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Review
Samantha
Swift and the Hidden Roses of Athena
Review by Ryan Casey
December 10, 2008 |
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 Unless
your primary dwelling in recent years has been a hidden cavern, you
are probably familiar with the slew of hidden picture games that the
casual market has seen. From Mystery Case Files to G.H.O.S.T.
Hunters to Agatha
Christie: Peril at End House, the I-Spy type format
has been extremely popular with various companies looking to release
an intriguing casual mystery game. I won’t deny that they are
fun -- I did, after all, collect all of the I-Spy books when I was
younger, and searching for hidden pictures has, I’m sure, plenty
of benefits for your brain -- but they require a lot of concentration
and attention and, quite frankly, can become tedious rather quickly.
Thus, when I received my
review copy of Samantha Swift in the mail,
I wasn’t too thrilled to see that this was yet again another
find-the-hidden-objects game. Haven’t we had enough of these
already?! I thought. Nevertheless, I installed the game and began
playing right away. While the game does follow a predictable formula,
MumboJumbo put its own twists on the hidden picture format to make
the game uniquely entertaining for casual gamers of all ages.
 You
play the titular character, who is an archaeologist working for The
Museum of Secrets Lost. At her aid are her mentor, Dr. Norwynn Butler,
and associate Adam Woodson, who answers any of Samantha’s questions
along the way about history or languages. You travel around the world
in search of the mythical Roses of Athena -- Art, Justice, Industry,
Conquest, Skill, and Wisdom -- which give incredible power to whomever
possesses them. However, you have some fierce competition, for greedy
treasure hunter Ravena Stryker and her employer, Markus Payne, are
also after the roses, and will do whatever they can to stop you.
In each scene, you must
find all of the items that are listed at the bottom of the screen.
Some of these items go into the ‘tool’ section of the
interface. Obviously, these items are tools that can be used for various
purposes, usually to find certain items that need to be uncovered
-- i.e. you might use a shovel to dig up something, or dynamite to
blow up something else. You’ll know when a tool is needed because
the cursor will turn blue with two sparkling gears next to it. After
you have found all of the items in a scene, there is one final ‘secret
item’ to find, which you usually need a tool to reveal.
 Along
the way there are also some other puzzles that you’ll need to
solve in order to obtain certain items or find a way out of the room,
for instance. They are mostly logic-based puzzles, and there is also
a few matching games and a maze. These mini-games add variety to gameplay
and keep things interesting, though they are not very difficult. If
you need hints at any point in the game, you can collect hidden lightning
bolts in the scenes. If you can’t find a certain item, you can
click on it to see its shape and/or use one your lightning bolts,
which will show you where the item is.
All of the graphics are
done well, and the animations are also pretty nice. The characters
and the brief comic-style interludes that progress the story are done
in a cute cartoon-like style, sans voice work. They are nothing to
marvel at, but they certainly accomplish the job of a quality casual
game. I have to say that I would have enjoyed some voice acting with
these characters, but it doesn’t detract from the game. There
is enough ambient noise and pleasant music throughout the game to
keep you occupied.
 Overall,
this is a pleasant and mostly simple game that is nevertheless entertaining
and clever. The hunt-and-find part does get repetitive, as it is wont
to do, but the mini-games and the storyline keep things interesting.
I had fun playing this game, and would like to see what else MumboJumbo
games can come up with, including any further adventures of our beloved
heroine.
System Requirements:
- OS: Windows XP/Vista
- CPU: 600 Mhz
- RAM: 128 MB
- DirectX: 6.0
- Hard Drive space: 159
MB
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