Age of Enigma: Secret of the Sixth Ghost
Rating: T - Teen

Search and find, sometimes referred to as hidden object games are long-time staples of casual games. The genre is becoming more robust by introducing story-lines in varying degree of complexity. They lack the movement and tempo of adventure games but they are working their way up to it.

The game has five, actually six, ghosts that need to be helped on their way to the great beyond. These mixed batch of souls inhabit a large somewhat decrepit house – each haunting their particular room. It's a clever set-up giving the player plenty of puzzles, things to find and put together while exploring the house. You, as Ashley, a natural born medium, will encounter an Aztec priest in the living room, a sorrowful Japanese maiden in the basement; a pirate in the dining room; a tormented monk in the bedroom; a pharaoh in the bathtub and number six in the attic. To heal each one of these unhappy souls requires a trip into their past and takes the player to a blood stained alter, a Japanese tea garden, into the briny deep, a monastery, a tomb and for good measure, Hades. Scenes are well rendered, and tying all this together are puzzles and objects to find and put together, many of what are are referred to as mirragames require matching puzzle pieces to an existing image. Some puzzles are skippable without penalty. There are two modes of play, Casual, with more tips and with the the explorable area limited to the puzzle at hand, while Adventurer lets you roam freely though the house and has fewer hints.

It's easy to play in either mode, no blood shed, no shooting, the variety of ghosts and their home rooms is clever and will keep players pondering as to who sixth ghost can be and what is the measure of his crime.

Fun Factor: Lots of ghosts to meet and places to see
Female Factor: Ashley is the medium who guides the souls
Player Friendly: Lots of help - totally non-frustrating

Reviewed by: Editor - Nov/11