The Mystery of the Crystal Portal 2: Beyond the Horizon

The Good
This game has a lot going for it.

The game mechanics are different to other hidden object games I've played but they are easy to get used to and, if you think about it they can be used to help in the search. The objects to be located are never hidden behind the 'wheel menu' thingamyjig that's being displayed, though this does not work when multiple such menus are shown on screen. The design of the game really does make you work too because objects can be hidden inside or behind other objects.
The game has good artwork which is essential in a hidden object game, also when looking for an object if you let the mouse cursor hover over the greyed out image it will name the thing you're looking for.

There is music and there are sound effects too. Unlike some games the music does not play continually in a loop. It pops up in certain scenes, plays, then stops which means that most of the game is played in virtual silence with the only sound being made when the player clicks on something. As music goes it was good but not spectacular, just right for a reward at the start/end of a scene but nothing I'd want to copy to my mp3 player to savour later.

The game's mechanics worked flawlessly. The game saved when I exited, and reloaded to the same spot when I restarted.

The translation to English has been done well too. I think I spotted one spelling mistake somewhere and in another place there was some odd phrasing but overall it was very good

The Bad
There's very little to dislike about this game. My only gripe was that it played on my monitor with two black bands down either side. I tried changing the game configuration to get rid of them but with no effect. This may be a flaw with the game, my hardware, or me.

The Bottom Line
A pleasant diversion with little replay value. There's nothing in here to upset little kids or to offend granny, there's no bad language, there are no scenes of death or peril, it's a nice inoffensive piece of fluff.

I finished the game in a day, allowing for lunch, coffee and comfort breaks I reckon it took five hours on the Advanced setting.