I have been playing another casual puzzle game. This time, it is Diamond Detective. The object is to match chains of gems on the screen to stay ahead of the thief. Every five levels, there is a deductive logic puzzle to identify a criminal. Afterwards, you play a pursuit level to capture the crook. I was having fun with Diamond Detective until I hit a wall about 30 levels in. I played the level over and over a bunch of times but never managed to get past it. I tried so many times that I have now had my fill of Diamond Detective. It’s too bad because I was only a bit over halfway through the game.

Earlier this year, I played Mystery Case Files: Huntsville. Today, I finished my second MCF game, Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst. This was the third installment in the MCF series. In addition to hidden object searches, there were some puzzles as well. The puzzles weren’t my favorite part of the game. I tended to use the “call for backup” feature to bypass the puzzles at the cost of all remaining hints and a five minute penalty on the timer. The final challenge involved finding seven keys. Afterwards, there was a mandatory puzzle to reach the conclusion. Thankfully, I solved it with time to spare.

I completed another game in Spiderweb Software’s Geneforge saga, Geneforge 4: Rebellion. As you would expect given the title, the story was about a rebellion against the shapers. The plot was flexible enough to allow supporting either side or even both sides. I decided to support the rebel cause and play as a servile, one of the new character classes in Geneforge 4. It was time to cast off the shackles of shaper tyranny!

The game was a bit larger than its predecessors. There were five regions spread across two maps. Things started in Southeast Terrestia in the Forsaken Lands and proceeded west to Illya Province. The search for another geneforge brought my character, Krik, north to the Fens of Aziraph and then Burwood Province. The conclusion was set in the frozen lands of the Grayghost Mountains. As a servile, Krik was strong and well-suited for hand to hand combat. He came to be quite competent at spellcasting as well. Krik was not a skilled shaper so he mainly traveled without any creations. Early in the game, however, Krik had some traveling companions. One was an artila named Greenfang and the other was Khur, a fellow servile. For the most part, Krik was on his own. Fortunately, Krik made it to level 41 by the end of the game so he was quite powerful.

As is typical with this series, there was no moral clarity. Both sides operated in a gray area of some good and some bad. The drakons, giant lizard creations, planned to use the rebellion to elevate themselves into power once the shapers were destroyed. It looked like another era of tyranny was possible if the rebellion was successful. In the end, I made the tough decision to take the rebellion as far as possible without leaving the drakons in a position of ultimate power. Krik sabotaged their plans at the last possible minute. There was still much carnage unleashed on Terrestia. However, things ended in a relative stalemate between rebels and shapers. It was the best outcome I could obtain. I look forward to the conclusion of the series in Geneforge 5: Overthrow.