Chronicles of Mystery: The Secret Tree of Life (Nintendo DS) Review

In Chronicles of Mystery: Curse of the Ancient Spirit, young archaeologist Sylvie Leroux had to go on a mission to find a missing professor, avoid death at the hands of a sinister organisation, as well as get to the bottom of a mystery that dated back to the crusades and Knights Hospitaller order. Whilst extremely intriguing throughout, and spanning fifty locations, sadly the whole saga was actually over almost before it began, with everything being too simple to complete and barely any incentive to return upon completion.

For the new outing, Chronicles of Mystery: The Secret Tree of Life, Ms. Leroux’s skilful reputation precedes her and she is asked to head out on a journey to decipher the mystery of the illusive tree of life by joining forces with the enigmatic Count Saint-Germain who has lived for many more years than a mere mortal should. This involves travelling to seventy different locations that intertwine expertly with the tale, and are all littered with numerous styles of puzzles, conundrums, useful items to locate, hidden objects, and various other extras that help to make The Secret Tree of Life comprehensively superior to Curse of the Ancient Temple.

The standard of puzzles has definitely increased immensely, with players having to unearth potential locations of hidden symbols using a special tool before using other collected items to fully reveal them; guide Sylvie through a maze, picking up specifically coloured keys to unlock matching doors; re-arrange pieces of maps and tiles to form the correct image; unravel brain-teasing riddles to find the right route; test your reactions as different coloured balls drop from above; and so on. There is even one particular instance where players are treated to a Flight Control-esque challenge, having to quickly draw (and re-draw) the paths of various bugs running around an arena so that they reach their correct destinations without crashing into each other. The sheer variety on offer is admirable and testament to how City Interactive is becoming an expert at this particular genre.

The beauty of The Secret Tree of Life is that, just as with Crime Lab: Body of Evidence, there are some enhancements when played on a Nintendo DSi, DSi XL or 3DS, with certain tasks that make use of the internal camera functionality. Be it wiping dust off a wall or turning a crank handle, the implementation and execution of such puzzles is highly commended. They may only seem like small additions, but for those DSi, DSi XL, and now 3DS owners, hoping for more than just the region lock-out that companies like Ubisoft have been implementing lately, these supplementary puzzles are a welcomed inclusion. It may make you feel foolish when waving your hand around in front of the camera when on public transport, however.

Additionally, rather than being a stop-start affair, the story progresses in an extremely smooth manner, so despite actually being broken down into separate chapters it does not actually feel that way at all, with a strong level of story-puzzle integration included as well. When a specific scene has reached its climax, players receive a different rating dependant on their performance during that section, such as what penalties have been incurred for tapping three times quickly in the hidden object sections, how many special items have been located, whether or not mini-games have been skipped, and so on. Some of these are negated in the highest difficulty setting, however, since on the hardest setting there are no hints available to use at all, and players cannot skip any of the puzzles if they get stuck. The Secret Tree of Life may not be quite as lengthy as Crime Lab: Body of Evidence, but it definitely puts Curse of the Ancient Temple to shame in terms of longevity, as well as the overall complexity of brain-teasers mixed in. With a host of mini-game challenges, achievements to unlock and Hidden Object puzzles to play around with once the story is complete, players are in for yet another DS treat.