Chronicles of Mystery: Curse of the Ancient Temple (Nintendo DS) Review

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an archaeologist, travelling the world on great adventures, finding all sorts of fantastical treasure? Well, for talented young Sylvie Leroux, similar to the female protagonist in the DS Hidden Object game Samantha Swift and the Hidden Roses of Athena, that dream has come true. However, whilst the initial invitation from her uncle, a renowned historian and professor, to head over to France and join him seemed extremely enthralling, matters quickly take a turn for the worse. Upon arrival, Sylvie finds that her uncle has disappeared and must begin a journey of discovery herself, exploring a mysterious underground chapel from the Crusades, and uncovering the long forgotten secrets of the famed Knights Hospitaller Order.

Rather than being a simple case of finding and rescuing her family member, though, it appears that a malevolent force is desperately trying to prevent Sylvie from unveiling the truth surrounding an object of divine power and being reunited with her mild-mannered relative. Thus begins a puzzle-filled journey across fifty very impressively detailed locations, full of hidden objects and more than 100 conundrums and riddles to crack, complete with extremely atmospheric music to accompany Sylvie’s exploits.

Rather than being a straight-up Hidden Object title, Chronicles of Mystery fuses elements from that genre with those of traditional point-and-click adventures and brain-teasing puzzles and tests. Anyone who has also played Crime Lab: Body of Evidence on Nintendo DS will definitely spot the similarities between the two City Interactive releases, with this clearly being a precursor in the development line, and unfortunately it suffers by being inferior to the superb 2010 release. The ideas included are extremely impressive, with items to interact with when found in each location, tools to collect and use to uncover other key elements, a running points total so you can aim to get as high a score as possible, puzzles that will test your memory, logic, reactions and general resolve, as well as the extra options of unlocking two enjoyable modes, ‘Hidden World’ and ‘Minigames’ (fourteen in total) upon completion of the main game.

One of the problems, though, lies with the frustration of not being given the option to bypass any puzzles if stuck, something that was resolved in Crime Lab, as well as how the touch-screen recognition is a little quirky at times, not registering taps on an item sometimes and then magically working after a few failed attempts. However, the major issue is with the game’s difficulty level and overall longevity; both let the side down. Even with the hidden scrolls dotted around levels that must be collected, and the odd awkard puzzle that takes longer than expected to solve, there is little to prevent Chronicles of Mystery from being completed within around two hours. Additionally, whilst the graphics on the whole are very attractive, there is an issue with items being very tiny on the DS screens, meaning locating certain objects can be an arduous process.