Legacy Games Blog

Today at Legacy...

HERE'S WHAT'S WORKING FOR ME ...
This has been a great week -- there's been a bunch of good games released!

1. Plan It Green. Oooooh. It's like an environmentally responsible version of Sim City. The game has just the right level of challenge, and is fun to play from the beginning, plus it has great graphics. Neat idea.

2. Winemaker Extraordinaire. Finally! I've been waiting for a wine game. It's a lot like Chocolatier, where you buy different grapes and ingredients, and create different wine blends. It does actually teach you a bit about wine, which is fun if you're a budding wine enthusiast. Rumor has it that they'll be making a cheese-pairing game next.

... AND WHAT'S NOT

1. Affair Bureau. Yet another hidden object detective game, featuring mislabelled objects, translation errors, and clichéd plot. Oh well...at least the graphics are good.

2. Diaper Dash. I've had 3 kids in the past 4 years – believe me, I change A LOT of diapers. The trouble with this time management game is that it's too realistic. You have to stop and clean the tables and empty the diaper pails constantly, which breaks the game flow. Sure, the babies are very cute...but the game play is a bit like work.

Today at Legacy...

HERE'S WHAT'S WORKING FOR ME ...
1. Flux Family Secrets: The Ripple Effect. Wow, is this a winner! It's a hidden object game with an engaging story, clever puzzles, and objects that actually make sense in the scenes. You get to travel through time, into a variety of historical situations, trying to set things right. Yup, it's a lot like Mortimer Beckett in some ways, but it's not a total clone, so it deserves kudos on its own.

2. Escape Rosecliff Island. More hidden object entertainment this week. This one has you shipwrecked on a creepy island. It's not terribly original, but it's still pretty fun to play. It blends inventory puzzles with hidden object tasks, so it's not a straight HOG. There are over 2,000 objects to find, so you can expect to play for a while.

... AND WHAT'S NOT
This was another week with pretty good games, so it was tough to choose the ones on the bottom. But, here's my picks...

1. Frogs in Love. It's syrupy sweet and extremely cute, so it's probably more of a kids game than one for adults. You're a frog, and you hop around talking to other frogs and playing minigames, like hidden object, match 3, and marble popper. The games are very simple, so there isn't too much depth. It's a decent time waster, though.

2. The Enchanting Islands. It's a pretty good game, but doesn't really offer anything more than the myriad of other match 3 games available. If you want to play match 3 with a bit more originality, check out Mean Girls, or The Book of Wanderer: The Story of Dragons, or Puzzle Quest.

CSI:NY Finally Online!

CSI:NY finally online!
Hey Legacy gamers,
I am pleased to announce that CSI:NY – The Game has finally come to Big Fish Games. What’s exciting to me is that the casual, Big-Fish customer is what we always had in mind when making this game. After having a run on the store shelves, CSI:NY is finally where it was meant to be.

A lot has happened since we released the game to the retail world in November. We’ve fixed a ton of bugs, translated the game into four other languages and even have a version coming soon for the Mac. Woo! It’s been a lot of work, but to see it finally as a downloadable title makes it all worth it.
One of the aspects of games development that doesn’t get enough credit is the localization of a title after the American release. It’s fairly standard nowadays to distribute a game around the world right away and the general assumption is that it will be quick and easy. An afterthought really. But in reality, localization can sometimes take months. First the game has to be translated into French, Spanish, Italian and German. With a game like ours that’s no easy undertaking. Then native speaking testers have to look at the game to see that everything is translated and implemented correctly.  Between finding bugs, fixing bugs, waiting for the correct texts to be translated, scheduling conflicts with the testers, and any other delay you could imagine games like CSI:NY can wind up taking four months to get out the door.  Lucky for us, that day has come. People around the world are able to buy the game in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish. And now you can finally download it free for one whole hour, here:
http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/5115/csi-ny/index.html
Check it out; let us know what you think.
--Ryan

Today at Legacy...

HERE'S WHAT'S WORKING FOR ME ...
1. Little Shop: Memories. It's like daydreaming. This is a charming hidden object game that takes you back in time, from your first lemonade stand in the 1960s, to your college days, your first job...all in hidden object style. It's not particularly original, but it's definitely nostalgic.
2. The Book of Wanderer: The Story of Dragons. Think match 3, but with dragon eggs. If you remember playing Fairies, one of the earlier Big Fish match 3 games, then you pretty much know how to play. You drag around rows of eggs, trying to make color matches. While it's not unique, it's relaxing to play, with lots of pretty sparkly visuals and soothing music.

... AND WHAT'S NOT

1. Detective Agency. You need a detective to figure out how this game was released. Look, I like hidden object games just like most other casual gamers, but do we really need a thousand detective-game clones with bad English and illogical items? You might be asked to find a “piece,” which can pretty much be anything in the room, or a “plate” which is actually a bowl of pasta. The real mystery is figuring out why we see so many games like this one.

Today at Legacy...

HERE'S WHAT'S WORKING FOR ME ...

1. CSI: NY. I admit, I like anything to do with CSI, and anything to do with NYC, so it was pretty much a sure thing. This is more “hidden object” style than previous games, and it's easier too, but it's still fun to play.
2. Be a King. Or a Queen? Maybe not, but it's a decent build-and-defend strategy game. Build the towers, upgrade them, and defend them from enemies. It kind of reminds me of Settlers.

... AND WHAT'S NOT

1. Success Story. Usually, I don't equate fast food and success...or maybe I ate too many burgers as a teenager. The trouble here is that it's too tough once you hit the middle! I love that it's challenging, and the graphics are good, but my less-than-coordinated attempts to make the burgers kept failing me.