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The Mystery of the Crystal Portal is a hidden object game with a bit of a twist. Players still have to find the hidden objects through out the level, but before finding the hiddn objects the player needs to find the object that acts like a key. The keys are objects players can click on. Once the key is found and clicked it opens up with a few circles with pictures on them. The circles are the hidden objects that need to be found for that key object. There are multiple key objects in a level.

Some key objects will open other objects. In other words, if players solve the key objects out of order, they may get stuck. Some hidden objects rely on the solution of a previous key object. The number of key objects in a level are depicted by the question marks at the bottom of the screen. Players know how many key objects are in a level and the order they can be solved. If players can’t find a particular hidden object and the key object has been found out of order, it is possible an earlier key object needs to be solved first.

The Mystery of the Crystal Portal breaks up the hidden object levels with some puzzle mini-games. There was only one mini-game in the shockwave version of the game because the shockwave version is only a few levels of the game. The game is available as a full download. The mini-game challenged players to balance a scale. There was a statue on one side and players had to figure out the weights that weighed the same as the statue, causing the scale to balance.

Players have to solve the mystery of the crystal portal. Each set of levels brings the player closer to finding their grandfather. Players will get keys to the crystal portal and eventually find their grandfather and solve the mystery.

The Mystery of the Crystal Portal seems to have a good balance between the challenge and the fun. Some objects are hidden quite well, but there are hints players can use. The game is a full downloadable game, but the shockwave version gives you a taste of the game without having to download the trial. If you are a fan of hidden object games and are looking for a hidden object games that is a bit different, head over to shockwave.com and play a few levels of the game and determine if you would like to download the trial or purchase the full version.

Avanquest Software Publishing has announced the release of Mystery Stories for the Nintendo DS. Mystery Stories is a puzzle adventure game. The game is a hidden object game where players have to find clues to the murder mystery and they have to do it quickly before time runs out.

Players travel to the Caribbean coastline and mainland Europe looking for clues. There has been a kidnapping and murder and New York journalist Michelle Deanfield thinks there is more to the kidnappings than the ancient Mayan spirits. The locals think the kidnappings are related to the spirits. Players have to find the clues before time runs out on the clock, but there are bonuses that will stop the clock and help the player out.

If you like hidden object games, look for Mystery Stories in your local retail store.

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Ninja Rally is a great puzzle/action game for the iPhone/iPod Touch. There has been a disappearance of students and each ninja school blames the rival ninja school for the students disappearences. What the rvial schools don’t know is, there is a bigger enemy lurking. The schools have to figure out that there is a bigger enemy than just the rival ninja school.

The goal of the game is defeat the enemy and to do this players need to get the ninjas to follow the lead ninja. When all of the ninjas are doing the same action, players gain rally points. The rally points are used to attack the rival school. The more points gained the bigger the attack that can be unleashed on the enemy. The rally points can also be used to stop incoming attacks, as well. The puzzle aspect of the game is to attack with enough force to do damage to the opponent at the right time and to keep the ninjas doing the same thing at the same time.

The challenge is keeping all of your ninjas doing the same action. There are three actions the ninjas can perform, run, stalk and stand still. Players touch the screen to get the ninjas to change their action. There is a lead ninja that the other ninjas need to follow. If the lead ninja is running, all ninjas need to be running for players to gain ralley points. The ninjas will spontaneously stop doing their action and the player has to keep everything in order. Another dilema is the lead ninja is changing every so often too. Players have to keep track of the lead ninja at the time and the actions the other ninjas are doing.

Ninja Rally is an interest and fun to play game. The game is a perfect fit fot the iPhone/iPod Touch and uses the touch features quite well. The two different modes, story and quick play mode, offer a player a choice between playing a quick game or sitting down and playing a more drawn out game. Ninja Ralley is fun, entertaining and a great value at 99 cents. If you like puzzle type games, that are a bit different than a “normal” puzzle game, head over to the Apple App store and pick up a copy of Ninja Rally.

Creat Studios has announced their first game for the new download service for the Nintendo DSi, DSiWare. The DSiWare service is the new service that allows people to download games to their DSi systems. The game, Alien Havoc, is an original title from Creat Studios and challenges players to steal cows from earth.

Gamers play the role of the little alien that is stealing cows. The came is similar to old arcade style games. Once the cows are captured from the farms, the little alien has to bring the cows back to his planet. Of course, the farmers are not going to let the alien steal their cows. Players will have to navigate through mazes, hide behind tall grass and toss rocks to get the farmers to back off.

Alien Havoc is set to be released this summer.

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Merscom has announced the release of Righteous Kill 2: Revenge of the Poet Killer for the PC. The game has been inspired by Righteous Kill, debuting on STARZ on June 6th.

Players take on the role of Erica Dean as she attempts to solve a new rash of murders. Righteous Kill 2 picks up about a year after the events of the first Righteous Kill. A mob hitman was found dead with a poem on his chest. Erica was called in to find and analyze the evidence so she can catch the killer before there is another killing spree.

Given the tremendous success of the original Righteous Kill game, we are confident this product will help our customers extend the experience they enjoyed both with the game and movie.~ explained Lloyd Melnick, Chief Customer Officer at Merscom, ~Given the higher production values in Revenge of the Poet Killer, this game will almost certainly be another hit for Merscom and Starz Digital Media

If you are into murder mystery games or hidden object games, you should check out Righteous Kill 2: Revenge of the Poet Killer.

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