Right now, I’m kind of going through some things… and developing a love/hate relationship. With family. With school. With certain annoying roommates who shall not be named. And to top it off, I have a new love/hate relationship with The Agency of Anomalies - Cinderstone Orphanage Collector's Edition. This hidden object game does some things right, but it also does enough things wrong to make me want to chuck my mouse through the screen.
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You are an agent tasked with investigating paranormal... stuff. You've received word — from a spooky ghost-lady in the spilled ink on your newspaper — that there's been a mysterious explosion at Cinderstone Orphanage, and that the children and caretakers have gone missing.
And did I mention the orphanage was set up specifically for children with paranormal abilities? It's kind of a weird Victorian version of Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. You'll roam through a haunted orphanage picking up clues, saying "wassup" to ghosts, and gaining paranormal superpowers so you can unscrew panels and make things grow. Yikes, you got the short end of the superpower stick.
On the plus side, the story is solid. It's cool how they put it all together. For example, you might find a newspaper clipping, and this will lead into a cut scene where more of the story is revealed. Each kid in the orphanage has a "gift," and, as you discover their stories, you get their powers to advance into the game. So, it's nice how they integrate the two.
Also, I appreciated how sometimes you not only have to find hidden objects, but put the objects you found in their proper place in another area of the house. That's interesting. Makes it all... organic. You're not just finding random junk; you're restoring order and putting spirits to rest. I can dig it.
[[Orphan2.jpg]]
That said... the interface and cursor are straight-up janky, people. The cursor skips across the screen, and you have to stop on the tiniest sliver sometimes to find a new object or interact in some way. The graphics are usually muddy and are not as sharp as some of the best games out there. The transitions are stuttery; you can see the graphical "seams" and it has this cobbled-together feel.
The "cursor problem" alone had me close to rage quitting. But, I toughed it out for my adoring readership. You can thank me later. In the meantime, The Agency of Anomalies - Cinderstone Orphanage Collector's Edition reaches the minimum threshold for hidden object junkies, but there are better ones out there.
