The Casual Gamer reviews Mystery Case Files: The 13th Skull

Since 2005, Mystery Case Files has represented the gold standard in PC hidden object adventures and lucky for us, this holiday season sees the release of the seventh game in the series, Mystery Case Files: The 13th Skull.

Created by Big Fish Studios, The 13th Skull takes you deep into the Louisiana bayou; as always, you play a nameless detective but this time your talents are called upon to unravel the mystery behind a local man's sudden disappearance. You arrive at a spooky southern mansion where you meet with the missing man's wife. She tells you that her husband disappeared after reading a bedtime story to their daughter and the daughter claims that her father was taken by a ghost. This bizarre revelation sets you searching not only for your missing person, but for lost treasure and the ghost of an infamous pirate.

The last couple of installments of the MCF series has made some use of full motion video sequences (live actors integrated into 3D graphics) but The 13th Skull goes all out with this technique. Most hidden object games are (duh) object oriented--you spend most of your time alone, searching for items in deserted mansions, graveyards and insane asylums but The 13th Skull, with its large cast of interactive characters, becomes more than that--it's like an interactive movie.

You'll meet the missing man's family, the creepy mansion staff, the quirky denizens of a bayou town, including its tavern goers, swamp dwellers and even the local voodoo queen, Madame Aimee. Each of these characters is played by a real actor (To admittedly, uneven effect. Some of the performances are certainly more convincing than others.) and each will give you information about the case--if you do something for them first.

In addition to amusing characters, the game offers many beautiful and interesting locations (which is no wonder, since the game is brilliantly art directed by Jeff Haynie, the man behind one of my personal favorites, Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate), not to mention many brain-teasing, puzzles, custom-made for the game's storyline.

Once you've finished the game, you unlock an hour-long epilogue which I won't go into here (no spoilers!) but suffice it to say, offers a compelling finish to a highly entertaining, fun and polished game. Mystery Case Files: The 13th Skull is a great seventh offering in the series and a great entertainment value at between 7-10 hours of gameplay (twice the length of the average hidden object game) so hidden object fans, make sure you don't miss it.

Mystery Case Files: The 13th Skull is available exclusively on the Big Fish Games site for $13.99 for Game Club members. Membership is free and members get a 30% discount on all game titles.