[JJ-x]

Game: Cruel Games: Red Riding Hood v1.5
Developer: Alawar Entertainment, Inc.
Category: Hidden Object Game
Price: $0.99
IAP: N/A

I can never get enough of hidden object games and I'm very pleased with this latest edition from Alawar. Cruel Games: Red Riding Hood delivers a twisted play on a childhood story, where your friend has been kidnapped (Again, we're sucky friends) by Maniac the Storyteller.

The game is broken into 4 parts. The cemetery, the motel, the haunted mansion and the cave, each more creeped up than the last. The hint system is really fast at recharging if you get stuck and if you're like me, you'll forget what you were going to do. Luckily, if you use the hint and it wants you to go to another location, you won't be penalized for it. Cruel Games switches between areas of exploration with frequent hidden object diversions, allowing you to collect important items both by spotting them on the map as well as by finishing hidden object scenes. Often, once you set the pieces together, you'll complete a mini-game to solve the puzzle once and for all. It's technically competent and never trips you up with awkward interface choices or unusual navigation, but there are absolutely no surprises to be found. No multi-part hidden objects, no creative item manipulation to solve puzzles. It's simply a hidden object game, which can be good or bad depending on what you're in the mood for.

Going back and forth between the same hidden object scenes gets a little boring after 30 minutes. Then again, when you look at the locations you have, there's little else you could do with a cemetery, motel, mansion and cave without making it too difficult. Cruel Games based on simplicity and simplicity is what you get!

Cruel Games is only four chapters long; a bit short even by modern hidden object standards. But when a game sticks this close to established genre patterns, it really doesn't need to go on any longer. The story has quite a bit of creep value, the settings are well-illustrated if a bit unimaginative. But every other aspect of the game, from puzzles to repeated mini-games, is almost exactly what you'd find in the other hidden object game on the market.

Pros

• Creepylicious graphics and music.
• Simple enough for beginners who use hidden object games and want to explore the HOG/Adventure world.
• Fast hint recharge.

Cons

• Tapping on objects in Hidden object scenes may not respond the first 5 taps.

Reviewer rating:
Device/OS used: Coby Kyros MID9742 / Ice Cream Sandwich v4.0.3

Purchase at Google Play
Mobilism: Cruel Games: Red Riding Hood v1.5 (Full)