Enigma Express Game Review

Hidden object and free-to-play games are not usually high on my list of interesting. However, hidden object games are something that my wife seems to enjoy so when I saw that Relentless Software released Enigma Express for iOS devices and it was free, I decided to give it a test drive. Enigma Express is set in the same world as Relentless Software's other mystery puzzle game, Murder Files. You are a junior detective trying to help Hannah Dakota of the Blue Toad Agency figure out why mysterious objects have been stolen from the bank deposit box of a notorious criminal.

The game is played out by finding hidden objects at various locations. Press on the object hidden on the screen to earn points. The higher points total you have when time runs out, the better. Points help unlock clues that are then used to unlock the next location in the game. A total of 5 clues can be earned at each location - earning additional clues also gives you more time to find objects the next time you play through that location. Some locations have you searching for up to 4 objects at once, adding a new object to find for each one you have already found. Other locations have different variations where you are looking for a single object at time and have to find it before being given another object. There is also a hint system that is on a timer, so you won't be able to use it more than once or twice a try. In the background you have the cut scene (somewhat) interactive story bits that tell you the underlying story of Enigma Express. 

Those are the nuts and bolts of the game, but then you run into the free-to-play elements. Each time you go to a location, you use 20 energy to begin the object search mini-game. Energy is replenished over time with 1 energy coming back every few minutes. If you need a quicker influx of energy, you can always buy some with coins. You earn coins periodically through the game or can buy them with actual $$. When you use clues to unlock a new location, there is a timer while train tracks are being laid to get you there (typically a few minutes) or if you don't want to wait, you can use coins to finish the track instantly. 

What works well with this game is the quirky story, art and voice acting. There is a lot of polish to this game and finding the objects within the 1 - 2 minutes you get for a level can be a challenge at times. This certainly could have been a premium game on the App Store and no one would have blinked an eye. They also have allowed the ability to login into Facebook and have leaderboards with your Facebook friends. 

Where things breakdown for me is in the Facebook integration, loading issues and free-to-play elements. I would much rather have paid a few dollars to have the game without the timers than to be kept from playing the game every 10 minutes or so when I run out of energy. I also don't like that I am asked to connect to Facebook after I finish any hidden-object mini game try - I don't have a Facebook account and don't need to see that pop-up every couple of minutes. It would be nice if there was an option to turn off all of those pop-ups. It would also be nice to be able to pay to remove the timers and coins so that the game can just be played and the story enjoyed. Probably the hardest thing to get over is how long it takes for the game to load up when you first open the app. Sometimes it seems to hang and you have to clear it from memory and re-open the app to get to play. This may just be due to the capabilities of my gen 1 iPad mini being on the weak side for the game, but it is compatible back to iOS 4.3, so there may be a lot of older devices trying to run it. 

You may see this for a while.

I think all the elements for a fun little game are here, but the timers and pop-ups and loading times are killing it for me. Hopefully some of these items will be addressed in updates down the road. For all the quirky polish that goes into the Murder Files games, I would like to see them succeed. I give Enigma Express 3 Mick Happies as a free-to-play hidden object game, just know what your in for before spending too much time with it. Now I need to go spend some time with all of the other games I just bought during the Steam Summer Sale. 

Quick Movie Reviews

Lately I have seen several documentary, I mean historical fiction, based-on-a-true-story and/or fantasy movies. Sometimes I like to think that they are documentaries and that is how things really happened, but alas…no. However, that doesn't mean that you can't have a good time with some of them anyway. Here's a roundup of quick reviews for those movies.

47 Ronin: The latest retelling of the classic Japanese story about the Samurai code of honor, bushido.  This version of 47 Ronin stars Keanu Reeves as Kai, a half-Japanese/half-English outcast, and is directed by Carl Rinsch. The story is about treachery and loyalty and revenge in feudal Japan as 47 Ronin, or masterless Samurai, seek to avenge the death of their master. Overall, the movie is beautiful and Keanu Reeves is visually believable as Kai. Where the movie fell down a bit for me was in the weaving of mystical/magical elements into the story and the use of hyper-fast CGI in some of those instances. It took me out of the story and basically the source material probably didn't need the extra punch of the special effects. If you are interested in Samurai movies that have modern special effects instead of the classic Samurai movies, this one is probably a good one to watch. I give 47 Ronin 3 Mick Happies.

