Gamertell Review: Hidden Magic for PC
by at December 1, 2009 9:36 am
Sections: 2D, Casual, Developers, Exclusives, Game-Companies, Genres, Indie, Originals, PCs, Publishers, Puzzle, Reviews, Role-Playing, Windows
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Ever since Puzzle Quest‘s success, we’ve seen a lot of casual games that are hybrids. They combine a standard casual game genre with RPG elements to create an unusual, interesting and unique hybrid. Previously, we’ve only seen match-3/RPG or Othello/RPG titles, but Dekovir’s Hidden Magic is an entirely new experience – a hidden object RPG game. It’s a welcome new addition, and could be the inspiration for an entirely new casual game trend.
A mage must rescue his/her mate from monsters.
Hidden Magic begins with a brief introduction that mainly shows the present situation via images. One powerful magic user went into the forest while the other remained at home in the cabin. Monsters, goblins most likely, came in and abducted the magic user who remained at home. You then get to choose which character to play as, a sorcerer or sorceress, and then head off on a journey to find your kidnapped love.
Your character will then proceed through the countryside, searching for clues to find where to go next, using magic and telepathy to discern important location, piecing together maps and solving puzzles. Since this is also a combination of a hidden object game and RPG, you’ll also face monsters along the way in battles that require you to find certain hidden objects to damage your opponent.
For the most part, Hidden Magic is your basic hidden object game. You’ll be presented with a scene, and tasked with finding parts of larger items. For example, in one area you’ll have to find pieces of a mace, magic book and shield. As the game goes on, you’ll have to find pieces of items to use on certain characters or areas in the scene, which will then allow you to find additional objects pieces so you can continue through the story. Hints are available during this portion, making it easy to progress.
After a hidden object puzzle, you’ll then experience a jigsaw puzzle to determine the next location to visit, a mini-game like a match-3 puzzle or a hidden object puzzle battle. The mini-games are fairly self-explanatory. They’re typically casual games like a jigsaw puzzle or match-3 puzzle, and vary in difficult as you progress through the game.
The hidden object battles are the most unique part. Depending on the difficulty you chose, which can be changed at any time, you may or may not be able to die during a battle. Before battle, you’re given basic information like your opponent’s basic attacks and weakness. Once battle begins, the lower left corner shows your character and his or her hit points, the lower right shows your opponent and its hit points and the bottom center shows three magic spells you can cast. In order to cast them, you must find the hidden objects in the scene above. There’s no hints here, sadly, so it can be quite challenging to find the proper items. In addition, the magic you can cast will be random, so the spell or spells you need may or may not be there.
An innovative blend of a hidden object puzzle and RPG
Hidden Magic is the most fun I’ve had with a hidden object style game in years. It’s great for players of all skill levels, and since the difficulty can be adjusted at any time, the game can grow with you as your skills improve. There’s an interesting story to follow, beautiful locations to visit, mini-games added in to keep players from experiencing hidden object overload and an interesting battle mechanic at play. The story and challenge give players ample motivation to keep playing until the very end.
Site [Hidden Magic]
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