November 28, 2007
New hidden object game with holiday theme
Big Fish Games had added Christmasville, a new hidden object game with a holiday theme, to their menu of great games. I enjoyed playing it, but have some reservations about giving an outright recommendation.
From the Big Fish download page:
Santa Claus is missing and Christmas is doomed! You`re Private Detective Arthur Knight, and you are the only one who can solve this mystery. Travel to Christmasville, where you`ll find help in the form of the Abominable Snowman, Reindeer, and Elf! Help these amazing creatures discover the truth about Santa Claus in this eye-popping Hidden Object Christmas adventure for the entire family!
Gameplay is exactly as we’ve come to expect. A rather lame story line explains why you’re searching for the hidden objects. As you clear each board you move a step closer to finding Santa Clause. Mini-games sandwiched between the searches are easy enough for a child to solve without getting frustrated.
The art is bright and colorful. Most of the hidden objects are pretty easy to locate, though there are a few that are somewhat difficult to see at first. Some of the scenes provide you with a list of items to find. Other’s provide a menu of silhouettes for you to match. I found some of those difficult as it was hard to separate the shapes from the clutter around them or the backgrounds that they’re placed against.
Caveat to those with children who are still young enough to believe: the story is not very flattering to Santa Clause. He’s said to be getting senile and forgetful. He is depicted as bumbling and thoughtless, causing his friends to worry with his unexplained absences. I think a young child might become fearlful that Santa doesn’t care about them and might forget them this Christmas. So, while the game gives the appearance of being great family fun, you might want to play it yourself first and consider how your children might react before you decide to play it with them.
This is not the most challenging hidden object game I’ve played lately and I don’t think it’s likely to shoot to the top anyone’s favorites list. Still, you can download it for a free hour of play from Big Fish Games if you’re craving a new hidden object game. It will help you pass some time until the next release. 
Technorati Tags: Big Fish Games, Christmas games, Christmasville, games, hidden object games, holiday games
RSS feed for comments on this post.
TrackBack URI
November 29th, 2007 at 5:04 am, Ann Says:
The color and artwork in these are always so beautiful. They should make them into Christmas cards.
December 3rd, 2007 at 7:04 pm, dragonfly183 Says:
I love the tree above the fireplace like that. Thats soooo me, lol.