Like reading a good weekend novel.
Graphics: 8 (thankfully no pixel hunting here)
Sounds: 5 (musically pleasant yet everything else mediocre at best)
Value: 9 ($1.00 / hour of gaming = a bargain / replayability is reasonably high only for the Hidden Object mode)
Tilt: 8 (it's not just a hidden object game, it plays like an adventure game)
Midnight Mysteries: The Salem Witch Trials is the second in the Midnight Mysteries series published by Big Fish Games. Classified as a hidden object game, The Salem Witch Trials also has some puzzles and good story to boot. So the premise of The Salem Witch Trials is that an apparition appears before you by the name of Nathaniel Hawthorne who'd died in a freak storm. Being a 'typical' ghost, Nathaniel cannot rest in peace until he discovers the real reason for his death. So he takes you back to 1692 in Salem where not only you need to discover his true death, also amidst in a horrific witch trial.
Even though it's a hidden object game, the game also has a decent story and a few puzzles to break the ice. The controls are very simple to master as all it needs is a left click to interact. In addition you will have an inventory on the bottom of the screen as there are some puzzles that require manipulation. Inventory items also can join together to make another item so a little intuition is required.
Yet if you get stuck you'll have a raven for which it sits on top of a lantern on the bottom right hand of the screen that endlessly squawks. However his assistance is limited to the number of ravens you collected throughout the game. His support includes locating hidden objects and to figure out where and when to use an inventory item. Using the lantern below the raven makes him reveal an outline of an item on the 'find list'. Take note though that if you use the lantern and / or the raven will forfeit one or two of the twelve achievements. Sadly for me I only used the raven twice: one for revealing a hidden object and the second highlight an item just to see the effects! And yes I missed out on those achievements.
Another object that you might want to invest a little time looking is the four leaf clover. If you manage to collect fifty before the game ends will unlock the 'Unlimited Hidden Object Mode'. This mode appears at the end of the story mode where there are eight rooms and in each room you'll have around sixty plus objects to locate. At the end of locating all the objects entitles you to either gold, silver or bronze medal depending upon the time spent locating them. I managed to achieve all eight gold medals as I can knock them over within the six minutes mark. The reason for this is that you'll get a knack of clicking on items that you feel it's on the list without looking at the list itself.
Beware though (and this goes the same in the story mode) that random clicking brings on the black cat! The cat will disable your cursor and scares off the raven for a short period of time. What this means that you miss on another achievement (scaredy cat) and time will tick away due to your disabled cursor. And to my surprise the cursor is quite accurate when it comes to clicking on items. My reason for this is that I released the cat once as I thought the cursor played tricks on me. So I frantically clicked to what I thought was a bird cage but it turns out I was completely wrong so the black cat taught me a lesson!
Speaking of achievements there are twelve to gain and completing the story mode will only give you three. So the vast majority are quite challenging to get and this in itself can increase the playability. In my first completion I managed to earn six and the second ten (as I cannot locate all the four leaf covers and ravens in the story mode – they are pretty hard to find). Overall I spend roughly six hours to complete and an additional hour or so just trying to get those missing achievements. Not bad going considering it cost me US$7.00 to buy. Or you can say US$1.00 / hour. Comparing to this with a AAA game title where it can cost you AUD$100.00 you'll need to play 100 hours to be on par with this game.
Visually the game is very nice the look at. All the models and backdrops are detailed like nice mists effects, flicking flames and the wisps of ghosts appearing and disappearing. This is important as during the hidden object phase there's nothing worse than going pixel hunting. The sound effects though is average at best as there are times where there is a cheap 'scream' or two but other than that there's not much else to say. Oh and that raven that constantly barks at you every five seconds can be annoying. Musically it's a masterpiece. Classically sounded it's well suited for this type of game but too bad there are only a few scores to listen too.
As advertised on their webpage, Big Fish Games specialises in casual gaming at cheap prices. Midnight Mysteries: The Salem Witch Trials certainly delivers what Big Fish promises and even more. I really didn't expect the story to be that good (actually better than some 'big sellers') yet the game can be quite easy to knock off if you are a veteran adventure gamer. But if you are after for some gaming relaxation you cannot go wrong with this game.