What I liked
What I didn't like
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Quick Plot
Solve a bunch of puzzles as you work at figuring out what kind of deadly conspiracy you've unwittingly gotten yourself into, with the help of a genie-like hulk from the past.Mechanics
Puzzles: This game is very puzzly. Azada fans should be pleased. You'll play a wide variety of puzzles, none of them very difficult. I never needed to use a hint on a puzzle, and I don't think you will either. HOG: When you're not solving puzzles, you'll spend most of your time looking for hidden objects. Usually, the objects have a related theme like "weapons" or "vegetables." The hidden object scenes were probably the most difficult and time consuming portions of the game. It always comes down to that last one pesky thing you just aren't seeing. Minigames: The game will throw a number of minigames at you, including but not limited to- match 3
- puzzle pieces
- matching similar items, and
- word games.
Puzzle: Hang the weapons.
Highlights
Mechanics: The three mechanics I mentioned above were actually my favorite thing about the game. It was the only thing that kept me from running away from the computer to barf (more about that later). The HOG scenes were pretty fun, and usually made some kind of sense with the scene. A lot of times, you are looking for pieces of things. I remember liking the scene where I had to find a bunch of scattered pieces for a bicycle in an alley. Usually, you have a list of scene objectives at the bottom of the screen. You can carry them out in any order. Sometimes, you need to solve certain puzzles. Other times, you may need to collect a number of items, or put something back together. My favorite element was the puzzles, simply because I enjoy puzzling my way through brainteasers and such. You'll get a broad variety of puzzles in this game. You're given very good instructions for solving the puzzles, which is nice. There's a drag-chain type match 3 game you'll have to play several times, and it's just boring. The graphics are mediocre and the whole thing feels like a waste of time (to me). Every time you complete scenes and tasks, your hint ball fills up. It fills pretty rapidly, too. Once you save up 50 hints, you unlock the game's bonus material. This was very easy to do, and the reward was minimal. I think it allowed me to play "Dress-up Hari" all I want! And maybe one or two other little features that I didn't bother to remember.
The main character: Delilah, or Dela for short.
Issues
Plot: This, of course, is merely opinion, but I thought the story was . . . lame. I know the game is based on a supposedly well-known fiction series, but it just didn't draw me in at all. In fact, it seemed amateurish to me. It's primarily a romance, with a significant amount of paranormal weaved in. The "romantic" scenes between the two main characters made me sick to my mental stomach. I wanted nothing more than to be done with the lengthy cutscenes, and get back to the puzzles. And I don't think it's just because I'm a man. I really think it's a poorly written and unbelievable romantic relationship. You can decide for yourself. Artwork: A huge chunk of the game plays out as cutscenes, which advance the story. These are done in the same manner as the Nancy Drew Dossier games. A series of hand-drawn images depict the story events, timed with the voice-over and music. The problem is, the artwork isn't very good compared to some of the high quality casual games on the market. When I looked at the concept art, I was surprised to see that it actually looks much better than the finished and colored art in the game. I'm not sure how this happens. But heck, who am I to complain? I know it probably took those artists hours upon hours to finish their work, and it's better than what I could do. On a more positive note, I will say that the artwork for the scene backdrops is actually pretty good. It's about the same quality as the Nancy Drew Dossier scenes.
Hari - Dela's burly dream man from the ancient past.
Suitable for the family?
This really depends on how you feel about exposed male buttocks. (And that's probably the last time I'll use the phrase "exposed male buttocks" in a review.) As is often the case with game companies, the developers seem to be pervs, as evidenced by the repeated shots of Dela in nothing but a towel. I found myself actually laughing as there was one scene after the next of Dela heading for the shower. And then, to top it off, Hari goes to take a bath, and then hastily runs out naked to save Dela. This is where the male buttocks come in. Yes - you are actually forced to behold Hari's full hand-drawn moon. Twice. *shudder* He spends a good chunk of time with his shirt off, too, so that you can admire his muscles. And, of course, so that Dela can hug him. And she's always wearing small, stomach-baring shirts for good measure.
And if that weren't enough, you'll get a chance to see Dela's unmentionables scattered around her hotel room at one point. Gagging yet? If not, then maybe you will be, after a number of other random sexual innuendos pop up from time to time.
I don't remember the exact words used now, but I know the language was also family-unfriendly. I don't remember if it ever got worse than "damn" or "hell" and the like, but I remember thinking, "Whoa! Back off, game!"
The family man's final ruling
I really, really wanted to like this game. I wanted to see what the Nancy Drew Dossier team would offer this time. But what makes the Nancy Drew games so fun was missing here. I think that missing element is primarily a good story, and of course the object-matching mechanic that is still unique to the Dossier games. Curse of the Riddle Box was like a drippy romance novel with a casual game forced into it. And even though I'm not a fan, I think the popular Twilight stories do a much better job with this romance/paranormal genre. But the weird thing is, despite the crummy story, I found myself interested enough to keep playing, not because of the story, but because the puzzles and other mechanics kept me playing, as any casual game should. If this game had been published by a high-polish developer like Big Fish Studios or PlayPond or MumboJumbo, and had a good story to go with it, this could have been a great game. As it is, I don't know whether or not to recommend it. I liked playing the game, mechanically, but I didn't like the game in terms of story and themes. In terms of fun alone, I would have rated it a solid 4. If only the puzzles were a little bit more challenging, I may have rated it higher. Will I play the next game in the series? Probably, but I might skip the cutscenes. (NOTE: I have made many references to the Nancy Drew Dossier games in this review. Let me make it clear that Curse of the Riddle Box was developed/published by PassionFruit Games, who, if I understand correctly, did the development work for Her Interactive on the Nancy Drew Dossier games. Her Interactive produces all of the Nancy Drew-themed games on the market. I think Her Interactive's involvement in the Dossier series is what made the games come out so good. That's my suspicion anyway.)
Dress-up Hari.
You'll like the game if...
You won't like the game if...
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| My rating: | 
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Audio: Being a composer myself, I'm attentive to the goings on in the music section of the market. Right now, with the economy being what it is, developers are skimping on music. As you might guess, I think this is a bad idea. Many of my fondest gaming memories relate to the music and the mental images it can stir up.
One way for a developer to cut music costs is to hire a less-experienced or less-talented composer. You can almost always tell when they do this. Another way to cut costs is to provide fewer minutes of music.
In this game, you'll hear the same few tracks repeated frequently (that's how they cut costs), but I'm glad to say that they at least hired someone who knew what they were doing. The orchestral score is quite nice, and fits the mood of the game very well. It was pleasant accompaniment for the gaming experience.
And to make things even better, they hired voice actors, and good ones at that. Not only will you hear speaking, but you also get singing in this game. That's right. It's a video game musical! Between plot segments, you watch montages of still images depicting the characters and the topics about which they sing. I thought this feature was unique, fresh, and I was glad to have it.
One voice worth mentioning is the unseen British detective who accompanies you through the whole game, offering regular doses of commentary. I really liked this voice. It added to the immersion and gave a human element to the gameplay.
Hidden objects scenes: I've been weary of HOGs for a while, as regular readers will know, but despite this fact, I found this game worth my time. Primarily, this is because of the production values I've been speaking of. But, I will say that if I have to play hidden objects scenes, I like them to be done they way they were done in this game. You have a very manageable list of objects to locate, and they look really cool when you find them. And, of course, it helps to have the British guy talking to you as you search.
There are three more things worth noting.
Standard put-the-picture-back-together puzzle.
