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As a result, I’m now up to speed on a year’s worth of talent shows, style shows, dating shows, psychic-phenomenon shows, cop shows, strange-family shows, and travel shows, without actually having to watch any of them… unless you count “the best bits”, which were gleefully ferreted out on YouTube and shown off by my cousins. Voila! I can now intelligently discuss all the latest happenings with friends back home who also enjoy the genre.
I’m starting to wonder, though, if maybe they’re showing a bit too much on television these days. If perhaps, in their zeal to find more exciting and compelling situations, reality show producers have thrown aside such conventions as decency and empathy. Do we really need to watch otherwise-likeable people being beastly to each other under stressful circumstances? Should the camera really keep rolling after the high-speed pursuit ends in a fatal crash? Must we document every step of a human being’s spiral into addiction, or the slow deterioration of a marriage?
I’m not saying I have an answer to this, nor am I knocking reality television as a genre. After all, it’s given us gems like “Deadliest Catch”, “Junkyard Wars”, and “Bizarre Foods”. Just last weekend, a young hiker who got separated from his family in the forest said he learned how to make a shelter and find help by watching “Man Vs. Wild”. That’s gotta be worth something right there. And if nothing else, reality shows keep about half my family amused and entertained.
I just think a bit of restraint might be nice.
The Squintillating, Speck-tacular Hidden Object Roundup
But why am I nattering on about television when there are games to be played? We’ve launched no less than four new hidden-object puzzlers on the site this month, and for your convenience, I have squinted my way through each and every one! They’re all quite different, and each has a distinct style, so I do believe a list is in order. No matter what sort of theme you enjoy, there’s something here worth trying.
(And heck, since I’m still thinking about reality TV, let’s make some comparisons!)
Dream Day Wedding: Viva Las Vegas
Difficulty: easy to medium
Your alter ego is: a wedding planner on a big assignment
For fans of: “Wedding Story”, “Bridezillas”
Okay, so the bride in Viva Las Vegas isn’t particularly selfish or demanding, but she is a bit of a flake, and things have a habit of going wrong when wedding preparations are involved. The point of this game is to gather everything necessary for a successful ceremony… and to play a few casino games on the side. (It is Vegas, after all.) The art is very glitzy and girly, as to be expected from a wedding, and the hidden-object levels are interspersed with adventure-style puzzles to keep things interesting. Add in a constant search for prize coupons so you can customize the wedding scene, and you have a solid puzzler with plenty of variety.
Cate West: The Velvet Keys
Difficulty: easy to medium
Your alter ego is: a slightly psychic sleuth with a mysterious past
For fans of: “Psychic Detectives”, “Ghost Hunters”
This one’s a bit on the creepy side, and I say that in a good way. The Velvet Keys has all the trappings of a good paranormal mystery, with ghosts, magic tomes, psychic visions, dead bodies that might not be quite as dead as you think, and a plucky heroine facing down the unknown. The art and music are as atmospheric as the story, and heebie-jeebies abound. After the first few minutes of playing, I couldn’t resist turning out the lights in my office; it just seemed appropriate. Most objects are relatively recognizable, but the scenes are extraordinarily cluttered and the clock audibly ticks as you’re playing… it’s amazing how loud that tiny sound starts to seem when you haven’t found an item for a while! Although this is technically a sequel game, it’s easy to hop in and play even if you never tried the first installment. If you’re looking for a few shivers and an excuse to stay up late, Cate’s got you covered.
Yard Sale Junkie
Difficulty: medium to hard
Your alter ego is: a yard-sale manager with big boutique dreams
For fans of: “Clean House”, “Endless Yard Sale”
The designers of this game decided to mix up the hidden-object genre a bit: items aren’t so much hidden as they are stacked, piled, displayed on special close-up tables, tucked into boxes, or bobbing around on the ceiling. Your yard sales are no mere “let’s clean up this one closet” affairs, but a flood of secondhand treasures and limited space in which to sell it. Gameplay often feels like a round of Concentration, with shoppers demanding assorted goods that you know you just saw a moment ago but have since put something on top of. To top it all off, you often have multiple shoppers offering different amounts for the same item, so your organizational and memory skills will both get a workout.
(One question, though: who buys a secondhand carton of milk at a yard sale? Ewwwwww…)
The Clockwork Man
Difficulty: medium
Your alter ego is: a stylish Victorian lady with a penchant for steam engineering
For fans of: “How It’s Made”, “How Stuff Works”
Actually, this one has more in common with the magnificent online comic Girl Genius than with anything on reality television, but it gets “mad props” from the how-to crowd for its emphasis on actual mechanical principles. The setting for this one is full-on steampunk: a Victorian Age in which Jules Verne would have loved to live. Standard hidden-object gameplay is punctuated by puzzles of the engineering variety: for instance, repairing a broken pipe or refilling the coolant in a primitive air-conditioning unit. In terms of art, this game is right up there with the best of the Mystery Case Files series, and the items are creatively placed and cunningly hidden. Two steam-powered robotic thumbs up from me!
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