hidden-object posts

We apologize for this feature's delay -- chalk it up to Coyote having his way with things. Coyote's Tale: Fire and Water, by publisher Merscom, is not the average Hidden Object game, though it looks like one on the surface. While it does still offer the same basic gameplay that most games of this type do, there is an extra mechanic at work that provides a bit more interest than one would normally expect from the genre.

The basic premise is this: While on vacation "in what would one day be called Mexico", two sisters named Tletl and Atl take shelter from the rain in a nearby Aztec temple. While there, they are accosted by a man calling himself Max, who is later revealed to be Macuilxochitl, the god of games and gambling, and Coyote, the classical trickster god. Now, aside from the fact that I don't recall Coyote being a part of the Aztec pantheon, the two engage the sisters in helping them restore balance to the world by challenging the gods themselves.

For some reason, I've been avoiding the so-called "Hidden Object" games until now. Perhaps it was out of some disbelief in the mechanic itself -- "So, all you do is look for a particular item? That's a game?" Why not just make more Where's Waldo books instead? Isn't this just a kiddie game?

However, Big Fish Games recently made Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst available for $0.99, and the bargain-game-hunter-'cause-I'm-a-broke-ass-father sprang to life within me and nabbed it just from sheer curiosity. And now I get it; three hours of gameplay straight, and I'm hooked on the Hidden Object genre. Why? Read on to find out!