June 15, 2008

Mystery Stories: Island of Hope - new hidden object game

Mystery Stories: Island of Hope is a new hidden object game available exclusively from Big Fish Games. Like all games of the genre, the player’s goal is collect specific items which have been cleverly hidden in cluttered scenes. The storyline involves solving a mystery, so you’ll be collecting clues towards that goal as you play.

The artwork is bright, clear and colorful. Objects to be found are well defined and fairly hidden within the crowded scenes. Some are pretty tough to find. Hints and tools are in generous supply and can be earned along the way. I needed hints a few times. The items to be searched for are presented either as a word list or as silhouettes. Some items require the player to perform a simple action: in the top photo above, find the film, find the camera, insert the film in the camera.

There’s nothing earth-shakingly innovative going on here, but it’s a good game. Searching in the dark and other well-known devices keep gameplay challenging and interest levels high. I found the game to respond sluggishly when an object is clicked and when swithching screens - very frustrating with the clock ticking in timed play - but have no other complaints.

Some of the objects collected along the way are clues to help the player solve the the mystery at the conclusion of the game. Additional clues are earned with mini-games like the eye-pleasing one shown above.

I’m giving Mystery Stories: Island of Hope points for fairplay and for providing a medium-level challenge. It’s a relaxing game to play at your leisure, not a high tension one to get your blood pumping. A demo download is avialable for one hour of free play. If you decide to buy it’s $19.99, or as low as $6.99 for Game Club members.

You can see all of my hidden object game reviews in the games category for skeet’s stuff. Each review provides a few insights on my experience with the game and a link you can use to acces a free demo. Have fun!

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