Antique Mysteries: Secrets of Howard's Mansion Review

Antique Mysteries: Secrets of Howard's Mansion is a breath of fresh air in the hidden object adventure game genre. It's simply brimming with bright, crisp graphics, unique gameplay, and oodles of challenging puzzles and hidden object scenes that provide some exercise for the old noggin. I was confused at first when I saw the name Antique Mysteries: Secrets of Howard’s Mansion. Was it some sort of Antique Roadshow’s version of a hidden object game or was it a nod to the old E.M. Forester’s novel Howards End? Well, as it turns out, it’s neither, which made me happy since I’m not a huge Forster fan, being forced to sit through a whole semester of his work many, many years ago, and I’m more of a Pawn Stars fan than an Antique Roadshow kind of gal. [[Antique-Mysteries-Secrets-Howards-Mansion-Review-01.jpg]] Be that as it may, the story does revolve around antiquities, as your character is a renowned expert in antiques, and you’ve been called to Howard’s Mansion after the late oil tycoon, Sheldon Howard, suffered a heart attack and died suddenly. That doesn’t sound suspicious, now does it? You are met by the groundskeeper, Seymour, who tells you of the sad fate that has befallen his prior employer. He regales you with a story of a madman, driven to build secret room after secret room by some unknown force, until the house was riddled with more secrets than one of those women on Desperate Housewives. [[Antique-Mysteries-Secrets-Howards-Mansion-Review-06.jpg]] As his last act of madness, Sheldon Howard hid his entire trove of valuables throughout the mansion, and it’s up to you to locate and secure each of these items. During your explorations of the home, you’ll encounter various objects of value that I suppose, as an expert, you are able to identify and catalog in the gallery. You’ll find civil war swords and starlet dresses pocketed away amongst the rest of the junk in the mansion, and, once you find an object, you’ll place it in the gallery to be put on display and await auction. During your proceedings, you’ll begin to discover small scraps of paper, notes written by Sheldon pleading with someone to leave him alone, and, as you can imagine, your suspicions are put on high alert. To escalate your suspicions, you are warned by the groundskeeper that you are not here on an investigative matter… oh no… this all leads me to think that in fact the butler, or in this case the groundskeeper, may be the perpetrator here… [[Antique-Mysteries-Secrets-Howards-Mansion-Review-02.jpg]] But that’s enough of the story… let’s talk about the graphics. Crisp, bright, and detailed, most of the graphics were really something to see. From the rolling dark clouds above the mansion, to the flickering flames in the secret passageways, to the swirling patterns on the wallpaper, you can tell that the graphics were painstakingly cared for in this game. Now, I said most because there were some sections that were a bit flat. Nothing horrible, just unexceptional when compared to other parts of the game, almost as if the developers cherry-picked the areas they were going to spend the most time on. [[Antique-Mysteries-Secrets-Howards-Mansion-Review-04.jpg]] With that said, I really did enjoy the level of detail they brought to the scenes, which could be why some of the hidden object games were so challenging. The objects blended in so well with the surroundings, I was forced to use a hint every now and then to find an object that had literally been right in front of my face. Definitely a face palm moment for me. The hidden object scenes were different too because they weren’t identified by sparkles. When you would encounter a scene, an arrow would point to a scroll placed somewhere within the room. Once you clicked on the scroll, it would unroll, and you could see the list of objects that you need to find. It was a nice touch of originality that I found charming and a good addition to the game. [[Antique-Mysteries-Secrets-Howards-Mansion-Review-03.jpg]] Other than that, the gameplay was your pretty standard point and click hidden object game. Find objects that get placed in your inventory at the bottom of your screen. Which brings me to my one complaint... I don’t know what it is with me and inventories. But, I cannot stand when the inventory has a mind of its own and moves whenever I am close to it with my mouse. I much prefer the kind that either is always open or that allow you to click to open and click to close. Maybe that’s just me, but the constant flickering of the bar annoys me to no end. [[Antique-Mysteries-Secrets-Howards-Mansion-Review-05.jpg]] Moving on… the sound. There were some great voiceovers from the groundskeeper Seymour. His voice was nicely portrayed and fitting to his character. The music was surprisingly varied, using a wide array of instruments from the more lilting and chipper tones of the piano to the more somber strokes of the violin. All in all, the music was appropriate and added to the atmosphere of the game. Overall, Antique Mysteries: Howard’s Mansion was a cool glass of water on a hot day. It’s refreshing, bright, and just the change I needed from the slew of darker tales that seem to have flooded the market lately.