March 18th, 2008 by PCG

Game Review: Animal Agents

The little rabbit Fridolin is the latest in a long line of pets to go mysteriously missing in what is becoming a common theme in hidden object game storylines. (Not that we're complaining - only a cruel, heartless person wouldn't jump at the opportunity to rescue cute animals.) In Animal Agents you'll do just that, with the unique option of playing as either Anna or Justin and exploring the story from two different points of view.

Anna enjoys spending her holidays on her uncle's farm, where she's joined by her friend Sarah and Sarah's brother Justin. Unfortunately, any hope of a peaceful vacation is shattered when Sarah's new bunny Fridolin goes missing from her backyard. Anna and Justin find evidence that a burglar has been in the backyard, and these clues lead them on an investigation to find out who's been snatching peoples' pets from the neighborhood.

While gameplay is pretty standard hidden object fare - search through different scenes to look for a series of items on a list, some of which turn out to be important clues - what's nice about Animal Agents is that the clues you'll find while searching carry over into the next phase of the investigation, resulting in a clear and coherent story. For example, finding a bottle of pills and a shred of fabric in the backyard leads Anna to head to the pharmacy to try to identify the pills, and to the tailor to see if the fabric matches any clothing. There are 21 scenes to visit in total, including the animal shelter, hotel, diving school, zoo, scrap yard, train station and stable. These locations are marked on an attractive-looking map of the entire town.

While searching for objects, you can find and click on special items that will bestow bonuses like adding more time onto the clock, or revealing the locations of hard-to-find items. There are a limited number of hints, and unlike some other hidden object games you have to find all of the items (instead of most of them), which can be quite challenging...

This week we have been showered with new hidden object games and the latest offering is Animal Agents. Certainly not the worst game in this over populated genre, Animal Agents has you searching through objects to find clues as to the strange and somewhat bizarre disappearance of the neighborhood animals.

Even your pet rabbit has mysteriously disappeared. Has it wandered off and got lost, has it been stolen, or is it being held for something that may prove to be even more sinister?

When Sophie goes out one morning to feed her cute little dwarf rabbit, she discovers to her horror that Fridolin has gone! Her parents are sure that Sophie has forgotten to close the stable door and are deaf to her claims that she has found suspicious footsteps and a mysterious scrap of cloth.

Only her brother Leon and her friend Anna are prepared to stick by her. Together they decide to investigate the theft. Whilst undertaking their detective work, the three animal agents stumble across a major plot and a dark secret. Many more animals have disappeared from the surrounding area!