Game: Cate West: The Vanishing Files
Publisher/Developer: Oxygen Games
Genre: Hidden Objects Puzzler
Verdict: An acquired taste for many, but a calming little title for casual and family gamers alike.
Pros: Great for de-stressing after a long day of work, and it keeps your brain active.
Cons: Those wanting a more exciting gaming experience may be disappointed, shaking dust away is annoying
Ever have a guilty pleasure that you know isn’t really very good, but you can’t help but love? We all do, whether it’s a cheesy romantic comedy that we don’t want to admit to our mates that we love, or a great fondness for singing along to Barbie Girl. It’s fine to have, even though your pretensions may make you wish you didn’t. The problem is that when your job is to review a game and that game happens to be a huge guilty pleasure, it becomes very conflicting. You see, when it comes to Cate West: The Vanishing Files, I’m very much of two minds. On the one hand, it’s extremely samey and does absolutely nothing to challenge the Wii technologically or the player’s physical ability. It’s the sort of game that will quickly remind you of the puzzle books your parents used to bribe you with on long car journeys. However, despite its shortcomings, I still greatly enjoyed my experience with this gentle, hidden object based puzzle game. If ever there’s an example of a ‘marmite’ game (a game you either love or hate), this is it!
The hidden object genre is one that ‘hardcore’ gamers have most likely never played. It involves just what you would expect: you are given a scene which has a wide variety of different objects and items, alongside the scene is a list of objects or clues which you need to find. You then click on the relevant items and you are moved onto the next puzzle. It’s a simple concept but strangely mesmerizing, much of this is thanks to the relaxed nature in which you can play.
In the case of Cate West: The Vanishing Files, a story is loosely wrapped around the hidden object part of the game. You play Cate West, a psychic who is helping the police with an investigation which is linked to the murder of her father. Admittedly, the story is far from memorable and although various cartoon based cut scenes try to keep you interested, it’s really not as core to the game’s enjoyment as the writer probably wanted it to be. The crux of the enjoyment comes from the hidden object components of the game.
There are 15 chapters in all, comprised of five parts within each chapter. The first section involves finding a set of clues in typically 3 or 4 different locations. Each location is a scene such as a back alley or a creepy room in a building. These area contain a huge array of conventional items such as keys or spanners, and not so conventional ones such as a piggy bank or hot pepper. You are given a list of clues to pick out of the scene and once you’ve collected all the pieces, you are moved onto the next stage. It is fairly elementary stuff and very basic in terms of presentation, but I did find it strangely fun. It was relaxing and even calming, an ideal combination for the casual gamer. There is a time limit but it’s quite long and not once did I get even remotely close to running out of time.
The remaining four sections use similar game mechanics to the first section, just with a slight twist. For example, the second section ‘Gathering Evidence’ consists of picking out certain bits of an object such as part of a clock. The third section is essentially Spot the Difference, something that I’ve always been dreadful at, so this was my least favorite part, especially when some differences felt extremely difficult to detect! The last stage manages to be almost the reverse of Spot the Difference, with you putting items back to match the alternate crime scene. In between these is the Pick Out the Criminal stage, otherwise known as Guess Who to the lay man. Cate analyzes the relevant clues acquired from earlier in the chapter to determine what the culprit looks like. You are then given the choice of a number of suspects and you have to figure out ‘whodunit’. I found the Guess Who stages to be a little vague at times. Sometimes the clues easily led me to the culprit, but other times it felt a little hit or miss. Having tried this out on another gamer, they had similar problems. Luckily however, you have unlimited attempts, so the only thing it really affects is your overall score, but not by a lot. It all sounds extremely simple written down, but the idea works quite well. It may not be anything very special, nor anything you will remember for years to come, but it passes the time in an enjoyable manner. It was also nice to see that there is replayability in the form of different clues being asked for when returning to previous chapters.
There are some irritants within the simple nature of Cate West: The Vanishing Files. In certain chapters, you have to shake the Wiimote to clear dust so that you can see clues. It frequently felt like a pointless waste of effort. I would have much preferred to be left alone to find the clues, rather than have to clear dust every once in a while. Also, the music was particularly uninspiring and monotonous because it never really changed as the game progressed. Besides the story mode of the game, which can be played with either one or two players, there is also a two player competitive mode which pits the players against each other in order to score the most points within a level. It seems a little tacked on but adds a bit of longevity to the affair, especially if you’re considering buying this game for the family. Younger gamers are sure to enjoy competing against each other as well as combining their efforts in the two player story mode.
Cate West: The Vanishing Files really is a game that you’ll either love or hate. It sounds like I’m trying to dodge my reviewing responsibilities, but it truly is that sort of game. I really quite liked it and so did my mother who is a perfect example of the casual gamer, but I can see why so many people would grow to hate it. This really isn’t the sort of game that a hardened FPS player would like, but in the hands of the casual gamer or a young family, this is actually quite fun and well worth a look. Just be warned, it is an acquired taste that isn’t for everyone.
Popularity: unranked [?]
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