Posts
You play as Allie, a reporter who's talked her way into an assignment on the Isle of Aristo, covering the prince's 30th birthday gala. The prince is devilishly handsome, but also quite the cad. He also seemingly is behind a plot to steal the gemstones, but surely someone that dreamy can't be all bad, right?The plot, told through chat bubbles and poorly drawn panels, is the worst kind of plodding romantic drivel. Allie, a smart, ambitious reporter one moment, becomes a brainless puddle of stupidity the moment the prince walks in the room. I guess it's supposed to be her way of giving herself up to fate, or being whisked away on gossamer wings of desire, or some such like that, but it made me not really care what happened to her. I wondered why the game offered you the option to skip the story completely right from the beginning, but the more I played, the more I wished I'd clicked that particular checkbox.
The hidden object levels (hidden object of desire - get it??) are rudimentary and completely devoid of imagination. You get a list of objects, you search a clumsily assembled room full of junk for them. At least one item on your list will be necessary to advance the plot - your photographer's hidden memory card, or the dress you'll be wearing to the gala - but they're not really treated any differently than anything else on your list. You find them, you get a brief comment from your character, and you get back to searching. The environments aren't particularly interesting or well-drawn - Aristo isn't the exotic location the game would have you believe, I guess. Read more...
