On April 15, 1912, the Titanic hit an iceberg, and, at 2:20 AM, it sank out of sight into the icy ocean waters. Out of the 2,223 people on board, 1,500 died. Why the history lesson? Well, first, the story of the Titanic is incredibly fascinating and secondly, I just played Hidden Mysteries: Return to Titanic!
On April 15, 1912, the Titanic hit an iceberg, and, at 2:20 AM, it sank out of sight into the icy ocean waters. Out of the 2,223 people on board, 1,500 died. Why the history lesson? Well, first, the story of the Titanic is incredibly fascinating and secondly, I just played Hidden Mysteries: Return to Titanic!
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Hidden Mysteries: Return to Titanic is the 9th in a long series of unrelated games. In this particular Hidden Mysteries game, you, a reporter, are undercover on the Titanic. The story isn't very well defined as it doesn't actually say why you are undercover on the Titanic, just that you, in fact, are. You start out at the iconic grand staircase - the largest and grandest ever built on a ship in its time. There, a porter tells you he has information regarding another passenger, possibly concerning a payoff and bribes and should get to the top deck of the ship immediately.
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As you start to wander around the Titanic, you will run into characters who you can talk to. You will also discover random items to pick up for later use. Your first task is to fix the ladder to the upper deck so you can confront the passenger in question. There is a hidden object scene of little difficulty, a somewhat frustrating puzzle, and a lot of wandering about the ship to find three nails, a hammer, and some wood. I should note the graphics are very nice, as you can see from the various screenshots I have included in this review.
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At first, I was impressed with the actual likeness to the pictures and recreations I've seen of the Titanic. Then I wandered into the first-class passenger hallway and at the end found the engine room? Really? The engine room was below even the third-class passengers, and I'm pretty sure Mr. and Mrs. Astor - the richest family on board - would not have put up with an engine room right next to their stateroom.
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Anyway... you finally fix the ladder and make your way to the upper deck. You are confronted by the passenger in question with a gun, at which point you pull out a gun, the Titanic hits the iceberg and sinks immediately. Do game developers not research history?!
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Suddenly you "awake" at the bottom of the ocean in the ruins of the Titanic. Confused, you enter the Titanic through the large hole in the side of her hull and make your way back to the grand staircase. There an evil, floating head confronts you and tells you that you are trapped there with all the others and it is up to you to figure out why and choose your fate. Alrighty...
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After the evil, floating head blocks off most of the passageways, you are forced to enter the first class passenger hallway where you fix a door and out comes the ghost of a former passenger, whom you had spoken to before the ship sunk and killed you both. Sadly, she had locked her little brother in the room, could not remember the password to get him out, was therefore unable to board a lifeboat in time - which by the way were not filled to capacity and even if they had been would not have held everyone on board, remember, this was an unsinkable ship. A portal to the past suddenly appears and she asks you to go back in time and save her little brother.
It seems your fate is to help fellow passengers, now ghosts like yourself, undo wrongs that need righted. There are a lot of locations to explore on the Titanic, but of course you have to do various things before you can unlock them all.
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So, let me hasten my story to what I thought about the game. I liked the graphics. They were different from other hidden object/adventure games I've played and that is always a plus. I found the storyline a bit confusing from the start, as nothing is really explained. I felt there was a bit too much wandering back and forth from the very beginning, simply picking up random objects that you have no idea what to do with yet. Hence, the game is slightly illogical in that respect. I felt the game had potential, but sadly, fell a bit short of my expectations.
