While adventure games are becoming more and more popular over recent years, there has been a new entrance to the arena: the Hidden Object Game. This new breed has inundated the PC with numerous variations on the theme, taking place in fairgrounds, lost temples, mysterious locations and even haunted houses, and naturally they all vary in quality. It was only a matter of time before these games would filter across to consoles, and while several average efforts have featured on the Nintendo DS (why hello, Mystery Stories and Millionheir), this outing from Cate West is actually worth consideration.
N-Europe writes: "Cate West: The Vanishing Files is based upon the PC game of the same title, which actually has a free demo to download. The game revolves around finding items hidden in images, but not hidden as you might expect, some are stashed "in" the furniture, a shotgun might be superimposed on a chair leg or a broom, and the quest to find them begins. Unsurprisingly, you assume the role of Cate West, a mystery novel writer who has visions."
Cate West lacks the style and humour found in Phoenix Wright but surprisingly, once you strip away those desired factors, you are still left with something reasonably solid and presentable.
Boomtown writes: "What do you get if you cross Allison DuBois with Jessica Fletcher, would you be surprised to hear it's Cate West? For those of you that may have been living under a rock for the last twenty five years Allison DuBois is the real life psychic detective who was dramatised in the TV show Medium, whilst Jessica Fletcher is the mystery writer who kept sticking her nose in in 'Murder She Wrote'. So, that makes Cate West a mystery writer who just happens to be psychic too, a strange combination."
