Type of app: Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure (HOPA) game
Platform/where to buy: iPad (iPhone version here); available in the App Store
Developer: Starz Media / G5 Entertainment
Description:
Hunt for clues to apprehend a vigilante killer in this thrilling hidden object adventure!
Terry Collins is the prime suspect in the vigilante-style murder of a criminal who escaped justice. It’s up to you to find evidence that will help solve the crime and put a “righteous killer” behind bars. Search over 70 locations through 15 animated levels, play forensic based mini-games, find all the clues that lead to evidence and stop the creep before he has another opportunity to kill!TRY IT FREE, THEN UNLOCK THE FULL ADVENTURE FROM WITHIN THE GAME!
● 71 Locations to search
● 15 Animated levels
● 15 Detective-themed mini games
● Captivating Storyline
● Game Center Support
● New iPad Retina Display Support
Major features: Have you ever seen the film Righteous Kill? I never did, and consulting RottenTomatoes tells me I didn’t miss much – I did try to stream it, but it wasn’t freely available so I requested it from Goozex but Hurricane Sandy interfered so I wasn’t able to get it before doing this review. Turns out it doesn’t matter since this game is more ‘based on’ the movie then actually tied to the film. Based on what I hear that is a good thing.
Rather than bringing the Pacino or DeNiro characters from the movie, you play as a young female detective in a new police unit in New York looking into vigilante violence, starting with an investigation centering on a husband suspected of going after the people who killed his wife and daughter. The plot revolves around this investigation and a later twist that sends you off in a new direction up through the conclusion.
The game is a fairly standard list-based hidden object game in a similar vein to Letters from Nowhere or Special Enquiry Detail. You choose from a number of locations to search, find the required items which then provide some intelligence to help you continue. At the end of each area (when you have found all items in all locations), you will get need to complete a mini-game and then get a summary in the form of a dialogue between the detective and her boss.
The dialogue is all voiced, and the scenes are animated and detailed and make great use of the Retina graphics. The problem I had was that the loading screens used piercing gunshot sounds as the scenes loaded, which were obnoxiously and caused me to mute the whole game.
Righteous Kill doesn’t offer the personality of some games, and by the end you are mostly finding the same items at the same locations again. If you do get stuck you can use the UV light to illuminate remaining items – in other words it is the hint system.
Ease of use/Overall performance: If you are familiar with hidden object games this will feel natural to play; it is neither harder nor easier than other games, and really does nothing to extend or expand the genre. That said, if you enjoy hidden object games and procedural crime dramas, Righteous Kill offers a few hours of moderately challenging fun.
Would use again/recommend?: Yes! As mentioned, in spite of being very much a standard genre game, it is well enough done to be enjoyable. It is not my favorite game in the genre, but it adds breadth to the choices available, and has an interesting story to pull you through.
Suggested changes/wish list for updates: The loud ‘chapter load’ screens are an annoying distraction.
Price: $6.99 ($4.99 for iPhone – but on 10/31 ONLY they are $4.99/$2.99 for iPad/iPhone)
Here is the trailer:
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