Mystery of the Missing Brigantine Review

Somewhere in the Indian Ocean…there is a dead guy on a boat. No, wait, he isn’t dead after all, but the thugs who were supposed to kill him didn’t check his vitals very well. Not only that, they managed to leave his girlfriend alive as well. They are definitely not the most talented at their jobs it would seem. Why you are on a boat and why these men are out to kill you is completely unclear for the time being, and once you figure that out don’t expect it to make much sense. And so begins the Mystery of the Missing Brigantine.

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Mystery of the Missing Brigantine is a forgettable adventure

Somewhere in the Indian Ocean…there is a dead guy on a boat. No, wait, he isn’t dead after all, but the thugs who were supposed to kill him didn’t check his vitals very well. Not only that, they managed to leave his girlfriend alive as well. They are definitely not the most talented at their jobs it would seem. Why you are on a boat and why these men are out to kill you is completely unclear for the time being, and once you figure that out don’t expect it to make much sense. And so begins the Mystery of the Missing Brigantine.

You will be playing three different characters during your adventure, as well as trying to keep a fourth alive (as danger seems to follow her at every step). Your main character is Jack Heineken, a once wealthy adventurer who has fallen into financial trouble. He is also an obsessive treasure hunter, and apparently that is what led him to being left for dead on a boat in the middle of the Indian Ocean. He is searching for the legendary Pelican Throne but he is not the only one who wants to find it.

A German media tycoon by the name of Herman Grubber is also after the throne and he has sent his two goons, Manny “Sledgehammer” and Harry “Bug” to prevent you from finding it. Fortunately for you, Manny and Harry are pretty useless at their job.

You will be joined on your adventure by your treasure hunting companion Natasha and the brilliant scientist/inventor, Professor Sebastian Thompson. Along for the ride is your girlfriend from college, Elizabeth. Why she is with you on the boat is a mystery, as you spend a lot of time in the game healing her various wounds. One would think it would have been better to take your treasure hunting companion with you on a treasure hunting trip.

The story in Mystery of the Missing Brigantine feels very unfinished and all over the place. This is reinforced by certain dialogues that refer to Jack as “main character” and Herman and his goons constantly being called “the villains”. There is also a lot of information given that has no bearing on the story, such as the random fact that Jack has stock in a lot of insurance companies. It’s as if the main story was outlined but no one went back to change the text before the game was finished. While the general story is easy to follow, the unfinished feel makes the game very confusing.

Mystery of the Missing Brigantine is not your standard hidden object game. It’s a hybrid between a point and click adventure and a hidden object game. You will be given items to find but they can be hidden anywhere within the scenes you have access to. While a unique approach this can become frustrating when you’re searching across several scenes that also have areas that can be zoomed in on. When searching for smaller items, this can become a pixel hunt. Luckily there is no click penalty and the hint button recharges fairly quickly.

There are several types of puzzles scattered throughout the game. Every item you find will be used, usually to assemble a device to help in your adventure. I would not call these puzzles though. Everything that has to be placed is outlined, and there is no way to assemble them incorrectly. There are also standard puzzles that range from incredibly easy to moderate difficulty. If you are a seasoned adventurer you will find the Mystery of the Missing Brigantine to be a very short game.

The graphics in the game are clear but don’t meet the level of many of the games currently available. The music in the game gets repetitive really fast and the sound effects are quite loud. At one point there is a bird chirping in the background that is reminiscent of fingernails on a chalkboard. Luckily, you can turn down the music and sound effects in the options menu.

In the end Mystery of the Missing Brigantine is a forgettable adventure. Nothing truly stands out about it, and the story is weak and isn’t really resolved in the end.

The good

    The bad

      40 out of 100