February 28th, 2008 by PCG

Game Review: The Nightshift Code

It was quite the night for Mike. Not only does this young security guard catch someone breaking into the museum after dark but discovers the rare artifact the intruder is after is tied to his own father's mysterious disappearance. Such is the premise behind The Nightshift Code, a well-crafted hidden-object adventure that cleverly integrates a fun story and challenging mini-game puzzles into the familiar seek-and-find gameplay.

Available as a download for both Windows and Macs, PlayFirst's The Nightshift Code follows Mike and Isabel as they venture across the globe - from the U.S. to Germany, Canada to the Greek Isles - in order to find key items, decipher cryptic messages and solve tough puzzles. To help push the story along, players will see attractive comic book-like scenes prior to each level.

The main game-play will be familiar to fans of these hidden object games. You're presented with a busy scene, such as a messy room or outdoor courtyard, and you're asked to find a dozen or more items listed at the bottom of the screen. Examples of items you'll be asked to find include a sword, conch shell, green apple, sphinx, wheelbarrow, car, fan or mermaid. It appears the items you find are irrelevant to the story, which is a bit disappointing, but doesn't take away from the overall experience.

At times, you'll be tasked to find multiple items such as "Four tapes," and when you comb the screen with your mouse to find them all you realize they're not all the same thing; in this scenario, the items are an audio tape, VHS cassette, measuring tape and sticky roll of tape.

Some items are spread out between two scenes, such as Mike's apartment and office, so players are asked to toggle between two locations to find everything listed. One different - and thus, memorable -- location was an ancient map, and your mouse cursor turns into a magnifying glass to find all the well-hidden items. Later on in the game you'll also use the magnifying glass to examine fake artifacts...

When a thief is caught at the Chicago Museum, the object at the center of interest causes a reaction by the young security guard to uncover the mystery surrounding his fathers disappearance. This then leads you on a quest through different countries and forgotten times.

The Nightshift Code is a cleverly finished hidden object game with many levels and good mini games to keep the player immersed in the story...

The Nightshift Code Game is a detective seek and find game. Mike and Isobel are hunting for stolen artifacts. Mike works for museum security, and his father has mysteriously disappeared.

Nightshift Code is well done and has some really interesting mini games. Nightshift Code has some innovations, and a fun, timed scavenger hunt mode. So all you seek and find addicts out there (you know who you are) should download Nightshift Code to keep you going. It's safe for the home PC and will appeal to all members of the family.

The Nightshift Code lets you discover, decode and delight with hidden treasures and locked puzzles...

As I had said earlier, playing The Nightshift Code game is a great refreshing breathe from the much easier Hidden Object games I’ve played this past week. I’m not saying that those I’ve reviewed earlier are worse than this one, but it’s really quite true that The Nightshift Code is the tops when it comes to challenge.

The game features very nice graphics and a very compelling storyline that will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the whole game. The sound is very nice too, and perfectly blends well into the gameplay surroundings for a particular level. While this game may take the challenge up a notch a bit, it may prove to be a bit too hard for the younger players, but I guess that it’s still a great exercise for logical thinking and they may well find this newfound test quite engaging too...

I actually played The Nightshift Code about a month ago. The site I found it on only allowed thirty minutes of play on their free demo download and I was making notes and grabbing screenshots as I played. When my time ran out I didn’t feel like I had enough info for a review so I let it pass. Now it’s in wider distribution and I’ve had the chance to play it again tonight. It’s a fun game and introduces a few innovations to the hidden object game genre.

The stage is set with a graphic comic-style story. Mike’s father is missing. A sinister visitor to the museum where he works convinces Mike that he can rescue his dad by following a series of clues. The opening chapter of the story is quite long and each phase of the game is followed by more installments. This is my least favorite feature of the game, but perhaps would not have bothered me if I had been playing the full version. Having only a time-limited demo available, I was watching the clock and clicked rapidly through the storyboards.

The art is sharp, clear and skillfully drawn. Some of the hidden objects are tough to find, but all are fairly rendered and can be found. It’s what we expect from these games and a huge relief after my experience with The Count of Monte Cristo. Scenes are used repeatedly, so you’ll already know where some items are when a scene reappears with a new list of objects to search for...