Review Intrigue at Oakhaven Plantation Developer: Cindy Pondillo Publisher: Cindy Pondillo Genre: Adventure Release Date: November 2006 Platform: Review by Ryan Casey November 29, 2006		Buy this game at Trade for this game at:

Intrigue at Oakhaven Plantation is the second effort from independent developer Cindy Pondillo, her previous being the well-received Hauntings of Mystery Manor. The former is an improvement on the latter, and Cindy has once again proved herself capable of delivering a short, sweet, and satisfying puzzle adventure.

The game begins with a letter addressed to you, Daphne. Your aunt Simone's health is failing, and she wants to discuss what will happen to the family property in Louisiana, Oakhaven Plantation. The first thing I noticed upon entering the mansion was that the graphics, for an indy game, are admirable. While each room is static, the extensive effort shines through in the details, which enhance a pleasant, yet haunting feeling. Hotspots are conveniently marked, but one must scan the entire room carefully to find all of them.

The characters, of which there are 3 to interact with, are also static. There is no voice acting, so all of the dialogue appears in a small box at the bottom of the screen. My only gripe about this system is that at the beginning of the game, Daphne's conversation with Simone abruptly turns to the game's central mystery: the disappearance of Daphne's mother, Rachel, who went missing many years ago and was never discovered. Simone launches into a very long explanation of Rachel's history, and because the text is big and the dialogue box is small, it takes a lot of clicking to get through this tedious conversation. It's important to mention, though, that dialogue cannot be repeated, so I don't recommend getting in the habit of clicking quickly through the dialogue or you may miss an important clue or task.

At the end of your conversation with Simone, she reveals that she has devised a set of "tasks and tribulations" around the plantation for you and your cousin Dominic to solve. Whoever solves their ten puzzles first will inherit the plantation. This is a rather strange and obvious excuse for a puzzle adventure, but we can suspend our disbelief. The puzzles make up the brunt of the game, and are scattered throughout the various rooms of the manor. However, it is not immediately obvious what the puzzles are; most of them involve merging one or more inventory items together with an item on the screen to initiate a challenge. Most, if not all, are very easy and involve matching, rebuses, Simon-like sequences, memory and word games, and a dreaded slider puzzle. They are clever and creative, but this game will likely not satisfy puzzle lovers simply because the level of difficulty is awfully low. Nevertheless, each puzzle is accompanied by fitting music, and some require a bit of reading, so it's all in good fun; although I did find that several needed more explanation as to the specific objective.

The interface is very user-friendly. You have a all-purpose hand icon that guides you around and allows you to click on hotspots. Sliding your mouse over the top part of the screen reveals a tool bar with icons for the two swappable characters, scores, inventory, save game, load game, and quit.

Cindy Pondillo should be praised for the finished product that she created by herself in a rather short amount of time. While there are some minor blemishes here and there, the overall effect is pleasing and rewarding. Intrigue at Oakhaven Plantation is a fun, simple, cozy puzzle game that is perfect for a playing by the fire on a cold winter’s day.

System Requirements:

• Pentium or Higher Processor (500 Mhz system minimum)
• 32 Mb RAM
• Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 or XP, with DirectX 5 or Above
• Supports all DirectX-Compatible Sound and Video Cards