Between the Worlds II: The Pyramid (PC) Review

Developer Puppet Life has a track record for creating games of this ilk, mixing together various puzzle styles and Hidden Object scenes with a storyline that is rather wafer thin, in all honesty. In fact, it has three entries into the Between the Worlds series of PC releases, yet each one has an independent storyline as players are dragged into a world that is ruled by both technology and magic, with something about a mysterious pyramid with strange powers present, but not quite being properly explained. Even the person writing the description on the back of the game's box was clearly unsure what to write. "Adventure on the edge of the imaginary and the real" is fair enough, but then it is followed up by "Entertaining mini-games; Entangled puzzles; Extraordinary items!" Basically, though, anyone that enjoys these types of mind-bending challenges will be interested in The Pyramid: Between the Worlds II...whilst it lasts, that is.

To start off with, it should be stated that The Pyramid: Between the Worlds II is the sort of game that can be polished off within about two hours by those proficient in games of this genre. The only real level of challenge comes from the infuriating first few steps of the game that do not always fully explain what needs to be done. Thankfully, though, with tips from the lead character's detective partner (it matters not whether players choose the female or male role) the initial stages can be muddled through until the main meat of the title comes to the fore, namely the discovery of the pyramid itself.

To begin with, a professor has gone missing and a detective agency has been employed to solve the case. This involves moving from screen to screen of various locations to find clues in a traditional point-and-click environment, where pieces of scattered notes must be uncovered and subsequently put back together in a jigsaw style, wrench ends need to be found to unscrew special bolts on panels, and then a few obtuse conundrums have to be cracked with notes compiled in a special book the detectives have in their possession. In these stages it can be tricky finding what is required to move on, mainly down to the direction not being as clear as expected. Careful attention must be paid to the cursor as it starts to give off a slight glow when hovering over an area of interest.

There are several puzzles included, such as a Sudoku-style one, tile swapping shenanigans, Tangram-like brainteasers, and so on, but the most impressive aspect is the Hidden Object side. Once the mysterious pyramid of the game's title is found, upon completion of a minor puzzle attached to each side of it, players are transported to a fantastical land portrayed with luscious visuals and filled with layer after layer of hidden objects to find, being able to click on certain areas of the screen to move into other regions of the current world where more objects can be discovered. As per the norm in instances such as this, a list is displayed and the objective is to scour the landscape looking for cleverly placed items. As the list is worked through, further items appear on it to keep the flow going.

There are no high scores or time penalties, but the game does prevent random clicking by causing a purple mist to descend should the computer deem the player to be 'cheating,' with it remaining for a few seconds at which time nothing else can be located. This encourages the gamer to carefully analyse the part of the list currently in view and meticulously dig out the objects required. Whilst some games of this sort are lazy, Puppet Life excels at masking everyday paraphernalia into backgrounds far more so than it does in crafting brain-teasing puzzles. Sadly, though, everything is over pretty much soon after it truly begins to flourish. With Between the Worlds III already available in the US, it can only be hoped the third entry is a more fleshed out experience.