The Mystery of the Crystal Portal (Full) Review
PROS
- Pleasing visuals.
- Solid story.
CONS
- Slow gameplay may turn some off.
VERDICT
If you enjoy story based hidden object games with puzzles, Mystery of the Crytal Portal is just what you're looking for.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
Hidden object games tend to divide people. Some like to search an environment finding treasures while others see them as a waste of time. To make the genre more palatable, they have often been combined with intriguing storylines and puzzles. Mystery of the Crystal Portal is one of these games. You play as Nicole Rankwist who is on the trail of her missing father. As you travel from locale to locale, you find objects and solve puzzles to unlock clues, and complete the mystery.
The game is controlled via a touch and drag interface. When searching for items you can use the pinch motion to zoom in and out. There are key items that need other items to open. Once you find one of these items, touch its counterpart on the key item and you're one step closer to completing the screen. If you get stuck, there are hints that are available every few minutes, or you can spend some money and recieve enough hints to breeze through the game.
The visuals are rich and pleasing, especially the establishing shots of new areas. Some of the objects can be annoyingly hidden, but that's par for the course is this genre. The music and sound effects are ok. There is only the one game mode, but it should keep you busy for more than a few hours, and a well told tale is always worth experiencing again.
For those looking for a much slower paced game, where brain power and observation are used in the place of reflexes, then Mystery of the Crystal Portal might be the gaming break you're looking for.
Screenshots
$2.99
