RENT

First thing the game says is something about an Eclipse.  As of writing this, we just had the lunar eclipse. Was that the Vampire Moon? OMG. By coincidence, I’ve managed to creep myself out with a DS game. No, only kidding.

It’s been a while since I’ve played a DS game. I pick the coral pink fat DS to play on. Get the stylus, noting the different and stiffer feel of the small pre iPhone touch pad technology and begin on this point and click, hunt and seek puzzler from City Interactive. It feels similar to a Nancy Drew type games, which is a compliment.  Instead, of a red-headed young detective though, the main character in Vampire Moon, Emily, is a reporter. Emily has been sent to Transylvania on the tail of a story.

As I play, the character dialog rolls out on the top screen and you tap objects on the second screen below. (It feels a bit retro typing about a DS game on the iPad, it’s like the iPad is talking about her Grandma.)  Vampire Moon the Mystery of the Hidden Sun has a very gothic feel to it; there are gargoyles and bats in the game, the menus and the story are told in a bookish format with a cherry sienna hue, it’s a palette of old book leather. The reading material writes out in the book for you.  The game’s storyline is pretty simple and seems to be geared towards teens. I also caught a few spelling errors on items in the game, like a puzzle lists “Tub” when what you are actually looking for is a “Tube” of paint.

As the story in Vampire Moon is explained, you are asked to find various items. You may need an old knight’s shield to cover a hole in a wooden bridge to be able to get across. Or you could need a hammer to complete a task.  Playing the game consists mainly of seek-and-find puzzles. The spooky environments have many objects embedded in them for you to find. Some of the puzzles are timed events and finding gems and jewels adds to your score. Tapping on the wrong items too many times will deduct from your score on each puzzle.  When you begin the game, some hints are provided and throughout the game, you can earn more hints to help you search during especially tricky puzzles.

The puzzles range from fairly easy to exasperating; and it depends on how good your imagination and seek-and-find skills are. The game has about twenty five levels, and they do feel somewhat repetitive, but if you are the type of person that needs to find everything in a puzzle, then you’re probably going to like this game. This game doesn’t offer anything new, it does what is expected of it well enough. But, it lacks excitement and any genuine feeling of horror. The Vampire aspect of it isn’t very developed and it mainly deals with legends rather than flesh and cold-blooded vampires like the popular Edward Cullen.

Overall, this is a tame game that makes a for a decent time waster. It can draw you into the game pretty easily because it can be relaxing, unless you get stuck on one of the puzzles. It doesn’t seem like it’s harsh or violent at all and young teens would probably enjoy it.

A review copy of Vampire Moon was provided by the publisher and does not affect the outcome of this review.

Rating: E (for Everyone)
Publisher: City Interactive
Release Date: November, 2009
Official Website

RENT

Sylvie’s uncle is a renowned historian working on uncovering the secrets behind the ancient temple. After she receives a distressing letter from him in the middle of his archaeological discoveries, she leaves for France in hopes of finding and returning him to his important work in uncovering the mysterious underground chapel.  The game is mostly a hidden object adventure game, where you look for not only clues, but hidden doors and passageways to open; and figuring how the clues fit together in the search for the professor and who may be causing all the trouble with the expedition.

The cast of characters and the mystery factor kept me guessing until the end – and then some. I suspected everyone Sylvie came in contact with, at some point, which is the mark of a good mystery.  I didn’t feel the story didn’t drag in any area, and in fact felt the end of the story might have happened a little quickly.  I wasn’t quite sure how it all worked (hence the and then some), but I don’t want to spoil anything.

The characters added a much needed level of identification to draw players into the game. Sylvie as the lead character, is a positive female role model: clever, fearless (and at times reckless), determined, resourceful, and kind-hearted. The other characters were also well developed for the time we got to know them, giving players just enough of a glimpse of their individual personalities each time they met the hero to become suspicious while revealing a little more about themselves.

