Venice Mystery Game

Here's a neat twist on a classic genre: Venice Mystery is essentially mahjong with a bunch of powerups alongside a swapping mechanic. In between the mahjong levels are painting levels, where you need to find the location of a piece of the painting. These parts play out a little bit like jigsaw in reverse. The jigsaw is already solved, and you need to find out where a few pieces fit into the whole puzzle.

Overall this looks like a solid game, especially for anyone interested in the Venice theme. It's interesting that another Venice game recently came out. Perhaps ancient Italy is the new Mayan theme? ;)

Venice Mystery Info

Mysteryville 2 Game

The original Mysteryville was one of the first hidden object game clones to hit the market. To be honest, it wasn't as feature-rich as even the original hidden object games. But, it sold well. It wasn't long before dozens of seek and find games were on the market, each with new features, mini-games and other bells and whistles to distinguish themselves from the pack.

So how does Mysteryville 2 stack up? The sequel comes at a time when the production value of hidden object games is through the roof; there are some very pretty titles on the market today. It seems to be doing well so far, though, which says something about how sequels. They're comforting--people already know the main character, the general ambiance of the game, and they simply want to play some more. What do you think?

Mysteryville 2 Info

Fever Frenzy Game

Here's a new diner/customer service game from Legacy Interactive. Legacy does good work, and Frenzy Frenzy definitely has all of the ingredients to be a big hit. The gist of it is that you play a nurse in a quirky hospital. All of the patients have puns for diseases: 3rd degree sideburns, bipolarbear disorder, and so on.

It's funny, and the art looks top notch to match. I haven't played long enough to get a real sense of how the game holds up, but if the genre is any indication it will provide a sort of trance-like fun. It's easy to sink time into a game like this. If anyone checks it out further feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts. Until then, here's the link:

Fever Frenzy Info

Sally's Salon Game

Here's a fun, gossipy game for fans of the customer service/diner genre. In Sally's Salon you play the role of a hairdresser working her way up in the fashion world. Keep up with the hustle and bustle of making sure people get their hair style done right. Some people want hair colorings, others a trim.

Thankfully, you can hire new employees and purchase new equipment to keep up with the demand. It seems like Sally starts to get well-known, too, as she moves from a lowly mall location all the way up to a darling Hollywood Salon.

I think a hair salon is a great theme for a diner game like this. Everyone gets their hair cut somewhere, whether it's a cheap $10 haircut or a fancy hand-massage-included $50 style. At least a bad haircut in Sally's Salon won't haunt you in real life ;)

Sally's Salon Info

Ricochet Infinity Game

Finally, a new game in the Ricochet series! Those of you who don't normally play breakout games might not know what I'm talking about here. The Ricochet series (or Rebound some places) is a great brick-busting style game. It seems like this genre tends to compete on number of levels and features, and the new Ricochet Infinity certainly packs those in.

We're looking at 200+ levels, a bunch of modes, and some new game features (a "recall" function, likely taken from Break Quest). Reflexive has a decent-sized team of artists and staff, and Infinity definitely reflects their production muscle. If you're looking to try out an Arkanoid game, this is a great place to start!

Ricochet Infinity Info