Chronicles of Mystery: Curse of the Ancient Temple succeeds in some areas while faltering in others. The puzzles are well-crafted and mostly intuitive, while the story seems lackluster and fails to provide motivation at some points. Since story is often the major driving force behind an adventure game, it falls to the individual player to decide how well the game fares. Still, at a budget price, adventure game fans will likely be satisfied with what they find here.
The Story mode can be polished off in two hours, with a generous hint system speeding things up. The game's played for points, however, and you're meant to play several times to beat your previous effort. That's unlikely, as the plot's generic and badly written. Activities are a disjointed mix of point 'n' clicking, item-finding and touchscreen minigames - the latter two being available in separate modes. Had the game focused on just one (at a push, two) of these disparate bits it might have been okay, but as it is it's a flimsy mess.
So, should you play Chronicles of Mystery: Curse of the Ancient Temple? That really depends on what your expectations are. While there's nothing particularly wrong with it (rushed ending aside), there's also nothing especially spectacular or memorable.
With some well-designed hidden object sections and light adventuring, plus some passable if slightly iffy puzzles and minigames, it's a reasonable way of passing time while on the move, though the clichéd story prevents the game from ever truly repaying your investment, and it won't keep you busy for long.
If you're in the mood for some light puzzle-solving fun on the DS, then Chronicles of Mystery: The Curse of the Ancient Temple is the game for you. It's a pocket-sized adventure title that takes itself pretty seriously, and while the plot and presentation aren't quite up to snuff, the gameplay is surprisingly addictive and enjoyable. It's worth checking out if you're already a fan, but if you've never tried an adventure game before, this is a pretty solid entry point.