The exotic settings provided a lot of visual interest while working within the confines of the small DS screen. The answer to the limitation of the small screen was a panning or scrolling feature, which I had mixed feelings about. It did allow for more images to search through, but made the stylus more annoying to use. While there weren’t any objects that I couldn’t recognize on the small screen, it occasionally proved difficult to get the perfect stylus placement to grab onto what I wanted. The game is largely stylus controlled, taking occasional advantage of the mic and touchscreen sensitivity, giving players a fresh perspective to challenges. I would have liked to see them use the different screen perspectives or more split screen in game play to make full use of the DS and DSi capabilities.

The sounds were both hit and miss in this game. I found myself turning down the background music, but the sound effects themselves were appropriate, and the character voices added dimension, helping to define them.

The game moved along nicely, peppered with a variety of mini-games to change the pace. They provided some unexpected challenges; with concepts like weighing cogs and placing them correctly or patching stained glass colors. The mini-games are really only good to play through once though; they don’t change each time you play the same level in the mini-game playthrough. Often mini-games add greatly to the replayability of a game and I don’t think that’s the case here. One thing that did motivate me to continue playing was the award room. The room shows which awards are available and which of them have been achieved, sending me back into the story to try to get the ones I missed. Cleverly, there are underachievement awards, such as allowing time to run out and using 10 hints in one level, as well as the usual overachievement awards. This makes players continue through multiple levels in order to get them all.

All in all, I’d say that it’s worth picking up if you’re looking for a new hidden object adventure. It does offer a relax mode without time limits as well as the normal story mode, replayable mini-games and straight seek and find puzzles, though it didn’t provide as many play hours as I would like with a full price game . Mix that with music that I didn’t enjoy while playing, and frustratingly easily overlooked scrolls (I played through 3 times and still didn’t find them all – though they’re not vital for the game, they’re vital to get all of the achievement trophies). I’d say rent it if possible, or pick it up on sale.
Thanks for reading!

Review copy was provided by City Interactive and did not affect the outcome of this review.

City Interactive has shipped the latest in the mystery series Art of Murder: Cards of Destiny for PC to retailers across the country. It’s time to put on the detective hat of FBI agent Nicole Bonnet and weed out the “sadistic serial killer” who’s calling card is a playing card left near the bodies of his victims before he strikes again.

“As the numerous TV shows, movies and books can attest, America loves solving a good crime riddle, and our Art of Murder franchise allows them to take the next step and get involved in the mystery,” said Lisa Rivera, Vice President of Sales for City Interactive. “With its gripping storyline and intriguing puzzles, Art of Murder: Cards of Destiny once again provides the interactive experience that has made it a hit within the category.”

Art of Murder: Cards of Destiny is available now at retailers nationwide at a suggested retail price of $19.99.

Journey with young adventurer/archaeologist Sylvie Leroux as she searches for the historic legend of the Tree of Life through exotic locales like Venice, Cairo, and Gibralter. Solve mysteries, unravel enigmas, and seek out the answers she needs, all the while avoiding the temptation that those who have come before her have succumbed to.

Chronicles of Mystery: Tree of Life Features
* Exciting, compelling plot full of secrets from the past
* Challenging puzzles requiring wits and logical thinking
* Detailed, eye catching locations, such as Venice, Cairo and Gibraltar
* A multitude of intriguing characters to interact with

Sushi Academy

Have you always wanted to be a Sushi Master? Would you love to know what goes into serving the perfect California roll? City Interactive has announced Sushi Academy for the Nintendo DS. That’s right a full game about sushi.

“Sushi is one of the most popular foods in the U.S., and we are pleased to introduce the first game dedicated to this culinary art form,” said Lisa Rivera, vice president of Sales for City Interactive. “Foodies and casual gamers will both enjoy mastering the diverse challenges of the game, while also learning about the history and etiquette behind the preparation.”

There are 35 sushi dishes to learn and perfect in your quest to be Sushi Master. The “Sushipedia” provides information on the proper etiquette of a sushi master.

Sushi Academy is due out in October for $19.99.

This is an unofficial video of the title: