The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the first ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Mon. March 1st: 50% off on Imperial City: The Crown of the King

Tue. March 2nd: 50% off on New Star Soccer 2010

Wed. March 3rd: 60% off on Knight of Dulcinea

Thu. March 4th: 60% off on Be Rich

Fri. March 5th: 45% off on Treasure Seekers: The Enchanted Canvases

Sat. March 6th: 65% off on Magic Maze

Sun. March 7th: 65% off on Escape From Lost Island

The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the first ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Mon. February 8th: 65% off on Vacation Mogul

Tue. February 9th: 60% off on L!ght Deluxe

Wed. February 10th: 60% off on Architect: Episode 1

Thu. February 11th: 50% off on Strange Cases: The Tarot Card Mystery

Fri. February 12th: 50% off on Habitat Rescue: Lion’s Pride

Sat. February 13th: 60% off on King’s Smith

Sun. February 14th: 60% off on Angela Young 2: Escape the Dreamscape

The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the first ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Mon. February 1st: 65% off on Mirror Mysteries

Tue. February 2nd: 65% off on 1001 Nights: The Adventures of Sindbad

Wed. February 3rd: 50% off on Simplz: Zoo

Thu. February 4th: 65% off on Boonka

Fri. February 5th: 65% off on Rasputin’s Curse

Sat. February 6th: 60% off on Passport to Paradise

Sun. February 7th: 65% off on Magic Academy 2

The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the first ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Sun. January 17th: 65% off on Slingo Mystery: Who’s Gold

Mon. January 18th: 81% off on The Build-a-lot Game-Pack [Reviews Build-a-lot, 2: Town of the Year and 3: Passport to Europe]

Tue. January 19th: 45% off on Wedding Dash: Ready, Aim, Love [Review]

Wed. January 20th: 50% off on Collapse!

Thu. January 21st: 50% off on Marooned

Fri. January 22nd: 65% off on Tropical Farm

Sat. January 23rd: 45% off on Gotcha: Celebrity Secrets [Review]

This is the third Farm Frenzy 3. I appreciate the developer for keeping the numbering at three because it shows there’s not much difference in terms of game play. The main difference is the setting, so there’s no misleading anyone claiming it’s a whole new game with enhancements. The series has many fans who are happy to keep playing the same game with new challenges.

Farm Frenzy 3: American Pie: Manage five different farms around the world and try your hand at penguin breeding and jewelry making in Farm Frenzy 3! Enjoy outrageously fun levels, wacky animals and more upgrades than there are ears in a field of corn! Grow crops, feed animals, collect produce and manufacture goods, while you enjoy zany animation! Help Scarlett become the president of the Farmers` Union by earning the votes of the people she helps.

Farm Frenzy 3: Ice Age: Join Scarlett as she leaves sunshine and warm temperatures behind and travels to the North Pole to check out a farm she purchased through a newspaper ad. When she arrives, she not only finds the property in a state of disrepair, she also meets two brothers who could use her help making ice cream. While whipping up chilly treats in 90 levels of frosty fun, you’ll breed and care for penguins and other arctic animals, manufacture new products and enjoy a parade of visual gags. You’ll also meet a surprise guest who will show his appreciation for your hard work in a special way! Who is it?

Here’s the list of all the Farm Frenzys.

• Farm Frenzy
• Farm Frenzy 2
• Farm Frenzy Pizza Party
• Farm Frenzy 3
• Farm Frenzy 3: American Pie
• Farm Frenzy 3: Ice Age

Farm Mania 2 is also out. Anna of Farm Mania is back again! This time she is even more enthusiastic, active and full of great ideas! Wanna have your own farm? No problems! Fruits and vegetables, animals and fishes, dairy plant and bakery – you can have it all with in Farm Mania 2! By the way, Anna got married to a strong and charming farmer Bob and now all their dreams are coming true! You can help them!

Celebrities. Blogging. It’s a dream come true for some who would love to write about famous people and their lives. Gotcha: Celebrity Secrets is your chance to get a taste of that. As Gaby, you start working as a blogger and doing whatever you can to break the news so you can drive up your blog traffic. In this hidden object game, you search for people instead of things — a nice twist that unfortunately feels monotonous after a little play despite 40 scenes and 1200 characters.

When you first meet Gaby, she’s in a job that she hates (familiar to many). She begins receiving text messages letting her know where celebrities will appear. A chapter consists of following a celebrity and getting the story. Events include a wedding, a birth, awards and others. Every scene also has bonus objects, which includes finding Gaby, five stars and another person or thing. The game gets harder as you advance by adding more people and creating more crowded scenes. You can also challenge yourself to reach the expert level by finding everyone before time runs out.

The game tells you who you need to find by giving clues. Sometimes you see the person’s image, sometimes you receive a clue like “wearing a t-shirt with a heart on it” and sometimes you see a silhouette. After playing a couple of chapters, you’ll notice the people start repeating and before long, you know exactly what you need to find. Though the scenes grow more crowded, the cues will help you see through them.

One of the things going for the game is its vibrant colors and cartoon-style graphics. Although it offers a creative twist in the hidden object genre, Gotcha: Celebrity Secrets just doesn’t grip you long enough to want to play the whole game. The free hour of play is more than enough to give you an idea of the whole game. If you play to see how it ends, this one’s ending doesn’t satisfy. It’s a shame because this offers an original story and game play that could’ve gone further with the right treatment.

