It seems like I have been fairly critical of recent G5 ‘hidden object’ games (HOG) such as Lost Souls: Enchanted Paintings and Tales from the Dragon Mountain and even Sinister City: Vampire Adventure. So I was really hoping for a ‘win’ from G5 with Bigfoot: Hidden Giant. Read on to see how it fared, and how the great service and communications from G5 saved me from a near disaster!
The Hype:
Does Bigfoot exist? Hunt for evidence of the legendary Sasquatch in this Hidden Object investigation. Scattered sightings of the elusive creature are reported when a chemical spill wreaks havoc next to a nature preserve. When Linda encounters something in her own backyard, she sets out on a mission to discover the truth. Follow Linda and track down the mysterious creature at Brownswood National Park, neighbor to the new Axeswim Chemical plant. Search for clues using tools, solving puzzles and playing mini-games. Get to the bottom of this urban legend in this striking hidden object tale Bigfoot: Hidden Giant.
28 Intriguing locations to search
19 Provocative mini-games to play
9 Riveting chapters
Appealing storyline
Intense graphics
Game Center Support
iPad 4 Retina Display support
The Reality:
The premise of Bigfoot: Hidden Giant is fairly simple: you play as Linda, a journalist who is working for a tough boss and needs a big ‘win’. A number of local Bigfoot sightings gives her the chance she needs, and off you go. There are immediately some odd events she notices that spur her to investigate. But suddenly she has a local sighting of her own and a couple of scares and the investigation gets serious.
The story is woven throughout the game using cutscenes and dialogue as well as being played out on a screen-by-screen basis. Aside from the Bigfoot hunt, there is a clear environmental slant to the story as you are dealing with pollution, dangerous chemicals from a polluting factory, and even need to rescue animals from experiments. I liked the depth and breadth of these elements as it added to the story, but without becoming overbearing.
The game itself is divided into hidden object and puzzle elements as usual. The puzzles are the usual blend of re-combining page pieces, routing power and liquids, solving lock and shape sorters, and so on. The challenge level is solid but never too high; and if the player has an issue they can simply skip the puzzle after a short time.
The hidden object areas are fairly standard in that you are always looking for something specific but also need to deal with a number of random items before completing the task. What I really liked was the linked areas – you would complete one puzzle getting specific items that you would then augment with a hidden object area and then take to a critical puzzle to solve. It made the quest and plot elements stand out even more.
As I mentioned, I had a chance to see G5’s support and communications in action with Bigfoot: Hidden Giant. I have always had a great experience with the communications, but had never had an issue with a game that caused me to need service. While playing I had some significant issues with the game recognizing my touches over objects. Well, not exactly – it knew I was touching, but regardless of how many times I would try the area around certain objects the game wouldn’t acknowledge my selection. This happened enough that it definitely had a negative impact on my enjoyment of the game – so I contacted G5. They brought it to their developers, and I said that I wanted to hold off final judgment until the issue was resolved. So I provided some more concrete feedback and examples and then was asked to wait for the normal ‘patch & resubmit’ process.
Obviously from the tone of this review you can tell how things were resolved with the 1.1 patch released on September 17th. When the game was patched and I replayed, the touch controls worked as I would expect and allowed me to focus on the game. Suddenly i was getting time-based achievements one after another. And the game itself is a load of fun: great story, challenging hidden object and puzzle areas, loads of locations and settings to explore, and a satisfying ending after a few hours of engaging gameplay. I highly recommend Bigfoot: Hidden Giant … and remind you that if you are having what seem like technical issues with a game to contact the customer support for the developer to let them know.
Here is the trailer for Bigfoot: Hidden Giant :
Review: Bigfoot: Hidden Giant
Where to Buy: iTunes App Store for the iPhone and iPad
Price: Free with full-game unlock via in-app purchase: $4.99 iPhone or $6.99 iPad
What I Like: Interesting story; great visuals; varied worlds to explore; challenging puzzles; evolving gameplay
What Needs Improvement: Touch accuracy detection was an initial issue before being resolved.
Source: Publisher provided review code