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Therefore, to the people who tipped me off to Tradewinds Odyssey, Aveyond, and Dairy Dash: you were absolutely right - they are great, and here they are.
Inexplicable Oversight #1:
Tradewinds Odyssey. To be honest, the fact that I somehow missed out on a Tradewinds game is one of the great mysteries of the world. This entire series ranks among the best entertainment that casual gaming has to offer; it reminds me fondly of some of the great merchant games of decades past, such as Guns or Butter (“Guns, please!”) and High Seas Trader. The writing in each game combines referential humor and gleeful anachronism with smart, cheeky dialogue, and the ability to replay with different characters – each with his or her own personality and goals – extends the life of the game for many hours.
In this latest installment, you’re dropped right into the middle of the action so famously described by Homer, sailing your merchant ships through kraken-infested, gods-cursed waters in the thick of the Trojan War. Of course, this being a Tradewinds game, nothing will be quite the way you remembered it from that high-school literature class. Expect lots of quests, frequent pirate battles, and a very modern take on mythical characters and events. Oh, and don’t forget to check the shipyard every chance you get, because a bigger fleet is always a better fleet.
Again, I have no clue how this one slipped by me, but now that I’ve found it, I’m working my way through all the characters. If you’ve enjoyed previous Tradewinds or other merchant games, or like the writing style of Sandlot’s second humor/strategy series, Westward, Tradewinds Odyssey is an absolute must-play.
Inexplicable Oversight #2:
Aveyond. From the very top of my list of Things I Never Expected To Hear at Work list: “but we do have an RPG series on the site. Haven’t you played Aveyond?" Wait… what? How did that happen? When did that happen? How did I miss it??
RPGs – a hardcore-gamer acronym for “role-playing games” – are one of the oldest videogame genres, and still just as popular as ever. Aveyond faithfully recreates the “feel” of the originals. To play this game is to step back in time: the graphics are simple but cute, the characters are interesting but not over-wrought, and combat is as straightforward as selecting an enemy and choosing “attack,” “spell,” or “item.”
Although it’s easy to learn and play, Aveyond is hardly “casual” in its scope. Like all traditional RPGs, this is a game of many hours and frequent perils. Fortunately, you can save your game at any point (a nice perk), and continue later when you have more time to spare. A journal keeps track of your unfinished quests, and characters you meet in the game will always be happy to refresh your memory of the tasks they’ve asked you to perform.
I’m about ten hours into the game at this point, and am enjoying it thoroughly. And from an old-school RPGer’s point of view, the only thing better than knowing we have one of these great games on the site is knowing that we have two: once I’m done with this one, I’ll be moving on to the sequel, Aveyond: Lord of Twilight!
Inexplicable Oversight #3:
Dairy Dash. A few weeks ago, as I was busy assembling my list of game characters to help with the dream party I’d love to throw, one of my colleagues suggested The Smiths from Dairy Dash. When this suggestion was met with my best “What you talkin’ about, Willis?” look of befuddlement, he insisted that I download the game, right there and then. (I countered with a short lecture on the nature of deadlines; he scoffed at my inability to multi-task; we compromised on a promise that I’d look at it “later.” Which I did. Hah!)
Of course, the moment I found time to actually load it up, I realized I’d missed yet another gem. Dairy Dash = Farm Frenzy + Alice Greenfingers and just a hint of Diner Dash. I adore farming games! The basics of this one are classic time-management and planning: you have to feed your animals, plant crops, harvest resources, and chain similar actions for extra points. Which sounds simple, except that animals aren’t really good at keeping schedules, and every species likes its food, water, and milking (or whatever) in a different order. Oh, and to keep you on your toes, the bushes occasionally sprout wolves.
My original plan was to play just enough Dairy Dash to forestall any future nagging from my colleague. My new goal is to keep retrying the four levels I haven’t gotten Expert on until they fall before my mad time-management skills.
So there you go: three games I simply can’t believe I missed. Of course, there’s always the chance I’ll miss another fantastic new release in the future – at least until I win the lottery and can devote even more time to playing games – so if I’ve skipped one of your own favorites and you think I may be insane for not mentioning it, just drop me a line and let me know!
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| Tech Talk
Much as I love the words “nope, can’t think of any big issues this week,” a smoothly running MSN Games means a really short Tech Talk section. So today I’ll be using this space for some Aveyond tips!
Talk to everyone you can. Search every bookcase; open every box; buy at least one of everything. If you’re not sure what to do next, talk to everyone again!
Before you select any of your “advanced classes,” spend enough time in the woods to increase your level to 15. Then you can choose from every available spell (including Trinity Fury, which hits all enemies).
As soon as you have Lars in your party, go back to the advanced classrooms and pick spells for him as well (make sure one of them is Healing)!
The fierce-looking woman outside the Wildwood says she won’t join you until you have “more experience”… no matter what your level is. What she actually means is that you need to graduate to a full Sword Singer before she’ll travel with you.
Keep a notepad handy, and jot down the locations of gravestones, dirt patches, locked treasure chests, and climbing ropes. You won’t be able to do anything with them for a long time, and by the time you have the right equipment or characters, it’s easy to forget where everything was!
Finally, a bonus hint, since this drove me crazy: later in the game, when you get the “ruby slippers” and the witch tells you they’re magic and can send the wearer anywhere in the world, don’t waste time trying to figure out how to wear them. You can’t. (Awwwww!) Instead, find the person they were stolen from.
I’ll see you next time!
Ask Moxie!
Do you have a question or comment? I’d love to hear from you. Just email me at zmaster@microsoft.com and I’ll do my best to answer in one of these Coffee Breaks! Oh, please make sure to include your MSN Games nickname, so I know who to list here if I quote you!
(And if you have technical questions or problems with a game, we’ll cheerfully answer those as well. Just submit them through the support section of this site!)
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