Game review: Alice in Wonderland

A few months ago, I reviewed an Alice in Wonderland themed time management game. Despite how difficult that game was, I gave into my love for all things Alice and tried the hidden object Alice in Wonderland game. While the storyline wasn't quite Alice in Wonderland, it was very similar. Your character recently purchased a new house. In the basement, you find a portal to another world. In one of the rooms upstairs, you find a newspaper article about some missing girls. Much to your surprise, you find one of the missing girls in the other world! It is up to you to travel to the strange world and save all of the missing girls.

As should be expected from a Wonderland game, this isn't just a plain hidden object game. Some of the objects need to be put together before you can use them. Some of the parts for these 'bigger' objects aren't even in the same room. However, you do get slight hints when that happens. (The items turn red when you aren't in the same room as the object.) This makes the game a little more difficult, yet not so difficult that it is annoying. There are also a few mini-games - letters that need to be pieced together or gears that need to be lined up. (I fully admit that I sucked at the gears and frequently skipped that part.)

I love when games add little things like these to separate them from the run of the mill games. And I love it even more when they do it well enough to make the game fun and interesting instead of aggravating. I had tons of fun playing and I think you will too.

Game review: Mystery Legends: Sleepy Hollow

I took a bit of a break from gaming for awhile. I found myself getting burned out. When I decided it was time to return, I found Mystery Legends: Sleepy Hollow waiting for me. The tale of Sleepy Hollow is one of my favorite stories so I was excited to see how a video game revolving around it would be. Luckily for me, it was pretty darn good. In the story mode, you try to solve the disappearances of a variety of townspeople. Clues that you find by searching through their houses and other areas will help you determine how they died. As I played the game, it wasn't too difficult yet it was challenging enough to keep my interest. Yes, there are some objects hidden in dark areas in the room but I think that will be the norm in these types of games now. Either way, if you like Sleepy Hollow, I think you'll enjoy this.

Game review: Natalie Brooks: Secrets of Treasure House

In Natallie Brooks: Secrets of Treasure House, you play Natalie Brooks. Her recently deceased grandmother left a house to Natalie, who now has to unravel all of the secrets around it in order to save it from being taken by the bank. This is another hidden object game that has taken gameplay to another level. Each location has a list of objects you need to find but, in order to find the big object in each location, you need to find other objects that will open a drawer or something along those lines. It changes the game from a hidden object game to more of a role playing game (RPG) much like King's Quest or Zork back in the day. The only difference is that you don't have to travel to different locations to get the items you need. They are all right there in front of you. You just need to find them.

This is one of the few games that I actually enjoyed the storyline. Most of the time, I just skip past the cut scenes because they are boring and don't add anything to the gameplay. However, I found the story here to be rather compelling. I wanted to know what grandma was scheming before she died. Treasure House is definitely a game I'd recommend to anyone.

Game review: Can You See What I See?

As geeky parents, our kids often see us doing geeky things like playing video games. Many times, the kids want to play too but, a lot of the time, the games are just too difficult to the child to do anything besides watch. Can You See What I See? is different. The premise of the game is that you are helping run a collectible store. It is your job to fill each customer's order. Each location is broken into four areas. You click between the four corners in order to find all of the objects on the list. While the areas are generally pretty cluttered, the list of objects is fairly easy to read. So, at worst, the child can pick which area to look in and probably read the list to you. And, chances are, they can probably find the objects faster than you can!

My daughter absolutely loves this game. I think that she kind of likes being able to find the objects faster than I can. She still needs my help once in awhile but, for the most part, I'm just there to tell her that she's doing well. That's OK. There are still a lot of games where I can find things faster than she can. Can You See is still a nice game that we can play "together."

Game review: Escape The Museum

While it may not seem like it, I did stop playing casual video games for a couple of days. That meant that I had a lot to catch up on. I decided to start with Escape The Museum, a hidden object game. This was probably the most interesting hidden object games I have played in a long time. Instead of just being a straight-forward game requiring you to find a list of objects in a location, there are different levels to each location. Your character has been trapped in a museum by an earthquake and she is trying to get to her daughter, located in a different area of the museum. Unfortunately, parts of the museum have been badly damaged by the quake and, therefore, you need to figure out a way to get to the next room. This is the part that makes the game interesting. You do get a 'shadow list' - where your list is just shadows of the objects you need - of objects that you need to open the door. In some cases, it's the key to the room; in others, the objects work together to lift a heavy object out of the way. Of course, some of the objects are needed to interact with objects in the room in order to find ANOTHER object. For example, you'll need to find a coin to use in the soda machine to get a soda to spray on an electrical box to short out the door lock. See? You need to do a little more thinking for this game!