Download Gotcha: Celebrity Secrets.

FTC warning: Game received from publisher.

Anyone looking to finish the year off with a bang and lots of fun should head straight for Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove. This point-and-click game tells the story of four friends who are  graduate students filming their adventures only to run into trouble. The friends have disappeared and you find their movies dispersed throughout the captivating game.

In England, you run into a snowstorm where you come across an abandoned car with a video camera just outside of Dire Grove. Naturally, you can’t help but become curious and investigate the four friends’ claim that the legend of Dire Grove is real. While you won’t see a big leap between this one and Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst, it takes on a whole new story that comes together nicely with a satisfying ending. I wasn’t too happy with the ending Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst. Return to Ravenhearst is good, but it’s not a stand-alone story like Dire Grove.

Some scenes require you to find items that appear in the list — like in hidden object games, but then you’ll be rewarded with something you need for your travels. One of the strengths of the series is that you can go any place you wish. The only time “order” matters is when you need to find something before you can move forward. You’ll see sparkles appear in scenes, which indicate you need to explore the area.

The setting goes far and wide, although it won’t look that way in the beginning. Then you discover openings to bigger areas as you explore and check everything possible. For the longest time, I made no progress because I had overlooked a barely noticeable door in one of the rooms. You may get stuck at times when you have everything and yet, can’t progress. Do not give up. Keep looking around and touching everything or ask for a hint. Sometimes you just miss a step. Hints are almost always available, but you’ll need to give the hint meter a few moments to refill.

I’m not a fan of horror films, so I can promise you that those who feel the same won’t have a problem with this one. The films only make up a part of the action and I’m grateful they came with closed-captions. When I first heard about the game and its use of video, I freaked because my experience has been that most things don’t come subtitled.

A couple of short phrases that didn’t have captions, but you can find out what was said with a little research. These little quotes aren’t detrimental to the story. Do pay attention to the videos because they give you clues that can help as does your casebook, which captures your notes of what you’ve seen. The film also has some jerky action, not too agreeable for this gal who gets dizzy easily.

Considering the Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove takes place in England, the actors also have a British accent adding to its authenticity. The whole production reels you in making you feel a part of the game. A Collector’s Edition is available, which offers bonus game play, challenge and achievement system, tracking down 50+ objects that change shape and a strategy guide.

Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove is a superb game that will entertain you for a full day, a wonderful way to spend a winter day huddled around the computer and staying warm even though the most of the scenes are frozen.

PlayFirst has announced the upcoming launch of Gotcha: Celebrity Secrets, a hidden object game set in the world of celebrity sass and scandal. Launching December 15, 2009 on Playfirst.com, and other retailers beginning January 15, 2010, Gotcha: Celebrity Secrets will be available for PC and Mac Digital Download, priced at $19.95.

Gotcha puts you in the shoes of Gaby, a green but intrepid celebrity blogger, on a mission to uncover the juiciest gossip. Instead of searching for objects, players search for people. Plays hunt for special informants bursting with potential news at jet set events, jam-packed parties and red carpet galas. Gaby tries to unearth the details surrounding celebrity secrets like hush hush nuptials, new nip and tuck surgeries, who is having who’s baby (and what is it named?) and more. Locating these influential insiders is no easy task, as players need to scour over 40 crowded scenes throughout town.

Players will also face unique Tinsel Town challenges as they hunt for gossip, such as maneuvering past security guards, moving limos and crowd-clogging confetti. And of course, players will need to contend with camera-shy personas who don’t want Gaby digging up their secrets. A collection of all-new mini-games challenge sleuths to piece together clues from informants, leading to salacious stories about the most sought-after personas in the biz.

Gotcha will have players looking for over 1,000 different characters, ranging from crazy and cool, to everything in between, each with a one-of-kind take on Hollywood. All of which ends up on Gaby’s celebrity blog, which players can customize with an array of styles and upgrades. Player’s will dish on the hottest happenings at venues including a Night Club, Airport, Charity Functions, Reality Shows and more. Players will turn the town over looking for spicy rumors, gossip and more on their way to the top of the celebrity blogosphere.

Watch for the game on Playfirst.

The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the first ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Sun. December 6th: 65% off on Aztec Tribe

Mon. December 7th: 50% off on Posh Boutique 2

Tue. December 8th: 65% off on Fishdom: Frosty Splash

Wed. December 9th: 60% off on Coconut Queen

Thu. December 10th: 65% off on Masters of Mystery: Blood of Betrayal

Fri. December 11th: 50% off on Bookworm Adventures: Astounding Planet

Sat. December 12th: 65% off on Find Your Own Way Home

The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the first ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Sun. November 29th: 65% off on Dream Sleuth

Mon. November 30th: 65% off on Science Girls!

Tue. December 1st: 65% off on Save Our Spirit

Wed. December 2nd: 50% off on Delicious: Emily’s Taste of Fame

Thu. December 3rd: 65% off on Season Match 2

Fri. December 4th: 60% off on Mysterious City: Vegas

Sat. December 5th: 65% off on Real Crimes: Jack the Ripper