<\/p>\n

Of all the casual game types out there, hidden object games are my favorite guilty pleasure. I suppose it all stems from my childhood, as I grew up on kid magazines like Highlights<\/em> and Ranger Rick<\/em> which were always brimming with hidden object games and other pen-and-paper puzzles. So I\u2019ve played a TON of hidden object games in my time, including Alawar Entertainment\u2019s latest, Mind\u2019s Eye: Secrets of the Forgotten<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mind\u2019s Eye<\/em> is a solid new addition to the genre, combining standard hidden object game fare with a few interesting twists. You\u2019re given a list of items written on a notepad at the bottom of the screen, and, as you progress through the story, you must attentively scan various background environments like offices, subway stations, and crime scenes \u2013 this is a murder mystery, after all \u2013 to collect all of the listed items. Easy peasy!<\/p>\n

What\u2019s neat about Mind\u2019s Eye<\/em>, though, is its scrolling perspective. In every other hidden object game I can remember playing, the backgrounds have always been static \u2013 some have moving objects or lighting effects, but mostly the environments are still images. Here, the scenes are larger, requiring you to scroll left and right to find every last clue. <\/p>\n

Each scene also consists of a foreground layer and a background layer with different objects attached to each, so when you scroll left or right, your perspective of the scene changes and objects that may have been hiding behind a foreground obstacle become visible. This shifting perspective is also used in a few instances for items that have been split in half \u2013 one half on each layer of the scene \u2013 and must be connected together to form the full object. Sliding an arrow through a target to create a bull\u2019s eye, for example, or aligning a picture with its frame.<\/p>\n

Adventure-style inventory puzzles are peppered in throughout as well, with certain collected objects doubling as useable items \u2013 you may need to find a pair of pliers and then use them to pull out another hidden object that\u2019s stuck in the environment, for instance \u2013 and every once in a while you\u2019ll have to solve a simple mini-game to progress, such as a jigsaw puzzle or a memory game. So there is a good amount of variety behind the basic hidden object design.<\/p>\n

For the most part, Mind\u2019s Eye<\/em>\u2019s cutscenes, character art and backdrops are crisply detailed and well defined \u2013 a vital component to any hidden object game. However, if you play in full screen mode using a larger monitor, the game\u2019s low (unadjustable) resolution causes the graphics to look slightly hazy. You can play in windowed mode to maximize the resolution, but shrinking the viewing space makes it harder to spot the trickier objects. I would love to have had an option for scaling the resolution.<\/p>\n

Other than that, the only thing I really have to complain about is a lack of value. Mind\u2019s Eye<\/em> is a reasonable $10, but it only takes an hour or two to complete and doesn\u2019t have any type of scoring\/reward system to invite you back to play multiple times. And with Alawar offering a 1-hour trial version<\/a>, you can get as much enjoyment from the demo as the full version without having to pay a single cent.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Pros:<\/strong>
\n+ Core hidden object design is spot-on
\n+ Shifting perspective introduces new challenges
\n+ Good assortment of item puzzles and mini-games<\/p>\n

Cons:<\/strong>
\n– No replay value
\n– Can’t adjust resolution for larger screens<\/p>\n

Game Info:<\/strong>
\nPlatform: PC
\nPublisher: Alawar Entertainment
\nDeveloper: Alawar Entertainment
\nRelease Date: 2\/18\/2010
\nGenre: Hidden Object
\nPlayers: 1
\nSource: Review code provided by publisher<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Of all the casual game types out there, hidden object games are my favorite guilty pleasure. I suppose it all stems from my childhood, as I grew up on kid magazines like Highlights and Ranger Rick which were always brimming with hidden object games and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1996,23,3],"tags":[6717,1997,6081,6070],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5589"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5589"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29002,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5589\/revisions\/29002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vgblogger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}