For anyone who has played the first Hidden World of Art, this sequel is more of the same - the story (somewhat thin as is common with this genre) of a restorer of paintings as the justification for the hidden object hunt (this time thieves have been stealing the paintings and she is co-opted by the police to help find clues), although truth be told the story is fairly irrelevant. Like the first version (and Secrets of Great Art also) you look for objects hidden in paintings by famous artists and you earn money which can be used to decorate a room for yourself, choosing from a variety of decorations and furniture. The paintings are beautiful and the classical soundtrack, overlaid by a few quiet scene-specific background noises is seriously enjoyable. There is no time limit and you are allowed 1 free hint per level, after which you have to pay increasing amounts for additional hints. Whilst some of the objects are really obvious, this is mitigated by there only being 5 listed on the screen at any one time so you can't just click on anything that looks out of place, and some of the objects are incredibly well hidden (objects appear to be "painted" to blend in better with the background paintings). After locating a certain number of objects in a scene a special challenge list of 3 objects will pop up and you get bonus money if you find these in the order they are listed (this occurs twice in each level). Those who prefer the adventure/HO hybrids or lots of puzzles in their HO games will be disappointed - this is a pure hidden object challenge - the beautiful music, paintings and lack of time pressure make for a relaxing, moderately challenging experience. There is a gallery where you can view all the paintings you have completed, with the name of painting and artist underneath. If relaxing pure hidden object play with beautiful backgrounds and music is your thing then I recommend this game. Puzzlers should look elsewhere. Give this Review a KudosReport as Inappropriate
nikkihayes
Posted on Oct 5, 2009, 3:04am
4 Stars
User Review by nikkihayes
For anyone who has played the first Hidden World of Art, this sequel is more of the same - the story (somewhat thin as is common with this genre) of a restorer of paintings as the justification for the hidden object hunt (this time thieves have been stealing the paintings and she is co-opted by the police to help find clues), although truth be told the story is fairly irrelevant. Like the first version (and Secrets of Great Art also) you look for objects hidden in paintings by famous artists and you earn money which can be used to decorate a room for yourself, choosing from a variety of decorations and furniture. The paintings are beautiful and the classical soundtrack, overlaid by a few quiet scene-specific background noises is seriously enjoyable. There is no time limit and you are allowed 1 free hint per level, after which you have to pay increasing amounts for additional hints. Whilst some of the objects are really obvious, this is mitigated by there only being 5 listed on the screen at any one time so you can't just click on anything that looks out of place, and some of the objects are incredibly well hidden (objects appear to be "painted" to blend in better with the background paintings). After locating a certain number of objects in a scene a special challenge list of 3 objects will pop up and you get bonus money if you find these in the order they are listed (this occurs twice in each level). Those who prefer the adventure/HO hybrids or lots of puzzles in their HO games will be disappointed - this is a pure hidden object challenge - the beautiful music, paintings and lack of time pressure make for a relaxing, moderately challenging experience. There is a gallery where you can view all the paintings you have completed, with the name of painting and artist underneath. If relaxing pure hidden object play with beautiful backgrounds and music is your thing then I recommend this game. Puzzlers should look elsewhere. Give this Review a Kudos Report as Inappropriate