MCF 9: Shadow Lake Announced

Per Hondo at Big Fish:

Greetings detectives!

It's getting to be that time of year again. As some of you may have already seen, the very first details about the upcoming Mystery Case Files game were announced earlier today! It's still a bit early to include it in my weekly highlights, but you can click on the link below to learn more.

Mystery Case Files: Shadow Lake Announced! <-link to official blog announcement at Big Fish

A snippet from the blog:

There’s going to be one big reason for gamers to be thankful this Thanksgiving. Big Fish is proud to announce the ninth game in the Mystery Case Files series: Mystery Case Files: Shadow Lake will be available for Macs and PCs on November 22, 2012 (Thanksgiving Day)!!

And if the news of a new Mystery Case Files game, is not enough to get you excited, Mystery Case Files: Shadow Lake is featuring film & television star Lea Thompson and her daughter Madelyn Deutch. Lea is best known for her starring role in the award-winning TV series, “Switched at Birth”; for her lead role in the sitcom “Caroline in the City”; and her role in “Back to the Future”, where she played Ms. Lorraine Baines.

Another snippet from the blog, this one about the plot line:

In Mystery Case Files: Shadow Lake, Ms. Thompson plays a psychic medium that helps the Master Detective solve puzzles during their investigation of an eerie ghost town’s mysterious destruction. Her daughter, Madelyn, stars as a co-host of a Ghost Patrol TV show that’s filming on-scene to uncover the haunted legacy of the town. This past summer, both actresses traveled to places in and around Seattle to work with Big Fish’s in-house studio to film the live scenes that are used in the game.

Yet another MCF with video footage. If i want to watch a movie, i can do that at Netflix or purchase DVDs. I don't like this trend in games and have been disappointed with the last 3 or 4 MCF games because so much of them include video footage instead of actual gameplay. When I play a game, that is exactly what I want to do, PLAY! Instead, I now spend way too much time just WATCHING. This footage also bloats the size and download time.

In the past MCF has been my favorite series and I do own them all but am disappointed with most of them over the past few years. Why do I buy them? Partly through Habit. I wait a whole year or more for MCF. I have really enjoyed the series in the past and it has become a "must have" even when I don't like it. I do long for a MCF game with no video whatsoever but that is not going to happen. It is a gimic that sells ever more games and now is expected by the fans. I don't understand that but that is the way of gaming I guess. Now, with the addition of a popular actress I see the trend only continuing and I can see never again having a MCF game that I truly enjoy.

You tend to enjoy more of the straight hidden object games, don't you, Brib? There's still the Big City Adventure and Mystery P.I. series...

I love HOGs! This is what I mostly buy. The Adventure aspect can be fun and can add more interest but that is also getting way out of hand and I am having a hard time playing any so-called HOG that does not include a map. I just cannot remember where I need to go unless I take notes and that is NOT fun.

I used to buy a lot of M3s also but now most of those have a "strategy" aspect that I do not enjoy. I don't want to build a village and manage the inhabitants. I just do not like that kind of game and that has become a big part of many M3s. I know why the Devs do it. They can sell more games to a wider audience. Good for them but they no longer sell to me.

I still like straight HOGs and Pop Cap gets a lot of my money. It is almost a relief to play a good old-fashioned junk yard HOG. I own most of the BCA games, Mystery P. I. and others of that genre, These games are simple, colorful, have minis and extra items to find in each scene. The art is beautiful! I don't have to take notes or remember where I left off and what I need to to. They can also last a while and at the end you have an option to play again and find every item. Kudos to Pop Cap for offering these simple, fun HOGs!

My sis is right there with you, Brib. I personally love the opposite of what you prefer: lots of adventure with my HOG's, and lots of strategy/building with my M3's

I do enjoy straight HOG's and IHOG-lites now and then, don't get me wrong! Right offhand, I'd say that Seasons of Mystery: The Cherry Blossom Murders and Classic Adventures: The Great Gatsby are two of my favorites from that genre. Beautiful games! Regarding Gatsby, to be honest, I didn't enjoy the story much, as I didn't actually care about any of the characters. Still, I really enjoyed the game

The Cherry Blossom Murders is also a favorite of mine. It is beautiful and fun and I did not get "lost" playing it. I didn't like Gatsby though and did not buy it. The Demo was just OK for me and I didn't enjoy it enough to buy.

I recently purchased "Mayan Prophecies: Ship of Spirits", CE. This is an adventure HOG that is beautiful and fun to play. I do have a little trouble remembering where I have to go but there is a Map and the Hint will point the way. I like this one so much that I am playing a second time. Apart from adventure and HOS and minis, there are also cursed objects to find as well as a few other things such as Humming Birds. Some minis are challenging, others not difficult. This is one of the best games I have played in a while. I only hope that, despite the video part, MCF will be almost as entertaining.

I'm not a huge fan of real people appearing in games. If they're going to use actors, I'd prefer that they use some kind of graphic effect on them to make them match the environment a bit better.

The official speculation thread at Big Fish has been started. You can find it HERE.

Two new links of the BF Blog:

Ask the Developer – Mystery Case Files: Shadow Lake

and

Lea Thompson to Host Live Q&A on Twitter

The sneak peek is now up on BF's Blog:
http://www.bigfishgames.com/blog/sneak-peek-mystery-case-files-shadow-lake-collectors-edition/

Shadow Lake is released to Game Clubbers today! The reviews are mixed but even those who love it seem to have some reservations about it.  There are, at this moment, 2 pages of tech issues in the Forum for this game.

Despite problems, this will probably be a big seller for BFG.  To add to it, there is a Half Off all CEs sale.  Buy Shadow Lake and get half off any CE in the catalog. Some people may buy MCF just to get the other CEs.  You must buy them all at the same time.

This game requires the latest Direct X.  Several players cannot seem to get the wide screen and are complaining about overly large black borders.  Some players are having difficulties with the HOS.  In at least one case Hidden Objects could not be seen at first but eventually appeared.  Some complain that there is not enough info about accessing the extras.  The Guide seems to be of little help and you can only view the scene you are on.  Apparently you cannot move back and forth in the Guide.

I will post more after i try the Demo.


EDIT by Genki:  Game released.  Find the game thread HERE.