by Heather Kindberg

Created on: February 14, 2009   Last Updated: February 17, 2009

NightShift Legacy: The Jaguar's Eye is a "hidden objects" or "seek-and-find" game. The two main characters are Mike and Isabel, and the player's goal is to discover what is hidden in Isabel's past.

Don't be disappointed by your first look - just about the only dorky thing in this game is the opening frame of Mike and his name tag. It looks cartoon-like and it lowered my expectations for the game, but I was pleasantly proven wrong about that.

In "story mode," the game play involves visiting various locations that are unlocked one at a time from a main map, and the items to be found are named at the bottom of each location screen. But whoa! - every single wrong click takes a substantial chunk out of your time for that screen. And, ego check! - a few items at each location are well hidden and difficult to find. The creators of this game definitely did not dumb it down to the lowest common denominator.

The graphics of the locations are well done and creative. The game is definitely interesting to look at, the art well-rendered. My only small complaint here is that a couple of the items really didn't strike me as looking exactly as what they were supposed to be. And although the locations and items were predominantly well-scaled, a couple of the items were very misleading due to their exaggerated small size. But I'll take those challenges!

The sound is excellent. Beautiful, mellow, rainforest-y music plays at each location, and the tracks are different enough that it never seems repetitive. And when you discover or miss an item, the sounds are like mellow chimes, not obnoxious.buzzers.

Another aspect of this game with which I was impressed were the innovative mini-games between locations. I was thrilled to see something thought-provoking when they required me to decode a clue in logic-problem style. Hurrah, very cool puzzles.

Now I had a serious issue at one point, and it seemed like a malfunction in the game that I hope has been repaired. While I was playing in "story mode," I was working between three locations, and even when I had found all of the items in all three locations, it did not let me progress. I attempted to click "hint," but it would take me back to the map with only the same three locations options open to me. So I switched to arcade mode, worked through those locations, and then it let me continue.

Program issue aside, I have to say that I enjoyed this game a lot. I have to give it a 5 out of 5. I didn't want to stop playing when the trial period ended, and I'm looking forward to buying the game. NightShift Legacy: The Jaguar's Eye really is challenging and interesting compared to other hidden object games. It's worth the time to check it out.

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