Secrets of the Dark: Eclipse Mountain

The Good
When I bought this game at a car boot sale it looked like it was just another old game that was probably another short, run of the mill title with nothing new to offer and I was pleased and surprised to be proved wrong.

This is the second game in the series, the first was set in Mexico, and this title referenced the previous game in an unusual way. After solving various puzzles in three, maybe four, locations I was able to turn on a lamp or something similar. That action morphed the current location in Thailand into another location in Mexico and back again.
Why did it do this? I've no idea but it is something I've not seen in a game recently and it helped keep the game compact by which I mean there were plenty of locations but there was less running around between them.

There were two types of hidden object puzzle that I remember. There is the standard puzzle where most of the objects are hidden in plain sight but in most, possibly all, there was always one item that had to be made by combining two component parts, for example to find a 'cup and saucer' I had to find the cup and drag it to the saucer.
The variation on this kind of puzzle was called a 'Misplaced Objects' puzzle. It used the same basic kind of scene as a hidden object puzzle but I was not given a list of objects to find, instead I was given a set of objects to drag and place back in the scene, for example there could be a handle to put onto a basket; place one shoe next to another etc.

The music is nice but not memorable and there was a bit of voice acting too.

There is also a good range of puzzles. At the start I found them quite easy which is what I'd expect for a short casual game but as I played through the game they definitely got harder, not impossibly hard, but some were certainly challenging.

The Bad
There's nothing really bad about this title at all. My main problem while playing was remembering where I had to be next, I'd find a key/tile/button and I'd run around for a while looking for the right place to use it. There is no in-game map and the hint system just says 'There is nothing to do in this location - try somewhere else' it does not dive directions.
That was a little frustrating at times but its more of a problem with my memory than the game.

The only other niggle is that the ending is rather abrupt.

The Bottom Line
I thought it was going to be a short game so I played on the easy setting expecting to get some screenshots and be finished by teatime. I got interrupted a few times but I reckon it must have taken around six hours to complete the game and I skipped a couple of puzzles because I wanted to finish it before getting to bed.

Another pretty solid title, I'd recommend this game.