The mystery is how this franchise managed to squeeze out four games of the genre.
It's hard to define the genre. Mystery P.I. games are neither puzzle nor adventure (clearly not adventure). Quite simply, players must find specific items on a picture loaded with objects. The sheer amount of stuff on screen makes it hard to spot anything in particular so Mystery P.I. games require a fair deal of memorization (not required but helps), concentration and good focus to succeed. It's a simple concept and it is addictive, but unfortunately it's repetitive and lacks the potency of other Popcap titles. In short, don't waste your money; USD 25 (EU 20) isn't worth it.
REPETITIVE REPETITION
Gameplay revolves around finding objects scattered over inanimate pictures. A list tells us which items have to be found. There are 25 levels in total, each with varying amounts of pictures (stages). Items give points needed to finish a level. Finishing a level requires completing an additional puzzle in the form of Word Find or a small variety of picture puzzles. To make things more interesting, each stage has a hidden key, casino chip and a fingerprint. Finding the aforementioned items unlocks bonuses.
The game will keep most players interested for a day, at the most. Repetition is the culprit. The biggest culprit is repetition. The most repetitive culprit is repetition. Repetition will be repetitive, and it's a culprit. Repeating the same culprit will be repetitive. The repetitive culprit… You get the picture. In fact, you get the same ones over and over. Since there are but a handful of stages spread out over the course of 25 levels, the same ones are rehashed ad nauseam. And because each stage always has the same objects the game becomes absurdly easy with time.
At first Mystery P.I.: The Vegas Heist was a blast. The seemingly large amount of items in each "crime scene" gives the impression things will be interesting for a while. Alas, this allure only lasts for about three passes of the same stage. To break monotony, the game eventually throws us some really nasty curveballs (sarcasm) to keep things interesting, like calling scissors "paper cutter" (man, that's sneaky) or a cow a "milk provider" (I guess "milk generator" would have been too sneaky), but it's not enough to convince someone the game isn't a waste of perfectly good money.
OUT OF TIME? PAUSE THE GAME AND CONTINUE PLAYING…
To complicate things, levels (including the end-puzzles) have to be completed within a time limit. The timer would have actually meant something had pausing the game blacked out the screen, because it doesn't -- it only makes it darker. One can actually pause the game and stare at the crime scene indefinitely. And since finding objects is the whole point of the game, pausing effectively still lets you play! The only thing limiting this exploit is the player's memory because the list vanishes. But if you have enough grey matter to memorize even a fraction of the 10 items on each picture's list, you will find that timers are completely trivial, much like any shred of challenge in this game.
The bonuses are nothing to write home about. Finding all chips and keys gives us a chance to find all items without time limits. We get the pleasure of finding the same objects in the dozen pictures or so, without time constraints! Yipee!
PASS IT TO YOUR 8-YEAR OLD
For those asking (and I'm sure there's a million of you out there just dying to find out if this game is all that's it's cracked up to be), there is no story. The Las Vegas setting only offers a few gambling related settings and a limited amount of casino sound effects. That's it. The game could have literally taken place in a retirement home and it would have offered the same amount of excitement and variety. We would have still gotten a back alley, roof, basement, utility room, staff room, security room, gambling room (bingo hall), etc.
The game isn't all bad, though.
Stages are well designed, though sometimes it's hard distinguishing stuff, like a screwdriver from a lamp. In general items blend in rather well with the crime scenes. An 8-year old will appreciate the game's complexity, especially since there's a "Hint" button that gives players a broad location of where an item is located. The "Hint" tool replenishes with time making things even easier. Don't count on your child getting as Masters here, though. At the very least Mystery P.I.: The Vegas Heist can teach your kid the names of various tools. At the very worst, they might get the wrong idea and not be unable to distinguish a wasp from a bee (or a lamp from a screwdriver).
SUMMARY
With a theme like Las Vegas it makes me wonder if SpinTop Games intended Mystery P.I.: The Vegas Heist to be so easy. The game is clearly not aimed at adults because of its low level of difficulty and repetitive nature. I will go out on a limb and say it wasn't designed for kids. Theft and gambling (aren't they the same?) aren't themes most parents want to expose their children to, despite a clear lack of both. The game is too easy because its designers didn't bother adding more depth and features. Had it cost $10 I might have considered it but the game is clearly not worth the $20. I would save up for a bargain bin title. There are plenty of things out there more worthy of your money.
GRAPHICS
Objects blend well with the pictures but sometimes it's hard distinguishing what they are. Levels are repeated too often.
GAMEPLAY
The game is absurdly easy because of repetition. The pause exploit completely trivializes gameplay. Pointing and clicking works fine.
PRODUCTION
All of it could have taken place in a retirement home, or bingo hall, and none would have been the wiser. Serious lacks depth in every aspect. A few name/item mistakes.
SOUND
Nice ambient sound and music, but guess what… it's REPETITIVE!
LASTING APPEAL
It kept me interested for one day, then I noticed bug crawling on my desk and my P.I. skills were permanently needed somewhere else.