Columbus: Ghost of the Mystery Stone Review for Windows PC

We all know that in 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue. What we didn't know is that apparently the ship he was on crashed along the way. Stuck on a mysterious island, Columbus sees an apparition which ultimately causes him to face his greatest challenge as an explorer - the fight for his own survival.

Columbus: Ghost of the Mystery Stone is a hidden object type casual game. Like most other titles in the category, throughout the game, players must visit location after location, finding a predetermined list of hidden objects in order to unlock levels, reveal clues, and activate puzzles. In typical hidden object games, it's common for items to be much too easy to find, or much too difficult. In Ghost of the Mystery Stone, gamers will likely agree that the balance between backgrounds with varying colors and patterns versus how well the objects are hidden within is just about right. Noticeably, every scene gamers will visit is rich in color and artistic quality, and the objects are hidden quite well within. Additionally, another great feature not always found in every hidden object game - random click penalties. This means, as the object of the game is to find things on screen, randomly clicking anywhere will only benefit the player by loss of the mouse pointer for a little while. This prevents players from finding objects by simply clicking anywhere repeatedly.

Columbus: Ghost of the Mystery Stone offers two different modes of gameplay; Casual and Advanced. As expected, in casual mode, things are much easier for the player. In casual mode, for example, a tutorial is available, the in-game buttons - help and skip recharge themselves quickly, and when a location within a room holds something interesting, the area that needs visiting will sparkle. In Advanced mode, these things happen with opposite results (no in-game tutorial, buttons charge slower, and no sparkling help is available). Both modes will bring players through nine chapters of gameplay.

When players are searching for items, the game offers a variety of puzzles throughout to move the game along. Challenges within the puzzles include, piecing together physical puzzles, matching based on patters or colors, comparing and finding differences between objects, and unlocking device puzzles that are based on spinning or switching parts.

As far as a typical hidden object game goes, this is one of the better ones. There isn't anything outstanding or groundbreaking to be told; yet the game is enjoyable. Columbus: Ghost of the Mystery Stone is available at Big Fish Games, and for those that just can't solve a certain aspect of the game, a walkthrough is available at the Big Fish Games Blog.

Sources/Resources:

Big FIsh Games Blog: Columbus: Ghost of the Mystery Stone Walkthrough