Whispering Rogue

Cate West: The Vanishing Files for DS

This game got some bad raps People didn’t really give it a chance in the beginning, constantly bitching about the storyline… Hmm… A Hidden Object game with a storyline…? Yep, and pornos should be deep andmeaningful too. Come on, the point of these games is to be clever, achallenge and original which I feel this game delivered on nicely.

GAMEPLAY

Navigating your way around this city of, er, um, America somewhere is easy and fun as you get to pick and choose where you want to go - For example if you don’t want to investigate the bookstore you don’t have to, there are enough clues everywhere else so it never feels repetitive. Also the locations change quite a lot throughout the story, so if you’ve been to ‘such-and-such street’ before, you probably won’t have to go back there again. It was gratingly difficult at times, but that just heightens the fun of Hidden Object games, with nice cut-scenes peppered throughout the game with an almost ‘Carmen Sandiego’ feel- You remember that game…Right?? Or am I just way too old for this shit? *sob*

GRAPHICS

The animation for Cate West wasvery creative and fun, with the cut-scenes being a major contributor to the graphics DS can pump out. The hidden objects were very cleverly disguised and more often than once teeth-grinding, but I was frequently shouting “HA! Found you, you little_____”

MUSIC

In hidden object games, something you just cannot get wrong is the music-as that is what drives you throughout your hunt. The music was fun,catchy enough to keep me interested for those tedious 20 minutes tryingto find a goddamned monkey-wrench! There was no voice acting, but therewasn’t enough call for it, afterall the characters talking isn’tsupposed to be the main attraction.

STORYLINE

Come to think of it, the storyline was a little strange but was still done rather well. Cate West is something of psychic, putting together clues to a crime that normal people couldn’t think of, leading you to the killers address and eventually piecing together the crime in court. The main story is related to the 3 Wise Men- Nothing too religious, but something we haven’t heard a lot of- About their special gifts and howthey were all linked. The storyline is quite involved for a hidden object game but hey, you never know if you never try, a few twists here and there- Out of the all the hidden object games out there, this was right up there!

A fun game, took a while to finish it asthere were times I just couldn’t bring myself to play it looking forthat @!#$% wrench!! But it was fun, entertaining, and kept me hooked for a few days! To be honest, this went on eBay too but only because it wasn’t readily available to people, so I thought I’d give someone elsea go at this fun game- Ain’t I sweet?? (On second thoughts, don’tanswer that)

TTFN- Ta Ta For Now!

Shade is an avid gamer and loves playing them just for you so we hope you enjoy these reviews as it all just comes flowing out and it ain't stopping anytime soon!