Mr Biscuits Case of the Ocean Pearl Review

Platform: PC
ERSB: Unrated
Genre: iWin calls it a Hidden Object Game- I would say its a “Where’s Waldo” type of game
Number of Players: 1
Publisher: iWin Exclusive
Release Date: 12/18/2008
Official Website

Pass

Mr Biscuits: The Case of the Ocean Pearl is part detective story and part find the object. You play as a detective being led through the story by Mr Biscuit, the canine companion of the late Mrs Cambridge, a passanger about the Ocean Pearl cruise ship. It reminded me of the back of Highlites magazine at the dentist’s office when I was a child. In each chapter, you are given a list of things to find in different areas of the Ocen Pearl Cruise Shop. When you find an item, the idea is to click on it with your mouse. Each level unlocks clues to solving the murder. You have to find various hidden objects to complete each chapter. I really liked the concept however, it could have tranlated better.

Graphics:
The graphic were a combination of cartoon and photo images. The style really added to the charm of the game. However, I found that the actual items didn’t always look like what I was expecting them to look like. This led to some frustration. Also, this had to have been the messiest cruise ship ever. Rooms were so cluttered that I had difficulty clicking on the actual object I intended to click on.

Controls:
The controls were point and click. They were very simple and intuitive.

Flow:
Sometimes the clues provided didn’t seem to jive with the plot. This resulted in the clues being very segragated from the rest of the game. This made me feel like I was actually playing two different games. For example, after I spent 5-10 minutes finding a brush, lipstick, Mr Biscuits, a handbag, a bottle of sunscreen, a wrench and an apple, I was given a clue stating that there was an illegitamate child involved.

Sound:
The voice acting seemed very inconsistant. While I appreciated the exagurated style, the tones of the voices seemed very harsh after a while. The same characters appeared freguently and the dialogue was also very repetitive.

Fun Factor:
While I’m not convinced this game is worth $19.99, its was sort of addicting. Mr Biscuits is free with subscription to iIwin.com. Subscriptions are tiered: $6.99, $7.99 or $9.99 per month. With out the subscription, Mr Biscuits will cost you $19.99. I enjoyed searching for all the objects. The game had its moments of frustration with items that bore no resemblance to what I though I was looking for. I found that when I used the hint system, I was usually surprised to find that the object I was looking for looked like it did. The hint system helped temper these moments and I was disappointed when my 1 hour demo ended. I’ll never know who did it! Unless they lower the price to $5.00. I thought it was fun just not really worth the price.

Female aspect:
Both female and male characters were humorus characatures of people your might find on a cruise ship. Both were treated equally

Replay Value:
Mr. Biscuits The Case if hte Ocean Pearl was a dective story. I would have a hard time imagining it has any replayabiility.