Verdict: not bad
In a Nutshell: Fright of the Bumblebees is the first episode in this adventure game series. You play as Wallace and Gromit and have just started a honey delivery service that has the town all, ahem, abuzz.
“Enter the colorful world of West Wallaby Street in a series of four cracking adventures brought to you by Aardman Animations, the creators of the Wallace & Gromit animated films, and Telltale, the award-winning studio behind Sam & Max.”
Verdict: squintiful
In a Nutshell: Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos is a collection hidden object games tied together with an international dective/spy theme.
“Track down the evil and destructive fugitive Dr. Chaos, as you hunt down clues in the exciting seek and find game Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos. As an elite agent for Interpol, it is your mission to eradicate his trail of corruption as it takes you around the world from one international city to the next. Use your investigative skills to quickly gather the evidence needed to bring him to justice.”
Verdict: nice idea
In a Nutshell: Crossblock is a logic / pattern recognition puzzler.
“Cross out all the squares. Not as easy as it sounds!“
Verdict: Steampunktastic!
In a Nutshell: This is an action/adventure meets RPG, third-person perspective game with turn-based combat about evil gods, robots that ravage tree-based produce, and those that would stop the nefarious ways of both.
“Whether you’re a fan of the first installment or new to the series, you’ll be able to pick up and play Episode Two as a standalone experience. This time, armed with a new gardening implement and witty repartee, you rejoin Gabe and Tycho in searching for more clues and another place to live.
Explore new areas, combat bigger, badder and stranger enemies, solve even more puzzles and move one step closer to unraveling the mystery hidden deep in the sinister heart of New Arcadia.”
Verdict: classic Strong Badness
In a Nutshell: Use the rockin’ mouse, or the rollin’ Wii-mote, to point and click your way to first create, and then attempt win, the battle of the bands; all for the sake of your fun machine.
“Rock and roll! Hurting for cash, Strong Bad sets out to dominate the Battle Royale of the Bands. Can he rule the stage and win the big prize? Or will he be drowned out by the competition? Find out in this high-voltage episode — with special guest stars, rock gods LIMOZEEN!”
Verdict: too much of a good thing
In a Nutshell: Point and click your way along to help Strong Bad in his latest caper of ruining Homestar Runner.
“When Strong Bad’s plans to beat the snot out of Homestar backfire, he ends up with an unwanted houseguest cramping his style. Now he needs to get life back to normal, by any means possible.”
Verdict: More, please?
In a Nutshell: Polarity is a short, concept proving side-scroller with an, ahem, “attractive” twist.
“Polarity is a 2D platforming/puzzle game based on the concept of magnetic forces.
The goal of the game is to navigate environments and solve puzzles by using your suit’s magnetic properties in interesting ways. you cna attract to and repel from objects, instantly switch magnetic polarity, or even boost the strength of your magnetic field for added abilities”
Verdict: not bad
In a Nutshell: This is a very casual puzzle game with various achievements and a really annoying soundtrack.
(from the game’s site)
“Your mission is to destroy the totems without letting the golden Idol (aka Tot) fall into the ground. Use balance to keep Tot up. A cool physics based puzzle game!”
Verdict: we’ve been playing HOW long?!
In a Nutshell: This is a strategy board game similar to RISK, but more like RISK’s older, more mature, private college attending brother.
(from the game’s box)
“This game of world conquest traces the history of the world from the dawn of civilization to the threshold of modern time. Through 7 Epochs, you’ll lead a different empire, from the ancient Sumerians to the Persians, Romans, and Huns. You may take command of the Vikings, Ming Dynasty, or Germans. You must score as many victory points during your empire’s reign, for it is fleeting. A new power will soon rise to glory.”
Verdict: fairish
In a Nutshell: This is a first-person, mystery adventure with some puzzle solving that may, or may not, have anything to do with the overall story.
(from the game’s website)
“Somewhere beyond the bright piazzas and open markets of the Venice Carnevale lurks a masked thief. Despite months of investigations, the Italian police remain helpless as stolen treasures vanish in the night. That’s why the authorities asked you, as detective Nancy Drew, to join the case, to infiltrate a dangerous crime syndicate and catch this phantom thief before he or she destroys the heart of Venice!”