Mystery of the Ancients: Curse of the Black Water Collector's Edition

Mystery of the Ancients: Curse of the Black Water has an interesting story, but not so original, unfortunately, as it uses again the story with scientists. The storyline starts with the town of Black Water being reported that it is poisoned by a sudden appearance of black water. Town mayor and other officials immediately evacuate the town, and two scientists come to find out what lies in the roots of this mystery. The legend is, as it turns out, that the black water is a signal the will show the coming of the terrifying mythical creature that is called Kraken and that will only show itself when summoned with a some kind of special horn. It is you who arrive soon enough after two scientists disappear into thin air only to find out that these legends might be true.

As far as the gameplay is considered, which is the second feature of Mystery of the Ancients: Curse of the Black Water that we will review, it is more than okay, but it is a bit flawed. Hidden object scenes are just okay, but they are not as fun or as original as they could be. Most of them are standard, based on textual lists, few items being interactive. Puzzles and mini games are abundant, numerous, and what is very important - new and fun! They won’t bore you, and you will actually have to think for some of them a lot in advance, so that is a real challenge for players. The game has three difficulty modes: casual mode, advanced mode and hardcore mode, each different in amount of help you will get. The hint system is there, of course, but there is also a notebook, which is basically a journal, there is also a map which shows objectives and allows fast travel. Besides this, there are achievements to be unlocked and there are collectibles in the game.

Mystery of the Ancients: Curse of the Black Water is the game that is praiseworthy when it comes to its graphics and music. The artwork is great, and you will enjoy in the hidden object scenes. However, they can sometimes be a bit too dark, so that might get you stuck in the game. Music is nice, it fits the atmosphere and the ambient, and voice-overs are just as well nicely done.

All in all, Mystery of the Ancients: Curse of the Black Water is a single player Hidden Object game which gameplay excellence lies rather in the puzzles and mini games then in Hidden Object scenes. This game has an interesting story, though not very original, but very good graphics and music that will altogether definitely persuade you to try the free trial version or purchase and play the game in full version.