PAX 2011: A Look at Upcoming Titles from Big Fish Games
Posted 08/30/2011 at 12:33pm
| by Omaha Sternberg
Big Fish Games didn't show their scales at PAX 2011 this year, but we caught up with them over the weekend and captured a netful of info on some of their latest games.

First up is Drawn 2: Dark Flight, which continues the puzzle/adventure game of the little girl in the dark tower. Already released for Mac and Windows, Dark Flight is in the final stages of iOS beta, and the Big Fish devs have done a good job of translating the mouse controls into a touchscreen device.

However, Drawn 3, which we also got a peek at, has been designed from the bottom up for a touchscreen device. This episode in the series has a slightly different take to the storyline from the first two games, and the graphics show it. A fantasy adventure starting light and going dark, Drawn 3 brings a new faux 3D perspective to the graphics.

The gameplay mechanism is basically the same, but has been taken to a new extreme. Visual puzzle-solving hasn't even begun to bore, and Drawn 3 brings drawing, shape capture, and even pop-up books into the game in ways that will really add hours of fun to gamers who play it. And some easter eggs as well! Look for this gem sometime early Fall.

Another game that will soon make an appearance is Fairway Solitaire. We know, not ANOTHER solitaire game! But really, this one has a unique take on an old idea…solitaire meets golf. The cards in each chapter are arranged over a backdrop of a different fairway. Cards are arranged differently as well, with one card revealed on top of sets laid down in rows or columns.

In-game coinage will allow you to purchase upgrades and powerups in the form of golf clubs, allowing you to unlock cards trapped in the rough, for example, or get wildcards. But watch out for that pesky gopher; he'll try to take your clubs among other things, ala Wile E. Coyote.

Lastly, there's an addition that will come out on Facebook first, added to the PC/Mac and iOS versions later. Fairway Fever is Bejeweled Blitz for solitaire. You have to clear the screen of cards within the time limit. Doing so will add some time to your score so you can continue the game.
Then there's Patchwork. This iOS game is a very simple puzzle game, meant to be a mental break from puzzle-solving. You are presented with a patchwork of geometric shapes of different colors, and you must place the missing pieces into the red velvet section from the selection of pieces in your inventory. There is a challenge that you can also take on in which you have a limited time to complete six puzzles. Very Zen.
There were two other games that we got the chance to see, but we can't talk about them. Suffice to say that when the next Mystery Case Files game in the Ravenhearst series is released, we think you'll find the story pretty shocking. A deep story-line that makes you think.