Discovering An Undiscovered World
Undiscovered World: The Incan Sun begins with a bang. Technically it's a crash, but the game starts on all cylinders as your plane goes down in a remote jungle. You decide to head to some buildings you spotted on the coast before your plane went down. Before you can do that, however, it's already time to start searching for objects.
This product meets all of the criteria for an excellent hidden objects game. It's set in a remote, mysterious location, your character is a dashing explorer, and you never know quite what's going on. When I'm watching a mystery unfold, I want to be surprised at every turn, and this product delivers on that front.
Not Too Easy, But Not Too Hard
When dealing with a game in this genre, it's a very fine line between too easy and borderline impossible. Undiscovered World: The Incan Sun straddles this line well, delivering an experience that will challenge you without causing you to rip your hair out, which is something I experience often in this genre.
After I completed the first stage, I thought I had done pretty well. I never lingered too long on a single object and I only used one hint, to find an all-too-well hidden golf club. However, when my score was tallied up, I realized just how much better I could've done.
You get scored on time, accuracy, and, well, actual score. This means that you need to complete each stage quickly, finding one object after another to gain quick find bonuses, and making as few incorrect clicks as possible. When you're judged on all three criteria, the pressure is instantly cranked up a notch, and what was once a casual seek and find becomes a hearty challenge. Getting all of those high scores becomes an obsession after a while.
Unraveling The Mystery
The story unfolds in chapters, each chapter featuring its own little objective. In the first chapter, which featured a handful of levels, I was finding mysterious statues in each location. Each statue contained a small piece of parchment inside, and, as you can probably guess, all of those parchments came together to form an ancient treasure map.
I got to assemble the map as a little bonus game, and once that was done, it was onto the next chapter as I searched for transportation. The story is paced nicely and the chapters make for excellent breaks and stopping points. The story is divided in such a way that you can easily walk away and come back without losing your place or forgetting what has happened.
Worth The Discovery
Fifteen minutes into Undiscovered World: The Incan Sun and I could tell it was an instant classic. It's a simple game; it doesn't boast any innovative features and doesn't bring anything new to the genre, but it was fun enough to get me hooked and the story was engaging enough to keep my playing. Hidden objects fans will not be disappointed and for those new to the genre, this product serves as a fine example.
