Meet Nicole Rankwist
In Mystery of the Crystal Portal, you play as a New York Journalist named Nicole Rankwist. Nicole's father is an eccentric archeologist and is always off in some exotic location, experiencing an adventure or two. This time, however, things are different. Nicole's father calls her up from Japan to tell her about his recent discovery, telling her that it could change the course of humanity, but the odd thing is that he sounds slightly nervous. Our heroine agrees to meet up with him later, but when her very punctual father doesn't show up for six hours after the meeting time, she realizes that something is wrong and she needs to get to the bottom of it.
Nicole heads to Japan, only to meet a monk who was waiting for her. He knew her father and tells her that she must find him to prove herself. And so the adventure begins!
The first thing that I loved about this product is its twist on the usual "explorer" plot. Archeology is nothing new to computer games, where someone uncovers something dangerous somewhere. However, it's usually the main character - the one whose shoes you fill - that does the exploring. This time around, your character is on the outside looking in, tasked with helping out the adventurer, in the process becoming an adventurer herself. This clever storytelling gave me high hopes for the game I was about to dive into, and I was not disappointed.
Welcome to Japan
The ingenuity and creativity doesn't stop at the story. While the gameplay in Mystery of the Crystal Portal is deeply rooted in hidden objects gameplay, it goes far above and beyond the usual formula. There are three different types of objects you must find in each level: normal, puzzle, and key. Key objects are what really set the game apart from others of its type. When you mouse over a key item, your cursor will turn into a hand. Click on that item and it will you show you a handful of other items that must go inside. There's no list here that tells you what to find.
Once you find all of those items and put them where they need to be, it will trigger something with the key piece that will usually pave the way for further hunting. You should note that not all objects are available right from the start. Only after you complete certain key pieces can you find everything.
Puzzle pieces are an entirely different matter and go towards completing an entire stage. For example, in the first stage, I had to travel to a different part of Japan in order to find a ladder which would then allow me to complete the original place I was in. Intertwining levels like this gives a good sense of continuity and shows you that a lot of love and car went into the game.
Hats Off!
Mystery of the Crystal Portal is - in my opinion - the best hidden objects game to come along in quite a while. It does so many things different from the norm and makes for a fun and unique experience that shouldn't be passed up. It's a true work of art that everyone should experience at least once.
