where you need to satisfy all your customers and don't make them wait longer. You don't have any helper here except another chef that does sandwiches or salads, a coffee maker to boost the moods of your angry customers and a radio which you don't want to waste time turning on (really takes a lot of effort and making your other customers wait longer).

One strategy I did is to prepare all the food that doesn't spoil once prepared. These are the ice cream, fruit shakes, sandwiches and salads but make sure that you have a 2 plate table to accommodate the prepared food. Once there are orders getting in you can just grab them and be sure to replace them right after for the next customers that will order the same.

This is really a simple game and if you like challenging time management game, this one's a good play.

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Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst

And the story traces back the mystery behind Ravenhearst Manor. In the first Ravenhearst, you need to solve the case behind the death of Emma Ravenhearst. Now Emma's soul wants to help Charles' other victims through your effort to investigate the case further.

If you have enjoyed the first instalment of Ravenhearst, you will enjoy this more. Why? First is that the story is more interesting, not like the first one where you don't mind what the story is all about. This time you'll enjoy the special effects because the characters are basically people acting on cam. This might be a little scary especially when you're playing alone at night. J Another good thing about this game is that you have the chance to see the whole place by walking along every parts of Ravenhearst Manor and you can even go back to all the places you have searched before. The puzzles are also more complicated and unique. You got to collect items from each of the places or rooms you have gone to and used those stuffs to help you go further and discover more clues and items.

I think the thing that stopped me a little on my way to finish the game is when I didn't find the item I need in one of the stage in the game. Though the game has a Strategy Guide, I didn't follow it step by step because it would ruin the detective feel of the game. That's why I find it hard to know where to get the item I need. If you encounter these things, you just have to go back to the places you have gone to. You do have to consider all the areas in the Ravenhearst Manor throughout the duration of the game if you need to find more things. Some puzzles or clues in the game are hard so you have to check with the strategy guide if you can't think what the puzzles' goals are. Though somehow the strategy guide would not give you all the answers or explain how they come up with the solution to the puzzle. Anyway, there are some forums where you can ask gamers on the solutions if you really can't figure it out.

Rerturn to Ravenhearst is the best detective game I had played so far. It's a good game that keeps you thinking on the puzzles and its story will keep you going until you solve the case and save Charles' victims from eternal suffering in his hands.

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Be Rich

Basically, Be Rich is a game for real estate tycoons wanna-be or for those who just want to play something where they can experience doing big business. This game has simple graphics, a simple community presented with empty lots where you got to build the houses and businesses available to you provided you have enough money.

For the Career Mode, the challenge of the game is to be able to finish your objectives in the specified days allotted to you. However there is no penalty and you don't lose if you won't get to reach the deadline of the projects on time. But if you want to get the awards and be tag as an expert, you need to meet the deadlines. You also have an option to continue playing once you completed your goals.

For the Sandbox Mode, you get to play only one game at a time. Once you finished a game for a specific place or town, you will be able to unlock other places.

Be Rich game is not that much interesting but when you get to play and get familiar with the goals of the game, you might got caught up with it. I think the challenge I have is not having knowledge on how the other accessories in the game works. The decorations that add value to your properties is something you should take into consideration. Another challenge I found is how you should arrange the buildings and decorations within the community to be able to get the most population, most daily income and most appearance score. Therefore, it's a good strategy game in its latter levels.

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