50 to 1: Continuing the theme of movies with numbers in the title is the based on a true story tale of the racehorse, Mine That Bird. The film is directed by Jim Wilson and stars Skeet Ulrich and Christian Kane. We found out about the movie by following Christian Kane, who we are a fan of from his work on Leverage as well as his singing efforts. This is a classic underdog story of a horse trained in New Mexico that no one thinks has a chance but goes on to great success. As with any underdog story there are ups and downs along the way, but it all works out. This is a low budget film, but it has a lot of heart and it is clear that everyone making it was having a good time and enjoying what they were doing. Plus, who doesn't like an underdog story? There are some weak acting moments by some of the supporting cast that may seem a little off, but overall this is a feel good movie. 50 to 1 gets 4 Mick Happies.

Christian Kane as Mark Allen in 50 to 1

Pompeii: This epic of the destruction of the Roman city of Pompeii stars Kit Harrington (Jon Snow in Game of Thrones) as Milo, a celtic slave forced to fight in the arena. Along the way he falls in love and must fight for his life in the games for the amusement of the citizenry of Pompeii. There is politics, great scenery and landscapes. Again a lot of abs, blood and fighting, oh and destruction. Keifer Sutherland is frustratingly evil as Roman Senator Corvus. This isn't a bad movie at all, but anyone with a bit of historical knowledge knows that things aren't going to end well. Overall, Pompeii probably falls into the category of depressing more than anything else. I give it 2.5 Mick Happies. I hope that Kit Harrington gets another starring role in something other than a fantasy setting to show what he can do.

I, Frankenstein: I know, not based on a true story, but what if it was! That would be great. This take on Frankenstein finds the monster still alive in modern day and caught between two factions that have warred for centuries and look to Frankstein's monster to give them an edge in the battle. I don't want to give anything away as I think this is a film worth seeing. I will say I have always thought there was more to gargoyle statues than just ornamentation on buildings - glad to see them getting into some action. If you like supernatural action films that have a bit of the Underworld films feel to them, check this one out. I give I, Frankenstein 3 Mick Happies.

Magic Kingdom For Sale - SOLD!

Been a while since I posted anything mainly due to life happening. That doesn't mean that I haven't been consuming movies, books and playing games. One thing I did before life started to take over was download the first 3 books in Terry Brooks's Landover series from Amazon (link here) and start reading it (again). The book, The Magic Kingdom of Landover Volume 1 consists of Magic Kindgom For Sale - SOLD!, The Black Unicorn and Wizard At Large all for $9.99 on Kindle. The first novel, MKFS-S! was first published back in 1986, which was about the time I first read it.

The book is about a dissatisfied Chicago widower lawyer who decides to take a risk on an offer in a department store catalog to buy a fantasy kingdom and become it's king. For the rest of the story we follow Ben Holiday and see how his purchase works out for him.

Not as well known as Brooks's Shannara series and possibly not as good as the Sword of Shannara, MKFS-S! reminded of a particular sub-genre of fantasy that I really like, the kind where seemingly normal people are transported to another world. A sub-genre best known by classics like The Wizard of Oz, The Chronicles of Narnia , A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and Alice in Wonderland, I personally have found The Guardians of the Flame series by Joel Rosenberg to be my favorite example. There is something great about the idea that we (any of us) might someday stumble into another world (and hopefully survive).

Some of the things that Terry Brooks does very well in MKFS-S! is give us insight into Ben's doubts and concerns as he questions his sanity for even buying into the idea of this kingdom for sale. Plus Landover is interesting in it's own right, but I don't want to spoil the surprises. Luckily I originally read it so long ago that I didn't remember all of the twists (of which there are a few).

The book probably best falls into a young adult age range, with nothing too violent (more suspenseful) and nothing too sexy. I read it at 16 or 17 and anyone 13 and up would have a good time with the story. I haven't read books 2 or 3 in the series (which currently spans six novels) and am looking forward to reading them as well. I give MKFS-S! 3.5 Mick Happies and highly recommend you go out and grab a copy of the 3 book set if you like Brooks's other novels or want a decent fantasy story with nearly all the trappings of the trope.

Back again soon with a roundup of all the movies I have seen lately.