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Faerie Solitaire Vs. Fairway Solitaire Review

Mike Gnade — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:15:28 +0000

Click the picture to download Fairway Solitaire's Demo

Let’s start out by expelling all the bad. Faerie Solitaire by Subsoap is a blatant clone of last year’s Fairway Solitaire. The gameplay is nearly identical and there’s even a dubious similarity in the game’s name. While the game is not a unique concept, the execution is absolutely sublime. I guess the moral of the story is: If you’re going to copy a game, do it better.

Last year Fairway Solitaire took the already simplistic card game and adapted it for the casual game space. The gameplay in Fairway Solitaire (and now Faerie) doesn’t have much to do with Solitaire. Instead of alternating suits and arranging cards from high to low, you simply click away cards based on the active card at the top of the deck. It’s more like counting than Solitaire. If a two is active, click 3, 4, 5, and then back down to 4… It’s all explained in both games better, but hopefully you get the idea. While the gameplay is simplistic, it’s also utterly addictive. There’s something about getting that long combo that is very satisfying and each level challenges the player to rid the field of ALL the cards.

So what makes Faerie Solitaire better? Faerie Solitaire has superior graphics, effects and beautiful cutscenes that tie into a cohesive story. The single player is comprised of an adventure mode that progresses through a wide range of different locales. There are also a plethora of additional features which keep players utterly addicted to clicking cards. There’s a Tamagotchi-esque minigame that involves collecting eggs, hatching pets, and evolving them. Not to mention the upgrade store, achievements and appropriately named ‘Challenge Mode’. While I vastly prefer the Fairway Solitaire golf motif and scoring system, Faerie Solitaire outshines it in presentation, features, graphics, and music.

Faerie Solitaire is a shining example of how to make a successful indie/casual game. The developer found a successful portal game online, copied it, improved it, and cast it with fantastic production values. Both Fairway and Faerie Solitaire have the simple, fun and addictive card gameplay, but Faerie wraps it up in a much tighter and feature packed game. The game is simply enchanting.

Click the screeshot to download Faerie Solitaire's pc demo

Gameplay: Fairway Solitaire
While the games play nearly identical, Fairway Solitaire came up with it first and Faerie doesn’t really mess with their original formula. Plus Fairway’s golf motif and par scoring system is great.

Graphics: Faerie Solitaire
This is a close one, but ultimately Faerie edges out Fairway. While Fairway has a great cartoon look to it, Faerie’s cards are significantly more detailed and its locales vary a lot more than the greens of a golf course….not to mention the highly detailed cutscenes.

Sound/Music: Fairway
This is another really close call. Both Games music feature laidback and unintrusive music, but Fairway’s golf sound effects give it a slight edge. Maybe it’s just the golfer in me.

Lasting Appeal: Faerie
Faerie’s magical creatures, story, and chellenge mode and Faerie Land upgrade store means there’s a lot more game than Fairway. The challenge mode is especially difficult and fun.

WINNER: FAERIE SOLITAIRE

Faerie Solitaire Review

Zak — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:06:07 +0000

Click the Screen to Download the Free Demo

Faerie Solitaire by Subsoap is a version of a linear adventure style card game similar to Fairway Solitaire. The story goes that a bunch of faeries from all the areas of Faerie Land have been captured by an evil wizard. Surprisingly, playing solitaire rescues them. To be honest the story didn’t rope me in and at times I wished I could skip some of it to play the cards. Now playing the game was another story. I was simply addicted to the gameplay, graphics and innovative additions to a classic card game. I found myself returning to the game night after night until I completed it.

There are three different gameplay modes to Faerie Solitaire: the adventure mode, a free play mode, and a challenge mode. In the adventure mode, each level presents you with objectives that must be completed before continuing to the next stage. Each level lays out a number of cards arranged in different patterns. Your ultimate goal is to clear the screen and receive a perfect score. Card combos and meeting level objectives result in ridiculous amounts of money and power-ups.

Click the Screen for the Free Demo

The gameplay is similar to Solitaire in that the usual suit of cards are provided and you have to clear the card arrangements by flipping cards from your “stock” pile and pull cards from the “tableau” either one above or one below the target. The suit of the card doesn’t matter, just the number (be it higher or lower). Each stage is broken into nine hands or levels and each level has its own objective (i.e.- number of perfects, combo size or amount of cash). Sounds simple, right?

