Hidden Agenda Preview

PopCap preps their hidden object hunt for Facebook with the upcoming Hidden Agenda

Hidden object games can be littered with all kinds of goodies to find.  Keys, canoes, cookies – you name it, you’ll find it (if you’re skilled enough) in a hidden object game.  But what about the hidden things that aren’t object?  What if the things that are hidden are deep dark secrets?  That’s the question PopCap Games is posing in Hidden Agenda, their first free-to-play hidden object game for Facebook.

PopCap are no strangers to Facebook games, having already released notable titles like Bejeweled Blitz, Solitaire Blitz, and Zuma Blitz on the social network.  But with Hidden Agenda, PopCap are doing something unexpected; they’re introducing a brand new IP and they’re taking their first steps into the F2P hidden object space.

Players will take up the role of a budding detective, solving mysteries in a town chalk full of them.  Two notable families are embroiled in a feud, and whether through blood or business, everyone in this bustling burg has been dragged into it – and they all have a secret. 

The game promises to mix plenty of hidden object gameplay with a meta-game at the city level.  Solving cases will unveil new locations to explore, as players learn more and more about the town and its inhabitants.

While we haven’t had a chance to go hands on with Hidden Agenda quite yet, PopCap has already established a pretty notable track record in hidden object games.  This is the company behind series like Mystery PI, Amazing Adventures, and Vacation Quest, after all.  Can their first attempt at a Facebook object hunt live up to their past successes?  You’ll be able to find out when the game launches in early 2013.

Jim Squires

• 

Jim Squires is the Editor-in-Chief of Gamezebo. Everything you see passes his eyes first, so we like to think of him as "the gatekeeper of cool stuff." He likes good games, great writing, and just can't say no to a hamburger. Also, he is not a bear.