iPad Game Review: Treasure Seekers III HD: Follow the Ghosts

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Several months ago I reviewed Treasure Seekers II: The Enchanted Canvases. Similar to the Mystery of the Crystal Portal games, Treasure Seekers are hidden object games with a story that keeps you engaged as you go along. Now there is a new entry to the series – Treasure Seekers III HD: Follow the Ghosts. Does it live up to the high standards of its predecessors?

The Hype:

Use your Hidden Object skills to explore a mysterious world, and discover valuable clues. In Treasure Seekers 3: Follow the Ghosts you will help Nelly and Tom release unlucky ghosts trapped by an evil alchemist! Track down the necessary items to free the dead ancestor of Cardinal House, a shaman, and many other characters. Stop the evil alchemist and save the day!

48 Fascinating levels
5 Chapters
2 Game modes – casual and advanced
Captivating storyline
Impressive graphics
Support of multitasking with iOS 4.2
Game Center Support

The Reality:

My biggest issue with Treasure Seekers II: The Enchanted Canvases was that the game started and BAM you are exploring paintings – it really made no sense and took me a bit of time to get past. With Treasure Seekers III you meet Nelly again, and also her brother Tom, and their story and exploration actually makes sense – so when they start exploring portals it all makes perfect sense.

Similar to the earlier games, you move from location to location and need to find a multitude of hidden objects for a few different reasons. In most cases, you are just finding stuff – but unlike the ‘item lists’ of many genre games, you will find containers that require you to gather up a bunch of items to complete them. These are generally a set of related items, but occasionally just random items found around the area.

Most of the time these containers are never seen again, but sometimes you are in need of a specific item, which you will then need to assemble by gathering lost and hidden objects. Sometimes you need to gather things from multiple locations – it keeps you thinking and paying attention all of the time!

The story again centers around Nelly being reserved but conscientious, and Tom rushing into everything. They quickly find that their old nemesis might be back as they discover ghosts trapped by an evil alchemist. To solve the mystery they need to free the ghosts and follow the trail! This isn’t an epic adventure, but the characters are charming and amusing and it makes things fun as you proceed.

For me the best part was the inception-like cascading portals. In a couple of locations you would enter one portal only to find that your solution requires you to use items from your current location as well as entering another portal.

There are also some puzzles along the way to keep things interesting, and generally these combine puzzles with hidden objects. There is a hint system with a timer, and you can also skip puzzles after a while. If you choose ‘casual’ mode there is no timer between hints.

The game will take you a few hours to play and offers little immediate replayability. But the core game is fun enough that it is definitely worth trying the free download to see if it warrants the $6.99 purchase … I feel that once you get playing you’ll want to continue!

Here is a trailer for Treasure Seekers III HD: Follow the Ghosts:

Review: Treasure Seekers III HD: Follow the Ghosts

Where to Buy: iTunes App Store

Price: $6.99

What I Like: Loads of challenging puzzles; Great variety of locations and challenges; Interesting Story with old and new characters; Detailed visuals; Excellent controls

What Needs Improvement: Nothing significant

Source: Review code provided by publisher

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About the Author

Michael Anderson
I have loved technology for as long as I can remember - and have been a computer gamer since the PDP-10! Mobile Technology has played a major role in my life - I have used an electronic companion since the HP95LX more than 20 years ago, and have been a 'Laptop First' person since my Compaq LTE Lite 3/20 and Powerbook 170 back in 1991! As an avid gamer and gadget-junkie I was constantly asked for my opinions on new technology, which led to writing small blurbs ... and eventually becoming a reviewer many years ago. My family is my biggest priority in life, and they alternate between loving and tolerating my gaming and gadget hobbies ... but ultimately benefits from the addition of technology to our lives!