The beauty is that clever variables are slowly introduced. I’ll admit I was denied more than a few perfect completions by frozen cards (unlocked by a fire card) and cards ensnared by vines (accessed by a rose card). The variables tend to alter how a player approaches a hand. I found myself almost obsessing over unlocking these cards and foregoing larger combos. If the player doesn’t meet all the required stage objectives, they are sent back to repeat the entire stage.

During the progression of the game, the player collects eggs and other resources. The players can then hatch and evolve these eggs with the resources collected. It’s a fun feature, but doesn’t drastically affect the gameplay. They do add to the achievements that can be unlocked by the player, of which there are many.

The free mode allows players to return to different parts of the story and replay levels. It definitely adds to replay value that cards are randomly generated each time the level is started. However, both the adventure mode and free mode weren’t the most difficult to play. The challenge mode addressed definitely addresses the lack of difficulty in the other more casual modes. Some of the level objectives are down right insidious (I still can’t complete a level in under a minute).

Click here for the free pc game demo

Faerie Solitaire has solid graphics. The game is beautifully designed and each level is well incorporated into the overarching theme of the game. For a low budget game the hand-drawn backgrounds and cut-to storyboards really dress to impress. Card animations, lighting effects and particle effects were used without being overwhelming. I was especially impressed with the thought that went into all aspects of the game. For example, there were different graphics for all the different pets, faerie land and the un-lockable content. It’s not the top of the line in the graphics department, but it is a fantastic experience.

The Subsoap guys did a good job coming up with a full voiceover for the storyline segments of the game. I admit I wasn’t enthralled by the storyline and the cliffhanger ending but the voiceovers added a little something to the storytelling experience. The levels had some great ambient music in background (I can still hear it) and the card sound effects were good. I love the fireball sound.

Story aside, Faerie Solitaire has lasting appeal going for it. The simplicity and strangely addictive
qualities found in the game provide for hours of entertainment. Insidious objectives in the challenge mode and the randomness found in the hands dealt, provide for quality replay value. I’ll admit I didn’t discover the Faerie Land feature until I played the game full through to completion. Having said that, I wish I had. During the adventure mode, the player collects money on each level. I enjoyed watching my cash add up, but had I known, I would have been banking that money in Faerie Land on upgrades

Between the levels, the player has the opportunity to visit Faerie Land and purchase buildings that grant power-ups, such as: multiple undos, additional time and cards being playable at the start of the hand. I’ve since built up my Faerie Land and returned to the challenge mode. I had a significant advantage in my favor after the upgrades.

The ever random card tableaus along with smooth gameplay and challenging objectives keep the lasting appeal fresh and endlessly (almost frightfully) addictive. It just goes to show that a little magic can be created without all the hype of a major production studio.

Pros:

addictive gameplay, great replayability, AAA polish

Cons:

Story is just OK

Rating:

89%

On Trial: Faerie Solitaire

Mike Gnade — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:00:45 +0000

click the pic to download free pc game demo of the game

Caspian: 10

Faerie Solitaire is a classic solitaire game, wrapped up in a curious little story about some faeries trapped in the woods and such. As you play, more of the story is revealed, along with (early on) a few twists to the gameplay such as frozen cards which must be melted first with a fire card, or thorns that can only be cleared by uprooting a rose.

Faerie Solitaire’s general aim and objective beyond the simple playing of solitaire and the story is to collect money which enables you to unlock special enhancements to the game in Faerie Land, with such useful tweaks as the ability to undo a move, or see how many cards are left in the deck.

Subsoap keep releasing patches with new features. At the time of writing, there used to be a Hidden Object quest game that popped up occasionally, but it has been temporarily removed and will reappear in another patch.

It is a horribly, horribly addictive game. I can’t really explain why. I didn’t think I even liked card games and now I literally cannot stop playing it.

Steve: N/A

Mike: N/A

Unfortunately, Subsoap felt the need to remove their demo of Faerie Solitaire… they say “coming soon”, but a member of the panel who didn’t procrastinate was able to enjoy the demo before its removal (since the writing of this panel, the demo is back up). From watching the video, Faerie Solitaire looks like a clone of Fairway Solitaire which was probably one of my favorite casual games last year. Good news is that the developer has provided us with a full version to review in a future issue!