Game Review by Kenneth Andrews
Game Rating = 3/5 Balls
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Jewel Quest Mysteries 2: Trail of the Midnight Heart is an odd beast that relies primarily on the player’s observation skills, Where’s Wally with added interactivity.
Download Free Game Trial 200 Mbs
Buy The Game Now $19.99
Story
Eva Witheby receives a strange message from her uncle out in India, and treks on out there by cruise liner, train and elephant. She finds herself celebrating her 21st birthday amongst complete strangers. Her uncle is apparently a collector of ‘jewel boards’ and needs Eva to wander around Asia spotting 50s Convertibles in Shangri-La. For some reason. All is probably not as it seems.
Gameplay
Although there are a heavy number of other screens, with diaries and maps and mini games, the main portion of the game consists of studying crowded paintings of ruins, temples and things and finding the objects listed on the left of the screen, as well as coins and jewels. You can cash jewels in for ‘upgrades’ and hints and things. You need to click on all the objects on the list to progress, but the main objective is to find shards of jewel boards in order to play a ‘Bejewelled’ style matching game to clear the level. Once you’ve entered your name at the beginning, the whole game is mouse-based.
Download Free Game Trial 200 Mbs
Buy The Game Now $19.99
Many of the objects are artfully camouflaged, and you receive time penalties for clicking on incorrect objects, which discourages random clicking. There is a time limit, which presumably becomes tougher as levels progress, but this begins as a pretty laidback game with plenty of time to enjoy the scenery.
Graphics and sound
The game is a visual and aural triumph. From the professional menus and impressive diary entries with watercolour style illustrations, to the scrolling search screens from train windows, everything looks amazing. Popular paintings and tourist views are adapted for search screens, and take on a surreal edge when filled with coat racks and jukeboxes. The ‘jewel board’ minigames are also well-animated and fun. The sound effects and music are atmospheric and evocative, from people moaning about the cramped conditions on a train to the squawks of parrots in the jungle. Brilliant!
Download Free Game Trial 200 Mbs
Buy The Game Now $19.99
Creativity and innovation
It had never occurred to me that ‘hidden object adventures’ would be a particularly big genre, but it turns out there’s quite a few. Trail of the Midnight Heart has incredibly high production values and a quirky edge to the objects you have to find which makes it feel very fresh and fun. Probably best suited to younger players, though, on the whole.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Trail of the Midnight Heart, and it’s definitely worth $19.99 to continue the adventuring. Low-key but highly enjoyable!
Download Free Game Trial 200 Mbs
Buy The Game Now $19.99
Buy this game if you:
*Like the Where’s Wally books
*Need to hone observation skills
*Fancy something a bit different
Don’t buy this game if you:
*Prefer more action
*Are easily frustrated
*Are visually impaired
