Dream Chronicles is a hidden object/puzzle game that is a little heavy on the puzzle and a little light on the hidden object. I liked the "Where's Waldo" game that I played back when this challenge was just beginning, and I even liked Mystery Case Files on the Nintendo DS, though to a lesser extent. Both of those games were all about spotting the hidden items and clicking on them. Waldo was more fun, but they were both fairly similar.
Dream Chronicles sticks you in rooms with hidden objects, but then they ask you to uncover them in a specific order to unlock the door to leave the room. Some examples:
The first room you're in, you have to find matches, and then stick them in the fireplace to melt an ice door. In the second, you have to find specific animals hidden in the room, and stick them to the ceiling (don't ask) before the door unlocks. In the third, it's all about finding keys and unlocking doors in a specific order, along with a puzzle where you turn on a bunch of light switches.
Honestly...I don't think the combination works for me. By the time I got to the 5th level, I was incredibly frustrated and stuck, and I went to the internet for help. Turned out, I was supposed to find a saw, only I couldn't find it anywhere on the screen. It ended up being off the screen, and you had to move the camera to find it. What a cheap-ass trick. This same thing happened again on level six and pissed me off royally.
Hidden object games are supposed to be fun time wasters. They have them in the Sunday Comics for goodness sake. This game adds a time limit, collectibles (called "Dream Gems") and puzzles to what is already a game in itself. I'm not saying I don't like them spicing things up a bit, but I think the way they've combined the different genres makes it more annoying than fun. It would be like taking the game of chess and then turning it into a first person shooter with special moves and shit. Hmmm...Halo Chess. I might actually play that.
Overall Score? 3/10. The graphics are shit. The concept? Shit. The cursor is super slow. The story is silly. The stupid gimmick where you can't find certain items unless you move the camera is annoying. I would have given this a two, but I actually played 6 levels of it...so it can't be that low. It's barely a three though. BARELY. Avoid this game...unless you really like hidden object and/or puzzle games, and you don't mind them being awkwardly mashed together, like a remix with Mary Poppins and Jay-Z.
Achievements? I got a couple. I don't think I'll get any more.
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