The Treasures of Mystery Island: The Ghost Ship is a hidden object adventure game that leads the player to a mystical island on the brink of a cataclysmic event. With only a few hours before an eclipse that will forever wipe this island off the map, the player is thrust back and forth and around the island in search of the truth behind local reports of mysterious ghost sightings seemingly from a long forgotten shipwreck. With some unexpected guidance, and sporadic notes from the, now missing, friend who invited you to the island in the first place, you’ll have to solve challenging puzzles and assemble the clues to help the local shaman restore order and save the island from assured destruction by a cosmic tidal wave destined to destroy the island.

First, The Treasures of Mystery Island: The Ghost Ship, the third and latest installment of the Treasures of Mystery Island series, provides a different approach for what is a majority hidden object style game. The objects needed to solve the puzzles, unveil clues or advance the storyline are broken into pieces and scattered amongst the other items of the scene. This means you not only need to find the items in the list, but also assemble the, frequently illusive and unnecessarily minute, pieces of the target object to complete each hidden object scene (a pair of scissors have never been so complicated). While I appreciated the different approach, the infinitesimal size of some of the target object pieces made them nearly impossible to uncover in what were typically darker backgrounds, essentially requiring the use of a hint in order to advance the storyline.

However, the only serious downfall to The Ghost Ship, despite the constant reminder of my need for bifocals, was the lack of actual dialog to advance the storyline once the initial plot was laid out. In the beginning, there seemed to be a fantastically exciting plot developing. But, in a majority of cases, the ghosts themselves advanced the storyline without any dialog or clear direction, leaving the player guessing as to what to do next. And, near the end, you finally, and indirectly, uncover the reason for the danger to the islandl which was much more muted than one might have expected (“oh, yeah, here’s the reason you’re doing all of this”). Gorgeous graphics and engaging puzzles were let down by a lack of attention to plot development.

While searching the minutia of the hidden object scenes to construct the tools needed to advance the gameplay was frequently frustrating, the puzzles themselves were decidedly challenging and the need for the player to contemplate their next step, while some (including me) may see this as a drawback, did make Treasures of Mystery Island: The Ghost Ship among the more challenging hidden object adventure games I’ve played lately. Still, a couple of guidelines might help lead to better enjoyment and less frustration.

Hints

1. The ethereal Polynesian writing found in most scenes can provide clues to what comes next in the storyline.
2. Click on the objects you find, their captions reveal what you should actually being doing with them. Which, is a weak manner to advance the storyline, but in the absence of any dialog, this will save a lot of (hopefully) metaphorical head-against-wall-banging.
3. The Shaman’s back room was actually quite challenging and required a combination approach. You can’t just cut the chain on it’s own, there’s a step that needs to take place prior to that.
4. Pay very close attention to the map. Again, in the absence of dialog to guide you, it will tell you which scenes are complete and which scenes you need to return to. But even then, it’s not entirely apparent what your next step is, so try using Hints ourside of hidden object scenes.
5. Unlike most hidden object games, there are no penalties for overclicking in a hidden object scene. When all else fails, shotgun click!
6. Moving your mouse cursor around a scene will reveal which areas are actionable.
7. If you get stuck in a loop with the fountain, the bus and the translators house, go back inside Enrico’s house and try to use the toy car there. (There, I just saved you about three hours.)

I have two final thoughts about The Treasures of Mystery Island: The Ghost Ship:

1. There’s something to be said about a game that mimics reality: at one point, you’re asked to refill the ink in the printer, a task I had JUST completed on my own printer less than five minutes earlier. But, I have yet to determine whether which is more dull and tedious: that task in a game or my daily life.
2. Where can I get my own puzzle-powered submarine? It’s as if Jules Verne was a Jenga freak.