Blending Genres

I was impressed with Between the Worlds before I even started playing the game. I had chosen my character, a young male cop, given him my name, and was taken to the rather breathtaking title screen. It depicted a beautiful, glowing city at night, and in the sky was an image of some sort of wizard holding an amulet. Based on that visual, and the title of the product, I knew that this would be a mix of crime and fantasy, something I found very intriguing.

Your adventure begins with your character getting a phone call from the Los Angeles County Sheriff. He says that the city is in chaos and that crimes are being committed on every block. He needs your help getting to the bottom of the matter. You already have an airline ticket, so it looks like it's off to Southern California.

Detective Work

As a detective, part of your job involves searching for clues. What more fitting genre is there than hidden objects? You'll investigate various crime scenes, each time equipped with a list of things to find. You'll have an assistant to help you and give you advice along the way. She won't help you find objects, but you have hints for that.

As you search for various items, you also need to keep an eye for pieces of an amulet. These pieces will be hidden in containers that you must open. This adds another layer to the hidden objects mechanic. At any time during a level, you can click on the amulet icon to view certain statistics about the game.

Of course, you'll be timed, but the amount given is generous. That could change quickly, however, if you start to click all over the place. Making too many incorrect clicks will dock you a minute from the timer, and minutes can add up quickly. If you do happen to run out of time, you'll lose the stage.

A Chilling Soundtrack

Music in computer games can be pretty ho-hum, but I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this product's soundtrack. The melodies were haunting, moody, and above all, effective at creating the right mood for a detective mystery with a bit of the fantastical thrown in.

Amazing Visuals

While the music is what really drew me into the game, I have to say something about the graphics. While the photo-realistic levels look great, it's the characters that are really fantastic. The artwork is phenomenal, like something you would see in a comic book. Great characters are needed to drive stories, and these ones really fit the bill.

A Marvelous Mystery

Between the Worlds is great on multiple levels and I hope I convinced you of that. This isn't just a game you play for fun - although you will have a blast - but rather an experience that requires shutting the door and dimming the lights. I warn you, however: once you get sucked into this world, you may never want to leave. This is a must have, no doubt about it.