Christmasville

The Good
I did save Christmas... two or three weeks ago. Uhm, yeah, I know, saving Christmas in March, it's weird but as the game is free with ads on iWin, without the condition that it must be played at Christmas, why not?

And then, it's a casual game and I'm not reviewing enough about them despite having already played a lot of them. Christmasville is one of the few games that gave me the will to write about it. Perhaps a Christmas wonder?

You're Arthur Knight, a famous private investigator who is contacted by the Abominable Snowman for finding Santa Claus, who disappeared. If your first reaction is to check if you're dreaming or on drugs, you soon see darkness. Then, when you wake up, you're in North Pole, just beginning to realize that after all, Santa Claus is a real human being... So, as you have to save Christmas, you begin your investigation...

Christmasville is an hidden object game set during Christmas (surprised?) in which you have to find the big boss... eeerh... Santa Claus who disappeared suddenly. As much as the plot is classic and not really new, it's still efficient, particularly when you're introducing the pacifist Abominable Snowman, a charming Reeinder, a too serious Elf (and his beautiful wife), a psychiatrist who is thinking that he is a sort of Superman, etc.. Yeah, the plot is hilarious when it's revealed and that kind of humor is welcomed, making it perhaps adapted to the children... if some adult hints weren't present (mainly when the wife is making her appearance).

Christmasville isn't innovating in the gameplay field. It's just a game with various minigames where two are dominating: the hidden object and the spot the difference.

Indeed, the hidden object genre is the main one in this game, whether it's finding an object by being given its name or its silhouette. The gameplay is the same: in a certain amount of time, you have to find items whose names or silhouettes are given in a list. When it's done, you have to click on them in order to making progress. If you're stuck, you can ask for an hint/tip. That system for helping you is available for all minigames. So, as you can see, the gameplay is the usual one when it comes to hidden objects.

If hidden objects levels are easy to finish because of a good visibility, when it comes to silhouettes, you can't rely on it. Indeed, small objects can have a big silhouette for example. And you're trying to find something big instead of trying to find any object with the shape. It's sometimes frustrating.

Also, I've mentioned the "spot the differences". It's a similar gameplay as hidden object. You're given two pictures and you have to find the differences. You still click on them when finding one.

I've also told you that you can find other minigames. Apart from the usual "find all xxxxxx" (for example, find all bottles), you have some interesting ideas like deciphering Santa's messages by switching letters, make a picture with different pieces, in a fashion way similar to a puzzle, etc... Anyway, you will always find something different, even if some games are repetitive.

So, if Christmasville isn't interesting for making a new gameplay, it's interesting to see the various minigames which are proposed. Even, if well, they're not new, it's still refreshing to have a varied game.

In Christmasville, you can speak with the other characters. I know, it's not new but what is special about this game is that you can choose your answers, your questions or any sentence in a dialog box. Usually used in adventure games, it's surprising to see it in that kind of games (even if some already proposed that). It's so rare that I needed to mention it. About my opinion about it, it's not really important, just choose any answer to advance, it has no consequence on the game. It could have been more interesting if there were some.

Graphics are mainly colorful but also in a cartoon style. It's not really the new next-gen engine, after all, hidden object games are using backgrounds in 2D and are also modeling their characters in 2D. So, it's not a surprise to see that everything is clearly cartoonish. But you can also find some "pictures", it's very disturbing to see them in Christmasville.

So, yeah, it's hard to speak about graphics but basically, I can resume them to "cute, humorous and colorful". And as it's Christmas and the North Pole, don't be surprised to see many references to them.

The soundtrack is varied, some are clearly made in a Christmas tone, others not and that's why I'm thankful to people having done the tracks. Because I think I couldn't stand everytime Christmas tunes. It can be really bothering and here, well, as it's varied, it's not. I'm happy to see that you don't have the same track during all your game.

For me, Christmasville is two hours long. It's not really long for a player but it's really easy to finish it. Also, casual games that are taking too long for finishing like the Hidden Object Show are really boring in the end. So, yeah, Christmasville is perhaps making you craving for a little more but it's long enough for you to evacuate stress or for taking a rest.

The Bad
Well, I thought it was a nice game for kind. When I'm playing hidden object games, I'm always excepting a level of difficulty. I mean, I'm always expecting that some items are hidden so well that I can't make a difference between them and the background. Surprise! In Christmasville, it's not the case, you can easily find what you have to and that's why I'm saying that it was perhaps for kids.

But well, there are some adult references, mainly with Elf's wife. You have Death that can scare some away, it was a creepy level, even in the end and then well, the dream level was making me feeling really weird, somewhere "afraid". I don't know if it's still for children, perhaps more for teenagers than kids, given also the fact that some levels can be hard for younger people.

Also, unfortunately, Christmasville isn't really a game that you want to play again. Once it's done, you don't come for another game unless you want to write a review or some tips. Christmasville isn't an hooking game like Mystery Case Files or Mystery P.I. can be. Perhaps that a kid can play it again but as an adult, playing it once is enough.

The Bottom Line
Well, someone told me that I'm really speaking a lot when it comes to arcade/hidden object games. He would be really surprised to see the following: for me, I'm always feeling that I'm missing something. I mean, now that I can provide reviews with more or less 20 000 characters when it comes to FPS or adventure games, I'm feeling that my casual reviews, being much shorter, are just "crap" next to them. It doesn't prevent me to give my opinion, as I do think they're worthy to be reviewed "in depth", I mean, to have more than the "it's a good game apart that level" or "it sucks".

Anyway, you should understand that I will recommend Christmasville for any newbie in the hidden object genre: not so easy but not really hard. Hardcore gamers will probably avoid it, as it's too simple for them. And if you don't want to play the game free but with ads, just download a trial for making an idea about Christmasville. Everything is ok even if not new: the gameplay is intuitive, not hard to master, the graphics are correct, the soundtrack is varied and you'll find a lot of minigames. Even the plot is hilarious at the end.