Just a couple of short reviews on some very spectacular games I played recently from Big Fish Games.

Vampire Saga: Pandora’s Box:

Tyler`s grandfather has called him with some shocking news! After confronting his grandfather, Tyler is sent back in time to experience the mysterious occurrences and moments leading up to this bizarre revelation. Explore eerie Victorian locations and discover the truth in Vampire Saga: Pandora`s Box! Scour gorgeous Hidden Object scenes and play fun minigames as you dive deep into a decades-old mystery.

What I liked best about this game were the various places that you explored. This is a kind of Hidden Objects game with puzzles to be solved. It is a good idea to pay attention to the story as it progresses or you might find yourself wondering where you go next and what is left to be done. The only “somewhat scare” is the monster. Even for a 3D polygon creature he’s kinda creepy.

The story was kind of decent and had some interesting twists. Usually I don’t care much for the stories in games and they’re peripheral, at least when I play.

My only problem with the game was that it just didn’t last long enough. I did get about 22 hours of play over six days.

Drawn: The Painted Tower:

Enter the world of Drawn, the newest adventure from Big Fish Games Studios. Unravel the secrets of the Painted Tower while overcoming challenging puzzles on your quest to save Iris. A curse has locked each floor of the tower, and only the most creative adventurer can find a way through. Enter lush painted worlds and meet fantastic characters who will help you…and sometimes try to stop you, on your quest through the dream world of The Painted Tower.

This is a very beautiful game and I do hope that there is a sequel. The story was quite good, but my eyes were definitely captured by all the visuals. As painted looking as the title itself, it was fun exploring everything. I thought the artwork had a touch of Tim Burton to it. The music was exceptional and the voice work, although little, was excellent. I don’t care for very vocal games unless the vocal talent is worth listening to.

Alan Rickman needs to lend his voice to a few games…

The puzzles are very challenging, and a couple of times I headed to the forum for help on figuring out what I was missing. Over a two week period, I got about 40 hours of gameplay from Painted Tower.

Dracula: Origin:

Play as the vampire slayer Professor Van Helsing, hot on the trail of the diabolical Count in this thrilling Large File Adventure! The ruthless Dracula is searching for an ancient, eldritch ritual to return damned souls to the earth. As the eminent Professor Van Helsing it`s up to you to stop him before his evil machinations are realized! Sharpen your stakes and dive into the terrifying depths of Dracula Origin ™ today!

I think you should get this game just for the pretty vampire. I think quite a few people did, too.

This is one of the many “large file” games that BFG has. That generally means that there is no demo to play. However, I understand from some of the folks I spoke to in the forums, that if you do a search, you can find a demo to play. I just bought it. It was easier that way.

It was a great game and the challenges were tough. I needed more help on finding some objects than I did on solving the puzzles. There are a lot of environments to explore and if you play this at night, with its music, you’ll have some nice chills. Listening to Nox Arcana or Midnight Syndicate is also encouraged.

Dracula had a really good story, and some pretty decent scares. Very long game play time, which is good. I bought this about four months ago and finally finished it.