Columbus: Ghost of the Mystery Stone

Though now every child knows that America was firstly visited by Vikings, not Columbus, can you imagine how the history could twist if Christopher had lost on his way back home from Portugal? The storyline of a new hidden object adventure game Columbus: Ghost of the Mystery Stone starts right with the moment of ship’s crash and now it’s up to you to help Columbus to get back home with an extra bonus - the treasures found. Otherwise the colonization of America might be under a question along with tobacco, Aztecs’s culture and both Mac OS and Windows…

“The story begins on a night as dark as the River Styx. I was sailing back home from Portugal when an awful tempest descended on my ship. The madness of the sea was merciless. My best ship, the Pinta, couldn’t withstand the fury and broke apart. For reasons unknown, the sea spared me, and I awoke on the strange island” – these are the first notes in the Columbus’ diary. This is the startpoint of your adventurous journey round the island. You’re to meet a ghost of a beautiful maiden pleading for help. On the other hand the ghost will direct you what to do.

The hidden objects are so well camouflaged that from time to time you will definitely need a prompt.

On your way you’ll visit many exotic locations featured with everything that brings you the associations with Aztecs including even the seabed. The graphics are gorgeous and pretty much detailed. So I didn’t get annoyed with scrutinizing the HOG-scenes wile the hint button was recharged. Actually the HOG-scenes are not really complicated: you get the whole list of the items right away. Sometimes the list is made of the items drawn, that makes the task even easier. But the hidden objects themselves are so well camouflaged that from time to time you will definitely need a prompt. And once I didn’t recognize a plum in an object that looked to me as an apple. But that was not a big deal taken that there is no punishment for the random clicking. Thought the most commonly encountered item to search for was a basket it was pictured in many different forms, so don’t seek after the item that must look the same as that one you might have found in the previous scene.

The hint button really deserves your attention. Try it at least once even if you don’t need any help. It looks like a mariner's compass and when it recharges a medieval ship plies. It is a nice trick that shows how much detailed the game is.

While playing the game you will not get stuck thinking what you’re supposed to do next. The developers bothered that the tasks would be intuitively clear. Even if you doubt where to go, you’ll be informed with the help of the sparkles pointing the route.

The game is absolutely fantastic. It has lots of interesting trifles such as the reflection of your hero in one of the HOG-scenes. Even though the plot lacks the twists the game is catching due to the smart ideas.

Do you want to dress Columbus? Start to play right now and get to know what the fashion was in the times of first trips to South America’s coasts!

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