Title: Snark Busters 2: All Revved Up
By Alawar Entertainment
Downloadable on Windows XP, Vista or 7
You are Jack Blair, auto-racer in turn of the century / steam punk era. Steampunk is all the rage right now, so it’s no wonder why this game premise would be appealing. Basically it’s a hidden object puzzle game. It’s a hunt to find the pieces to complete items in order interact with objects to advance in the game. The monotonous searching the screen for missing pieces gets sometimes frustrating, but you get anxious to complete the level, so you continue…then it starts all over again in a new area with new items to seek out. It’s somewhat addicting.
To be honest, this game does not truly quite live up to the hype of its predecessor. The character of Jack is a bit of a pompous brat compared to spunky Kira from the previous game. The reporter Jessica Marrey who pursues Jack is kind of an annoying reappearing character that I felt both games could do without.
I did like the hint button that has to recharge whenever you use it; so even if you are using it consistently, it forces the player to become more patient and observant. An animated magnifying glass then shows you where to look rather than highlight the object directly. There’s no challenge in it otherwise, and challenge is what makes it fun.
In no way is it an overly difficult game, and is fairly thought provoking for what looks like a game directed primarily toward children. Kids especially won’t get bored for the few hours it takes to complete, and they’ll be attracted to the artful animation and vibrant colors. Adults will also enjoy it because hidden object puzzles are a guilty pleasure, and not all of us have the patience for the more age-range acceptable puzzles like Sudoku.
Overall Rating: B+
by JM Willis
