Marooned

The fans of such hidden object games as Hidden in Time: Mirror Mirror or Masters of Mystery - Crime of Fashion will enjoy another similar title – Marooned by Gamehouse. In this game you are placed on a mysterious island with no ideas how you got there or who you are. So you have to solve piles of puzzles to restore your memory.

Be ready to explore every inch of this strange island to remember at least something. In fact the island is not very big, though you have to revisit each location for several times to find some clues to continue your quest. Of course, visiting the same locations more than once is boring, but the developers put there rather addictive puzzles and mini-games to hide this flaw. The hidden object portion is on the easy side, as the items you are looking for in the game are not too hard to find.

While you are seeking objects, you have silhouettes of particular items in your inventory. If the item can be found at your current location, it’s highlighted, which is helpful for some of the more tiny little objects. Moreover, the gameplay is untimed and you have got unlimited hints on your path. All these features put Marooned in a line of too simple games, though good enough for just the beginners.

Perhaps, we should make allowance for Marooned as it is the first chapter in a promised trilogy. All in all, it is certainly an enjoyable experience, with a fun mystery and decent voice acting from its main character. The issue is also accompanied by well-selected audio and quite varied sound effects. So if you want to while away a few hours, it will enjoy you. Let us keep our eyes on the full trilogy; probably it will be more satisfying to play.

13, January 2010