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Category: Games
Developer: Nexx Studio
Requirements: iPhone 2.1 software update
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 7.6MB
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Price: $0.99

Remember those great games on the back cover of Highlights Magazine? You know, the one you read in the dentist’s office as a kid. Photo Spot is an application that, at least at face value, looks remarkably similar; two pictures, and you have to find as many differences between the two as possible. Only while Highlights was fun and relaxing, Photospot is fast-paced and overly complicated.

Gameplay:

The premise is simple; two pictures side-by-side, and you have to pick out the differences between by tapping them.

Confused? Me too. Where are the trombones in trees, or ice cream cones in a policeman’s hats? I actually feel dumb playing this game, because the timer (that red-yellow-green bar in the center) invariably ran out before I spotted the four or five differences in each image. What’s worse, guessing actually makes the timer run faster. So does tapping in the wrong spot. It took several game overs before I got my fingertip calibrated, because three errant taps means game over.

Picture Choice:

It should be noted that all the natural images chosen (i.e. photographs) have been photoshopped to create the differences. So, in many cases, the graphics are just…weird. The image manipulation results in objects which seem to float in space, so it is more difficult to figure out what is different between the two pictures vs. what is simply poorly Photoshopped. The missing gate post in the following image was easy to spot, but if you look closely at the flowerpots, the awkwardly cloned pattern on the right makes it difficult to spot (without the green circle, obviously):

Varied skill level:

Good news if you’re completely stumped: you do get three hints per game (per game, not per image, so use them sparingly). Tapping the magnifying glass will uncover one of the differences for you, so if you find yourself completely stumped, you have an out. The other good news is that not all the images are as complicated. Some are cartoonish or not photo realistic, and it is with these images that the game becomes a fast and fun search-and-find. Kind of like when you raced your siblings to find all the differences in that Highlights Magazine (only this time your mother won’t yell at you when you shout that somebody cheated).

Final thoughts:

Photo Spot as a game presents an interesting concept; namely reviving the fun of that old school spot-the-difference game. But it is hobbled by two factors: 1) the small screen of the iPhone, though crisp and bright, is still too small. This game would rock as a party game on the Wii, hooked up to a big flat screen, but it is just too cramped on the iPhone. 2) The pictures themselves. Many of the photos require you to spot color differences. For instance, one puzzle of prickly pear cacti has a greenish cactus on the left and a blueish-greenish cactus on the right. Turn the phone just right, and the one on the left looks blueish-greenish, and the one on the right looks greenish! Differences like missing telephone poles or huge color differences (like a black cow on the right and a red cow on the left) would make the game more interesting.

As it is, Photospot feels more like a professional art inspector/jewelry appraisal than the fun game we all remember from the back of a magazine. Fun if you enjoy a CSI-style crime scene photo comparison, but it just does not hold up as a fun game.