Sometimes the simplest games turn out to be the most addictive, and this is most certainly the case with KlickTock’s Hidden Object game Super Search 60. Developer KlickTock has done a really nice job of taking the classic game of finding hidden objects amongst a series of other (similar) items and crafted a challenging, creative and addictive game, that excemplifies “one-more-try” gameplay.
Super Search 60 consists of a 9×7 grid made up of 63 randomly sorted (and oriented) objects, ranging from umbrellas to pool balls, axes to squirrels. An ominous disembodied voice announces “60 seconds”, and you only have about a second or two to do your best to memorize the board before the countdown begins. A message appears at the top of the screen indicating which object (and the quantity of them) you must find. When you find the specified object, simply tap on it, it will disappear and you will see the quantity counter reduce. Once you’ve found the required quantity of this object, the message will change, telling you what new object you must find next.
Sounds easy enough right? Oh, did we forget to mention that there are a few fun twists to make the game a bit more challenging? Objects of the same type are not necessarily the same color as one-another, leading you to waste valuable time searching for a black domino, only to find that the second one is actually white! Also, when an object is found/removed, all the other objects above the removed one will slide down to fill the gap and a new object will appear at the top of that column. This means players cannot rely soley wrote memory, since the gameboard is always in a state of flux.
The faster you find the objects, the higher your score, earning you some crazy multipliers. If you are unable to find an object after about 10 seconds, one instance of the object you seek will shake a little, giving you a little hint, making it easier to spot. The game is nicely illustrated, with clean crsip objects that are easily recognizable. We’d like to see an option for orienting the device horizontally. Due to the objects facing no direction in particular, in theory you could due this now, but the instructions telling you what to find are difficult to read when on their side. As far as sound goes, there are some sound effects, but no in-game soundtrack, although you can listen to your own music in the background.
You have the option of connecting the game to your Facebook account, allowing you to earn Trophies (which can be displayed in your Facebook status) or see how you rank against other Facebook users on the global leaderboard. The Facebook integration works quite well, but we would really like to see integration with one of the other platform specific social networks as well like OpenFeint. Unfortunately the developer informed us that OpenFeint is unlikely due to some integration issues with the high score tables.
Super Search 60 is available in both a free “lite” version and a paid “unlimited” version. The lite version of Super Search 60 allows you to experience all aspects of the game, but you are limited to 20 minutes each week to compete against your friends. In the full, Unlimited version there are no restrictions on how often you can play. You are also restricted in the Lite version from uploading your scores earned while playing offline back to Facebook.
In Conclusion
We highly recommend checking out (at least) the free version of Super Search 60, but we must warn you that the game is quite addictive. The quick 60 second nature of the game means that it’s perfect to play anytime, anywhere. That being said, it’s like opening a bag of potato chips, you won’t be able to play just one, before you know it that quick 60 second game will turn into 60 minutes or more. You have been warned…