Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir

I've never been one to like games on a time limit - it creates too much pressure, ups my stress and decreases from the pleasure and relaxation I seek when playing a game. This game meets all my criteria for a fun, easy, relaxing way to pas the time. It reminds me of a more sophisticated version of the highlights magazine "picture search" I loved as a child. Essentially you are assigned a number of various objects that you must find in an image. Some of them require special equipment to find, such as x-ray goggles (you acquire this special equipment along the way). Interspersed with these "find and seek" picture games are mini-puzzles as well, such as recreate a picture with puzzle pieces, etc. This is the kind of game I can easily play w/o using serious brain power, which makes it incredibly relaxing. I like it for before bed (If I'm not in the mood to read) or when needing to kill time when waiting (Dr's office, oil-change, etc.) Like many of the other Mom's to little kids, I too enjoy this game as a great way to unwind after a day of parenting my little one. It is a great outlet for Mom's - it should be listed as a relaxation technique for Mothers! Also as others have mentioned, my little one loves to watch over my shoulder and help me find the assigned objects, so this is additionally helpful when having to pass the time when waiting and you have your child with you. Great, relaxing game.

I decided to purchase MillionHeir because I really enjoy the Mystery P.I.: Portrait of a Thief hidden object game, but have played that to death and know the location of all the items. I tried MillionHeir because I was hoping it would be more of the same: straight forward hidden object finding, with no other types of puzzles. And, for the most part, it is. However, I wasn't entirely impressed with it for some reason. I found it not as enjoyable as Mystery P.I., in terms of how hard it is to find items. I felt that there was not enough "clutter" to distract me from finding items, and it was quite easy to beat. I like a difficult game, that makes you hunt for the objects. This was pretty easy, and that made it to where I beat the game in 2-3 short bursts of playing. A couple of good points for the game are: - The graphics and art inside the game is quite good. I like the settings and the animated portions that would move inside certain stages. - The stage variety is nice. There are a bit more stages/settings than there are in the Mystery PI game, so you weren't constantly returning to the same stage over and over again. (Although, you do revisit each stage at least once or twice throughout the game) - The story is decent for a hidden object game. The game is just "ok" for me. It is not one I would go back to often. I occasionally get the desire to play a hidden object game before bed, and between this and Mystery P.I., I would probably choose Mystery P.I. over this a majority of the time, even though it isn't as flashy as this game. It just has a slightly higher difficulty.

Mystery Case Files (MCF) games are the standard by which all other hidden object games should be measured - and they all fall short! The MCF objects are seamlessly integrated into the background; the game developers use the colors and shapes to place the objects such that you really have to LOOK for the items. I will often look at a previously viewed area of a scene, only to suddenly SEE things there that I didn't notice before. However, I was a little nervous about buying this particular game, for the DS. I have all of the PC versions and love them, but I was worried that the creators might make a "smaller" game all around, by having fewer areas to explore, or removing the mini games, or not really making the effort to use the unique features of the Nintendo DS. I am happy to say I do NOT regret the purchase! The game is AMAZING - it took me about 8 hours over several days to complete the game in "rookie" mode (not timed), and I am now running through it again as a full "detective" (timed mode), with a third play mode yet to be unlocked. The game is VERY re-playable - different characters become pivotal, and the item lists change each time. With so many items hidden per scene, you can have a unique experience even on the 10th play-through of the game. The scenes fully live up to the Mystery Case Files standard - objects are well hidden, and realistic looking. The locations are beautiful and unique, with areas like a gem mine, an outdoor koi pond, and the interior of a clock tower. The characters and dialogue are also top-notch - they use the trademark MCF art style in the character design, and there are lots of puns in the character names and interactions. They kept several innovations from MCF: Madam Fate. First, some areas are "embedded" in other screens, such as the interior of a cuckoo clock, entered by tapping the sparkly blue glow in a scene. Second, some object lists require finding multiple versions of the same item - find 12 paperclips and 10 bottles, for example. They also kept the puzzles and mini games (I've seen at least 5 so far), so there's lots to do in addition to finding things. They've even added a few new object-finding tools, in addition to the flashlight - an x-ray machine (my favorite - the cat in the "normal view" suddenly becomes a cat skeleton, GREAT attention to details!) and underwater goggles, for peering into cloudy water-covered areas. I was originally worried about the small screen size of the DS making it hard to find objects, but don't worry - you see the full scene on the top screen, with a zoomed-in view in the lower screen. You move your [rectangular] field of view around the image by either dragging the stylus, using the directional pad on the left, or using the four buttons on the right. I tend to use the D-pad with my left thumb, while keeping the stylus in my right hand to tap on found objects. They also use the features unique to the DS - the microphone, for blowing out fires or dusting for prints, and the shoulder buttons, which allow you to toggle drawing on-screen. The drawing / stylus combo adds a dimension to finding listed items that you don't get with the earlier PC versions - for example, find a "deflated football". The only one on screen is inflated, so you have to hold the shoulder button and use the stylus to draw / puncture the football. The game quality is excellent, the graphics are impressive, and replay value is high. Overall, this is a great addition to the Mystery Case Files series, and I highly recommend it!

je connaissais les versions sur pc de la saga Mystery Case Files, et même si mes préférés restent Madame Fate et Ravenhearst, Millionheir est très agréable à jouer. Les graphismes sont très beaux, les lieux ne reviennent pas trop souvent et les astuces pour trouver les objets sont bien trouvées. Un petit regret, les énigmes de fin de niveau sont trop simples par rapport à ce qu'on a pu avoir sur pc. Mais sinon c'est LE jeu d'objets cachés à avoir.

Loved this game. I'm a senior citizen and only a casual gamer who plays while sitting in doctor's waiting rooms or when there is nothing good to watch on t.v.. The puzzles were challenging enough that they weren't simplistic, nor were they so convoluted in logic that they were frustatingly difficult.

Loved it , this was bought as a gift at the time and i thoroughly loved enjoyed doing it. Haven't been able to do many since this was easy for me to follow however i still had to concentrate so not too easy, however great game.

I bought this game last year, however I only just now was able to test it on another DS system that isn't my own, and the game was sealed, like brand new, in the packaging, and it does not load, on any DS system. This is extremely disappointing as this is one of my favorite DS games and I was so excited to finally have a copy of it again. Don't buy this!

As a big fan of point and click/hidden picture games, I bought this as a little bit of fun and to relax. The plot is a fairly simple one, simply guidng you through the various rooms you need to search. I very much enjoyed the game but after a while you find yourself searching the same locations over and over just for slightly different objects but you get so familiar with the rooms over time that this ceases to be a challenge. The game is very simple, just basic 'Where's Wally' premise and so is suitable for all ages or for adults and small children to play together. I'd recommend it particularly as a game to take on long trips as its very easy to become absorbed and play it for ages without realising! Overall I wouldn't spend loads on this as its such a basic game and can get quite repetitive but its fun enough and a definite good buy for killing time.