The last few months have seen some really good hidden object games appearing on the scene to really raise the bar on the genre. Mortimer Beckett and Women’s Murder Club managed to provide some really good-looking clue hunting adventures while also using all the objects found as part of their puzzles. Compared to that, The Vegas Heist is a bit of a throwback to a simpler time, when all you had to do was find all the objects on the list. Hidden object affictionados won’t find anything really innovative in the gameplay, but the graphics and game design are honed to razor-sharp quality, and there are some pretty well crafted mini-games to solve as well.

A massive casino robbery of 4 billion dollars is the starting point for the new Mystery P.I. game, The Vegas Heist. Each level contains several screens to search for hidden objects as part of a 25-level epic investigation that takes you all over that shining casino city in Nevada. Expect to see a lot of casino and hotel locations as well as the occasional glimpse of the famous Las Vegas skyline, with hidden objects placed both nearby and far off among the hotel towers. The graphics are photo-realistic and there’s a nice variety of “real” items as well as outlines and stylized designs. If you have to find “2 bats” then one of them might be an abstract outline of the flying mammal while the other is a realistic baseball bat.

The difficulty of the puzzles is never a show-stopper. Less experienced players will find this game to be a good introduction that never frustrates with poorly-placed items, and a helpful hint system can be used repeatedly if you’re willing to lose points from your total score. While you don’t have to find every clue, such as the hidden bonus chips, keys and fingerprints, expert players will want to spot every last one for the additional challenge (and the extra points). There’s even score bonuses for fast play, making it worth your while to click on several found objects in one quick go.

As for the rest of the game, I have no complaints about the word-finding or picture-puzzle mini-games that change the pace now and again. I only wish that you could revisit previous levels to find bonus chips and keys you missed earlier in the game, and one of the musical themes in the game kind of grated on me after hearing it for long enough. But that little quibble didn’t stop me from having a fine time in my Vegas investigation, and it shouldn’t stop you from trying it out, either!

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(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

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