Game: Jane Angel: Templar Mystery
Genre: Casual, Indie
System: Steam (Windows & Linux)
Developer|Publisher: iMaxGen| HH-Games, Shaman Games Studio
Controller Support: Yes
Price: UK £ 4.29 | US $4,99| EU € 4,99
Release Date: December 10th, 2009
Review code provided with many thanks to HH-Games.
Jane Angel: Templar Mystery is a 2009 puzzle game developed by iMaxGen and published by HH-Games and Shaman Games Studio.
Premise
Jane Angel, an FBI agent and an art expert, is investigating the case of medieval coins contraband. During her investigation, she finds clues about the location of the Holy Grail, hidden by the mysterious Knights Templar. We, playing as Jane, follow the footsteps of Columbus to Columbia, visit the Roslyn Chapel in the Scottish Mountains, and learn more about the Maltese Knights, and Hospitallers, considered to be the keepers of the Holy Grail.
Gameplay
Jane Angel: Templar Mystery is divided into several chapters, each set in a different location- Los Angeles, Colombia, England, Scotland, and Malta. We have seven types of mini-game types, puzzles, 3D puzzles, hexagonal lines, tags, words & codes, and hidden object scenes, which make up the majority. We also have three unique game mechanics in addition to the traditional hidden object scenes- completing a jigsaw puzzle and then searching for objects in the picture, finding differences and eliminating them by placing the objects in their proper places and hidden object scenes where we search for an object that can’t belong to a specified historical epoch, e.g. “an aircraft in The Medieval Ages”. All scenes and mini-games have a hint and skip buttons that recharge after a minute at the most.
None of the levels employs the more modern approach to hidden object adventure games, where you have an inventory you use at some point. The hidden object scenes sometimes have special objects to find, which you then mark with a number for progression. If you make a mistake, nothing happens – so you can actually randomly click on all objects until you find the correct progression.
All in all, Jane Angel: Templar Mystery contains 30 levels, 24 unique locations and 15 expandable hidden object scenes. We also have two game modes: story-driven and free-play, time trial for every scene.
Art Style
Jane Angel: Templar Mystery is an old game, and it shows. It has that photo-realistic art style, admittedly is not my cup of tea and a very low resolution that doesn’t look particularly nice on my screen. Still, even for its time, it is obviously not one of the Hidden Object games with more budget. We have stop-motion cutscenes, with somewhat wooden dialogue, a few hidden object scenes per chapter, and some of the more varied mini-games.
In a game like this one, it is very important that the objects and their labels are correct and understandable. While I didn’t notice any major problems, I did have trouble finding objects in the background. One thing to note is that not all objects to find appear simultaneously. When you find something, it’s label is gone and something else appears in its place. Also, sometimes I had difficulty clicking on an object behind another one.
The music is beautiful; after all, it is Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, but I don’t think it matches very well with the game. The buzzer when you click on something wrong is quite annoying and can’t be muted. Also, there is no voice acting in this game, which might be good.
Some side notes
The game ends on a cliffhanger, which is either because the budget ran out or because the developers were planning another game.
There are also no Steam achievements, trade cards or extras like backgrounds or soundtrack.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a short, strictly hidden-object game and you’ve played everything else, Jane Angel: Templar Mystery might satisfy your desires. Otherwise, I would suggest that you choose something else.
While there is nothing overly bad about the game, it’s also nothing to write home about.
Final Verdict: I’m Not Sure