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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Puzzle Developer: TikGames Publisher: Microsoft |
Downloadable games have been around for a few years now, appearing on any console that runs videogames. The games that have been available for download have ranged over in every conceivable genre in the
gaming industry. Many games that players used to consider to be good time wasters on the PC are now starting to show up on the Xbox Live Arcade, whether that is a good place for them to be or not. Now, a new style
of game has made its way to the Xbox 360, a seek-and-find style game. Also know as a hidden object game, this genre presents players with a single static image and are asked to find several different objects that can
be found in the picture. There is a time limit and players are awarded points based on how quickly they are able to identify the objects within the picture. For those that are playing this type of game on the PC or DS have
the luxury of a mouse or style to quickly find objects, which is a lot of fun, but for those playing on the Xbox 360 console and using the thumb stick to navigate the crosshairs, “Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos” isn’t as
much fun as it would be on other systems.
“Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos” puts players in the position of a special agent with the international law enforcement agency, that is on the trail of Dr. Chaos, and players are called away from their vacation to track down
the infamous Dr. Chaos and his cohorts. As the mission files show, Dr. Chaos and his minions have been wreaking havoc all over the globe and it is up to the player to track them down. To accomplish this, players will
fly to many exotic locations, including Barcelona, Rome and Cairo, as well as New York and Hollywood, to examine cluttered scenes for clues. As they make their way through the game, players will encounter other bad
guys, including The Artiste and The Hammer.
When players are present with an image, such as a street car scene in San Francisco, they are given a time limit and a number of hints that are able to be used for a little extra help. Along the top of the screen the
players will be presented with a list of the items that need to be found in the picture, these items could be any number of things, from a cat to key to a passport or a peace symbol. Players will use the analog strike to
scroll around the screen and pick out all of the hidden objects. When players find them, tapping the A button will check the item off of the list. When too many incorrect objects are tapped, players will lose time, so
guessing doesn’t help much.
As a seek-and-find style of game, “Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos” works fairly well, but it is the presentation of the game that ruins the experience. The images are a very poor resolution, which makes it difficult to find
some of the objects, especially when staring at the scene for a long amount of time. There is a zoon function that can be used to examine each scene in depth, but it really only makes the bad resolution even more
apparent. Using the left analog stick to scroll around the image works okay, but it is not as accurate as a mouse of stylus would work on a different system. This can lead to a few frustrating moments with the game,
which is a bad thing to have when players are put up against a time limit. The other major problem that players will find with this game is that the puzzles can be very inconsistent for one to the next. Players will find
themselves running into several situations where a certain object that players are supposed to be searching for doesn’t count. For example, when asked to find three dolls, an item that doesn’t look like a doll would
count towards the goal. However, an item that looks just like a baby doll doesn’t count. There sometimes needs to be a little more specific details with the items that need to be found in each location. Also, when
playing in London, players may be asked to find three maps, but clicking on a folding map of London doesn’t count towards the goal. Only by clicking on the maps hanging on the walls do players get credit. Also,
repetition of objects gets to be quite annoying. It seems as though Dr. Chaos and his cohorts carry a lot of the same objects with them on their travels around the world.
One nice addition to the game is the background that goes with each location. The backgrounds more to give some depth to each scene, and there is an addictive quality to the hunt for hidden objects, especially when
players get to the more exotic locations. There is even a multiplayer cooperative mode, both online and offline that can be fun but is fairly bare bones. The game doesn’t track each player’s scores independently, so
there is no way to tell which player has found the most objects the quickest.
“Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos” is a fun seek-and-find game that should be played in short bursts. The greatest downfall of the game is that it isn’t the type of game to be played on a console system. Add to that the
issues with poor image resolution, inconsistent puzzles and a low overall production value; players will get a game that isn’t worth the download. Players should instead spend their time searching for a different game
to purchase.
gaming industry. Many games that players used to consider to be good time wasters on the PC are now starting to show up on the Xbox Live Arcade, whether that is a good place for them to be or not. Now, a new style
of game has made its way to the Xbox 360, a seek-and-find style game. Also know as a hidden object game, this genre presents players with a single static image and are asked to find several different objects that can
be found in the picture. There is a time limit and players are awarded points based on how quickly they are able to identify the objects within the picture. For those that are playing this type of game on the PC or DS have
the luxury of a mouse or style to quickly find objects, which is a lot of fun, but for those playing on the Xbox 360 console and using the thumb stick to navigate the crosshairs, “Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos” isn’t as
much fun as it would be on other systems.
“Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos” puts players in the position of a special agent with the international law enforcement agency, that is on the trail of Dr. Chaos, and players are called away from their vacation to track down
the infamous Dr. Chaos and his cohorts. As the mission files show, Dr. Chaos and his minions have been wreaking havoc all over the globe and it is up to the player to track them down. To accomplish this, players will
fly to many exotic locations, including Barcelona, Rome and Cairo, as well as New York and Hollywood, to examine cluttered scenes for clues. As they make their way through the game, players will encounter other bad
guys, including The Artiste and The Hammer.
When players are present with an image, such as a street car scene in San Francisco, they are given a time limit and a number of hints that are able to be used for a little extra help. Along the top of the screen the
players will be presented with a list of the items that need to be found in the picture, these items could be any number of things, from a cat to key to a passport or a peace symbol. Players will use the analog strike to
scroll around the screen and pick out all of the hidden objects. When players find them, tapping the A button will check the item off of the list. When too many incorrect objects are tapped, players will lose time, so
guessing doesn’t help much.
As a seek-and-find style of game, “Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos” works fairly well, but it is the presentation of the game that ruins the experience. The images are a very poor resolution, which makes it difficult to find
some of the objects, especially when staring at the scene for a long amount of time. There is a zoon function that can be used to examine each scene in depth, but it really only makes the bad resolution even more
apparent. Using the left analog stick to scroll around the image works okay, but it is not as accurate as a mouse of stylus would work on a different system. This can lead to a few frustrating moments with the game,
which is a bad thing to have when players are put up against a time limit. The other major problem that players will find with this game is that the puzzles can be very inconsistent for one to the next. Players will find
themselves running into several situations where a certain object that players are supposed to be searching for doesn’t count. For example, when asked to find three dolls, an item that doesn’t look like a doll would
count towards the goal. However, an item that looks just like a baby doll doesn’t count. There sometimes needs to be a little more specific details with the items that need to be found in each location. Also, when
playing in London, players may be asked to find three maps, but clicking on a folding map of London doesn’t count towards the goal. Only by clicking on the maps hanging on the walls do players get credit. Also,
repetition of objects gets to be quite annoying. It seems as though Dr. Chaos and his cohorts carry a lot of the same objects with them on their travels around the world.
One nice addition to the game is the background that goes with each location. The backgrounds more to give some depth to each scene, and there is an addictive quality to the hunt for hidden objects, especially when
players get to the more exotic locations. There is even a multiplayer cooperative mode, both online and offline that can be fun but is fairly bare bones. The game doesn’t track each player’s scores independently, so
there is no way to tell which player has found the most objects the quickest.
“Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos” is a fun seek-and-find game that should be played in short bursts. The greatest downfall of the game is that it isn’t the type of game to be played on a console system. Add to that the
issues with poor image resolution, inconsistent puzzles and a low overall production value; players will get a game that isn’t worth the download. Players should instead spend their time searching for a different game
to purchase.
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