PC Game Review The Clumsys

Time machine, time travel, and 20 kids sneak on the time machine after Grandpa told them to leave the machine alone. The kids don’t listen and find themselves spread across different centuries messing with history. Poor Grandpa has to go to their locations, remove what’s the kids brought from our time, put things back in place, and find the kids. That’s the set up for The Clumsys Wonderful and original idea. Clumsy execution.

I love history and the story integrates a lot of history in a sensible way. However, I can’t say the same for the game experience. As soon as I arrive on the first scene in Troy, the graphics quality disappoints. However, let it slide and keep on playing in hopes things improve.

Because of the low quality graphics, the hidden objects (past and present) barely show up. While experience players complain that hidden object games get too easy, finding them in The Clumsys is too hard. In the mode where you must remove all modern toys and objects, the game says to find and remove objects that don’t belong. No list. We need a list because it’s not obvious which items belong and don’t belong in the scene.

It takes too long to figure out what to do when finding items and then moving them to the right spot. For example, the first one I see is a helmet. Well, the scene has two helmets on the scene — one I don’t notice for a long time. So the game doesn’t cooperate when I click the helmet (wrong helmet). I finally find another helmet and figure out how to handle this game mode.

Grandpa can search for the kids and objects using a variety of search modes. Players also find gadgets to assemble and use to find the kids. Another original feature. When finishing a scene, the game has a short history lesson (Shh, don’t tell the kids!). It doesn’t affect the game player if you skip the lesson.

The Clumsys lasts for a long time. But I can hardly play for long because the scenes tire my eyes. The blurriness and many small-sized objects don’t help.

I want this game to succeed as it offers an original story and idea, but the graphics quality doesn’t compare to today’s hidden object games. The game feels disorganized. If the developers come out with a sequel to The Clumsys (and it sounds like they will), I hope they improve the game and its graphics quality as I think they have a hit with their idea.

Vote in the Zeebys Awards for Casual Games

Voting is open for the Zeebys’ People’s Choice Awards. On Thursday, July 24, 2008 at the Casual Connect Conference in Seattle, the Zeebys Awards will announce the winners. Lifetime Networks will record and broadcast the show on its Web site, myLifetime.com.

Joel Brodie, CEO of Gamezebo and founder of the Zeebys says that casual games is a $2.25 billion dollar a-year industry. The theme of this year’s Zeebys is “Casual Games Giving Back,” with 100% of all ticket sales benefiting the Zeebys’ official charity partner, Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation. Starlight is a nonprofit dedicated to helping seriously ill children and their families cope with their pain, fear and isolation through entertainment, education and family activities. Tickets for the Zeebys Award Show cost $20.

The Zeebys reward the best in casual games as voted by the general public. From now through July 5, 2008, everyone may vote for the best casual games of 2007 by visiting http://www.zeebys.com/vote-2.php. There are two types of Zeebys Awards:

1. The People’s Choice Awards, which represent the best casual games of the year as voted by the people.



2. The Craft Awards, which reward excellence in game design itself as voted by peers in the Casual Games Association.

Nominations for the People’s Choice Awards have been chosen by members of the Casual Games Association, the largest membership-based association within the casual games industry. New People’s Choice categories to vote for this year include

• Best Hidden Object/Adventure



• Time Management



• Web Game

New Craft Award categories include Best Mobile, Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA), and Social Networking Game. For more about the Zeebys, visit www.zeebys.com.

PC Game Review Dairy Dash

Playfirst has a hit with its Dash series, so it makes sense for the company to capitalize on more Dashes. This time the action occurs on a farm. Even Diner Dash’s Flo appears in Dairy Dash, but that doesn’t help Dairy Dash win me over.

Oh, Dairy Dash still entertains and adds a component few have: multiple characters. We’ll get to that later. In the meantime, we meet the Smith family consisting of Mom, Dad, Emily and Ethan. They’re not quite the farming family. In fact, they’re the opposite and enjoy technology as much as any other modern day family.

One night, they go out for a family dinner at — where else — Diner Dash Flo’s place. Dad hears from Uncle Bill who reports his farm could go under if he doesn’t get more help or buyers. After talking to Uncle Bill, Flo tells the family she knows restaurants in need of good organic produce. Being the supportive family they are, the Smiths leave city life behind for the quiet and hard-working farm life.

Dad Smith starts feeding the animals, milking them, gathering eggs, making cheese, and growing crops. Mrs. Smith joins him and the two work in sync. The action feels frenzied from the get go and chaining feels unnatural. A little practice helps, but chaining doesn’t work as well as the other games. Furthermore, the game won’t let you cancel an action. At least, you can click a few actions ahead.

They call Emily to help when they discover Uncle Bill has another farm, but she refuses. Mom and Dad continue working on their own. Eventually, Emily and Ethan join them. The later farms don’t change much — things shift a little, but not drastic. In fact, drastic describes the fourth farm, which looks like something from 2010. Oh wait, that’s less than two years away.

A mini-game enters every few levels for a break from running around. One uses match three to sell produce, another involves picking good apples before they fall, and another catching fruit in a basket. Nothing spectacular, but not boring as some mini-games can be.

Story mode works as expected — hearing a story and making your way around four different farms for 52 levels. To move to the next level, you need to reach the goal score before the rooster crows. You can also challenge yourself to surpass the goal score and aim for the expert score.

Also, Flo calls from time to time with a request, so you never know when the phone rings. Mr. Smith occasionally has to stop farming to fix the truck so they can deliver the goods. These factors keep the game from becoming predictable and repetitive.

Endless mode provides three levels of difficulty. This one’s endless mode should please plenty as it begins with a goal score. When you hit the goal, a new goal appears along with more elements to increase the challenge. I’ve never been a fan of endless mode, but this one has a good set up instead of having players play until they falter.

The Smiths can fill up on lemonade for a boost of energy to move faster. Unlike most time management games, you can’t bribe the animals to make them happier. The game requires little strategy as the best thing to do is click and act as requests come. Because of this, Dairy Dash might be an easier game for the youngsters than other Dash games.

The animals look pitiful when they’re hungry or thirsty and not much else. In other Dash games, the characters ooze personality. Dairy Dash doesn’t have the charm or personality that we’ve come to expect of a typical Dash game. Moreover, farm-themed games have been milked to death, so Dairy Dash feels ordinary by time management standards. Nonetheless, time management fans will find it a joy to play thanks to its multi-characters and variety.