I mainly have used BF to be a fill-in until a really good point/click full length Adventure game comes out. They are so limited now days and found that BF used to have a fair amount of good, creepy, eerie or at least good and mysterious, games.
BUT in the past year...ever since they were bought by the same company that owns Churhill Downs (racetrack in KY..where the Kentucky Derby is held each year) there have been very, very , VERY few and none I could really recommend to anyone. Mostly there are casino games or other style games and a LOT of what I would call junk. Also the quality of the more adventurous games has fallen. Many released with problems...and even in the forums there may be a comment from a tester who stated they noticed the problem and reported it before release, only to find it was (the game)released and the problem along with it. (I wonder if the Casino games have that problem and if so how long it is to a 'fix' for them--not long I Bet.). To me that is poor quality control. Who is minding the store?? In my opinion BF hasn't had very many good Hidden-object/whatever Adventure games that have much of a story line or much atmosphere since Escape from Ravenhearst. Now THERE was a game you could sink your teeth into (but I have to admit, could have done without the more detailed 'taking care of mama'..ewwww). Great storyline, good puzzles, awesome atmosphere . You do not need splatter and gore to create good creepiness or mystery. . BUT you DO need good writers and a team that cares about the product they are going to release!
You can't really reach anyone at BF to let them know this. so I am venting here. sorry guys. I have downloaded the latest Grim Façade trial and hope to be able to pass a few good hours with it but have my doubts. Really, Really miss having some GOOD mysterious, games from the BF site. .. but think may be time to cancel my subscription...is a real shame because I am housebound and used to really look forward to having a good game each week from them....but that happens seldom anymore. Oh, also, the games that do have problems (usually Collector Editions) don't really seem to get 'fixed' but I notice that Soon after there is a Standard Edition of the same game that seems to sometimes be ok....to me that says, knew there was a problem but decided to foist it (the CE) upon our customers anyway. pffuiii. The older games from over a year or so were much better (in the genre I like). Anyone else feel as frustrated/disappointed as I do about this???

Hi, gamenut!

I don't have a problem with BF's game selection, although there seems to be a glut of games involving the rescue of a family member who has been abducted by a creature with glowing red eyes. Give me a good old fashioned murder mystery any day, and I'm a happy camper! I think it's time for the release of another "Murder She Wrote" or "Criminal Minds" ! Have you played "Dead Reckoning: Brassfield Manor"? That was an excellent murder mystery game and it's now available in both the CE and SE version. I do agree that there seems to be more games released that contain glitches, but that is the developers' fault if their quality assurance is lacking. I haven't noticed a decline in BF's customer service because I still receive a prompt reply and issues are always resolved to my satisfaction.

My biggest complaint is that there are too few sales for Club Members. Most of the weekend and mid-week sale discounts are usually off the retail price and not the Club Member price. A half off CE sale should be $6.99 for Club Members, not $9.99. I've been buying less and less CEs, but that works in my favor because I can use one of my coupons to pick up the SE.

Susan

I'm sorry you have been largely disappointed with the new releases over the last several months. I can't really weigh in on this issue as I have mostly been playing games from a backlog that had been accumulating. I will say, though, that the developers of the most recent releases are, from what I can tell, the same developers that Big Fish has been working with now for several years - so perhaps you should write to the developers and tell them what sort of games you would like to see.

I guess I've been one of the fortunate ones, because among the Big Fish games I have played, I have had almost zero technical problems, so I have no complaints there.

When a new game is released every day, there are almost undoubtedly going to be some clunkers in the mix, although having said that, I also think of the expression of one man's meat being another man's poison.

I will keep my fingers crossed that the second half of the year will be better for you. I know a lot of folks are waiting and hoping for the sequel to True Fear: Forsaken Souls.

I've been happy with the majority of HOPA and IHOG offerings from BFG. Have to wonder if eventually one just gets bored in general with these games. So far I haven't reached that point. I haven't noticed a general decline in the quality of the games. There have been only one or two that I found to be disappointing in recent months and those were games that were released as strictly standard editions. In fact, I've been catching up on my backlog of CE games that I bought on sale and have been quite pleased with the quality. I've not experienced any technical problems for quite a while. Customer Service is a bit slower since the group in Ireland was dissolved. But the one instance this year where I had to contact Customer Service, the issue was resolved satisfactorily.

Sorry you've been disappointed. Hope you find a solution that works for you, gamenut.

One thing I've noticed on BF which I was glad to see, is, I tried to buy a game yesterday and they told me I already had it. Wondered why it wouldn't go in my cart till I looked at my purchased games. Yep, they were right. I bought it in March. Kept me from buying it a second time.

Have you played any of the "Final Cut" games, gamenut? I find them to be good mysteries.

This is a great feature. The only time I have observed where this doesn't work is if you have a CE of a particular game and you try to buy the SE, or vice versa, it won't alert you to this fact, as the system sees the CE/SE of the same game as two different games. So, just a heads up on that.

Hi, Marian!

I discovered that the hard way. I thought I'd found a good game to use a coupon on, so I bought it. As I was playing, it seemed awfully familiar, so I assumed that I'd either beta tested it or played the demo of the CE. It wasn't until I'd finished and my list of games popped up in the Game Manager that I realized I already owned the CE. Oh well. Live and learn ! Now I check my list of games BEFORE making a purchase so I don't make the same mistake twice !

Susan

Susan, if you haven't asked them already, you can write to Customer Support and tell them what happened, and they will give you a game credit for the SE that you purchased by mistake.

Unless you're going to buy more than 12 games a year from them, you might as well cancel. Most sales are oriented toward non-members, so you can always buy from them at discount without being a member. You will still have access to the games you already bought from them.

Too many of their games seem like "formula games," following a checklist of features they consider desireable. These "features" may include gimmicks, but not more important things like unique, interesting, well-paced, well-written stories or interesting puzzles that are neither too easy nor too inscrutable. Formula games are more apt to cause burnout because they tend to be so much the same, and it sure sounds like you have burnout.

Hi, Marian!

Thanks for the suggestion, but it was a long time ago and, to be honest, I don't even remember which game it was. I just figured that was the price I paid for stupidity !

Now that I'm buying fewer CEs because there are fewer Game Club Member sales, I can use my coupons to pick up the SEs when they're released instead of picking up games I don't really want (or have already purchased ) so I don't waste them.

Susan

Susie

I am with you, more whodunits would be nice.

Whilst I have to agree that many of the games from Big Fish DO more or less tell the same story I've been able, by selecting carefully, to always find something enjoyable AND in lots of cases that little bit different

Sparkle, I Love the Final Cut series,too! They are very well done.