Finding America: The Great Lakes

[h1]I'VE BEEN TO A LOT OF THESE PLACES![/h1] I must admit, some of the objects in this game were fairly well hidden which hasn't been the case in the previous versions. Most, not all of the scenes, were more interesting too. I loved the Columbus Zoo scene with all the animals because that was more interesting to me personally than finding ropes, baseball bats, gloves, and binoculars. It makes you wonder why no one ever develops a travel-related Hidden Object Game about local zoos. The levels vary with HO modes: Standard Listed Items mode, Picture mode, Silhouetted Shapes mode, Missing Vowels mode, Riddled Description mode, Scrambled Letter mode, and Matching Pairs mode. There are a couple of Morphing Objects in every scene and two Interactive Tasks per scene, such as "Put the Ribbon on the Box." Each Hidden Object Scene has a Hidden Key that unlocks a scene-related Fun Fact. If desired, you can replay levels, in various modes, to get a new fun fact (5 keys/fun facts per location). Each scene also has a collectible Star that will unlock that specific level in the Unlimited Play mode. After playing three Hidden Object Scenes, a mini-game becomes available, such as placing shaped puzzle fragments, Swapping & Rotating tiles between scenes, Word Search, or a Paint-by-Numbers variation where you swipe the scene to reveal a black & white sketch, and then you click on each section to color it in by dragging the cursor. When you complete a mini-game in the campaign, it will unlock the game in the Photo Journal. [b]COLLECTOR'S EDITION EXTRAS:[/b] 38 Hidden Object Levels, 12 Bonus Levels, 6 Exclusive HO scenes, 13 Achievements, 15 Wallpapers, 14 Music Soundtracks, 50 Re-playable Subgames, 5 Fun Facts per level (as you find hidden Keys), an Unlimited Play Mode (each HO scene becomes available to replay as you find hidden Stars) I would like to see the popup windows be less intrusive. Having a popup window for the Fun Facts is okay, but it gets a bit annoying when you have to click the Collectible Star popup and then the Achievement popup afterward. Can't those just be a small sliding window box that informs you of the milestone? (one that goes away after a second or two on its own) Check out my Group/Curator page at https://steamcommunity.com/groups/thewoodsforum and don't forget to stop by my nature-themed chat forum at https://thewoodsforum.boards.net/

The next solid entry in a HOG series that explores America. This is the second game in the series that I've played in a short period of time. Because this uses the same engine and mechanics as American West, there's not much I can add that I didn't previously mention in my review. There are now four titles in the series, and there will most likely come more. Because each contains a distinct topic, I recommend selecting the one that most interests you. However, if you’re a fan of nice nature images, you might as well buy the entire bundle. Long story short, you need to play through around 40 story chapters. The scenes contain objects that must be found in accordance with specific rules. There's the basic "find items from a list" mode, as well as silhouette, riddle, and many other options. Each chapter concludes with a minigame. The most common is the one where you rotate and move pieces to complete the image. Each completed minigame becomes available from the main menu for free play. As always, I recommend that you choose low difficulty, which removes all restrictions such as the cooldown and penalty for clicking too many times. Fun facts are the most entertaining aspect of the series. Each scene has five of them, and they provide information about a real location. You won't miss anything because there's a wonderful journal and diary where you can see what still needs to be discovered. Casual fun and easy achievements.