The Stroke of Midnight

Yet another game with ghosts! Are there any hidden object game without ghosts, spirits, vampires or other occult gadgets? Well, if there was one or two, we would look at them with hardly veiled scorn. Stereotypes and standards won our minds!

To start with, The Stroke of Midnight by Namco Networks follows all traditions of hidden object genre – thrilling plot about two dead lovers, dark rooms crowded with ghosts and others. This title seems exciting from the very first scene as it was drawn in a very clear way. However, good graphics are not enough to compensate a lack of challenge. Since the title is story driven, this is not very difficult to proceed and it takes just over two or three hours to complete.

Unfortunately, the game scenes are not innovative or unique. To crown it all, you cannot move around any scene but can only move right or left. Honestly, we were sure to be more free in our searching. So, this way of scene investigation for such a promising game is inexcusably awkward. The Stroke of Midnight might have been much better for sure, if the developers provided players with moderner ways of searching. The navigation is all right, but in some scenes, the cursor gives up working.

For as much effort as Namco Networks put into the detailed artwork, and an interesting plot, they really fouled up the gameplay. There are some new ideas of puzzles but the presentation is very strange. You don’t have to find anything in other locations to complete this or that puzzle in a room because everything you need is already in that room. Surely, this is very convenient but it puts no challenge in the gameplay. The beginners, who do not have much experience with hidden object games, can easily apply this title. But the experienced players may wait for something really better.

25, January 2011