There are also traditional hidden object pieces in the game. The museum curator will call you on your cell phone asking you to save some of the museum pieces. Then you will get your traditional list of objects to search for. I found this part to be a little more difficult than other hidden object games. Mostly because some of the items were so small, it was difficult to see them - especially in some of the messier rooms. But you can always call for help if you need it.

I thought this was a really great game. It kept all of the aspects of a hidden object game but changed them up a bit to make it more interesting. This isn't a game that kids would be able to play easily. However, it is a good game if you are an adult looking for a little more oomph in your hidden object game.

Game review: Miss Teri Tale

You are Miss Teri Tale, a famous mystery writer. Your neighbor's prized pooch, Jason, has been dognapped and it is up to you to find him. Sneak into each of your neighbor's houses and rifle through their things in order to find which one of them has it out for the prize-winning show dog. This hidden object game, not-very-cleverly named after the heroine, is vaguely interesting. You start out in your office when a video message comes across your laptop with instructions on how to play the game and where to go. For the most part, this is a typical hidden object game. However, since you are breaking into your neighbor's houses, there are a few puzzles where you need to solve the alarm code in order to enter. In my opinion, the best part of this game is the way you can 'refill' your number of hints. When you run out, simply head back to your office to collect more four leaf clovers. There is usually two or three each time you go back.

While there is nothing new offered in the gameplay, it is still pretty fun. I didn't care much for the constant interruptions from the mystery person in the laptop videos, which is how the game advances the story, but luckily those don't last long. If you like hidden object games, give it a try.

Game review: The Nightshift Code

My daughter really enjoys playing hidden object games with me. So I loaded up The Nightshift Code for us to try out. Of course, I always start off by telling her that the game may be too difficult for her and to let me know if it is. For the most part, Nightshift is a typical hidden object game. However, in the higher levels, the game tries to up the difficulty level by giving you a list of objects that can be found in multiple rooms. You have to click between different locations just to finish one list. The problem there is that the list doesn't tell you which room it goes to. So you end up spending a lot of time looking for objects that may not be in the room you are in! I didn't find it particularly difficult but it was very annoying.

I did enjoy some of the mini-games. One, for example, had a puzzle where an object would represent a word in a sentence. The game gives you multiple sentences and you have to figure out which object goes with each word. It was slightly difficult but just enough to make it fun instead of aggravating. I wish that there were more of these types of puzzle games available.

Game review: Polly Pride: Pet Detective

The hidden obeject game Polly Pride: Pet Detective tells the story of Polly, the owner of a pet shelter who also does a bit of detective work on the side. If you have lost your pet, Polly will find it for you! I thought that this "pet detective" twist to the hidden object genre was interesting. In each level, you have the opportunity to find a lost pet from one of the previous storylines. While it doesn't change the actual gameplay any, it does give the game a little bit more of a emotional tie. People don't like losing their beloved pets so it feels good to help someone, even a person in a video game, find their animals.

Game review: Blood Ties

In Blood Ties, you are recruited to help private investigator Vicki Nelson solve some unusual missing persons cases. This is accomplished by finding clues around town. There isn't anything particularly amazing about the game. It's a fairly typical hidden object game. Some of the locations are interesting because they look a bit more life-like than in other hidden object games. I really wish there was more for me to talk about though. I did enjoy playing the game but not any more than I enjoyed playing the Dream Date series or Mystery Case Files.

Game review: Hidden Secrets - The Nightmare

Hidden Secrets - The Nightmare is a difficult hidden object game. You play a murder victim who is currently in a coma, attempting to piece together what happened to her. This mystery is solved through finding objects in rooms that she's been in as well as solving some puzzles in the mini-games. The main problem with this game is that the levels are so dark that it is almost impossible to find any of the objects on your list. Your cursor will glow a bit when you come near an object that you can interact with but that doesn't always make your job easy. There is also a ton of plot involved. If you are the type of gamer that just wants to play the game instead of getting wrapped up in the backstory, this wouldn't be for you. This game is aimed at people who really want to be absorbed into the experience of the character. However, I don't know if anyone will be able to overlook the visual darkness of the game to be able to fully enjoy it. I, personally, found it irritating.