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Genre: Hidden object game
Developer: TikGames LLC
File Size: 39.2MB
Version Reviewed: 1.001a
Requirements: iPhone 2.0 Software
Compatibility: iPhone or iPod touch
Age Rating: 4+
Retail Price: $6.99

Agents of Interpol (for iPhone and iPod touch) is a fun, beautifully illustrated game of finding hidden objects, which is marred by frequent crashes.

The laughably ridiculous premise of the game is that you have to help Interpol track down the international criminal known as Dr. Chaos. To do this you have to travel to exotic locales and search them for objects he’s left behind, which will help lead you to the next location. All of which would be fine, except that what you’re looking for isn’t say, a tattered note or a plane ticket, but rather a laundry list of things that would probably be in that location anyway. Find four French flags in the Eiffel tower? Of course! He’s gone to Moscow!

But never mind the backstory; it’s the execution that makes Agents of Interpol (AOI) really shine. Not only is there the general clutter to distract you, but some of the objects are exceptionally well hidden: like, say, an umbrella that’s shaded to fit in perfectly with a chandelier, or a drawing of an object tacked to a wall, or knowing what kind of mouse to look for in a computer security room. The objects are are illustrated in such a way that nothing stands out; you won’t be able to find an object by looking for something that looks better (or worse) than the gorgeous backgrounds—AOI really shows off the iPhone/iPod touch graphic capabilities. And once an object has been found, it disappears from the picture, and the checklist.

There is, of course, a timer to add an element of pressure to the game. Likewise, you can’t just start tapping around the rooom randomly, hoping to stumble across an object, or you’ll lose precious seconds from your search.

The game is surprisingly addictive, which makes its buggy nature all the more infuriating. After playing through the first few levels with no problem, AOI began crashing in almost every room. To its benefit, when I returned to the game it started up from more or less the point where I had left it, but that’s a small comfort, and I had to repeatedly sit through the game’s multiple load screens (which explain the premise every time you start).

Agents of Interpol would be well worth the $6.99 fee if it weren’t for its instability. It’s professionally illustrated, takes all of two seconds to learn the premise, and has a lot of replayability. But the crashes make it hard to recommend the game until Tikigames issues an update.