I SPY With my Little Eye

Greetings, fellow readers and welcome to yet another Monday here at The Magical Mystery Blog.

As children, we were introduced to Halloween by way of urban myths, television specials, and our parents dolling us up in costume. Some of us were eased into the holiday by way of books such as the Goosebumps series and I SPY: Spooky Night.

I SPY is a hidden object book where the reader is given riddles to find all the items on the pages. Some of the books tell stories while locating the objects. For example, I SPY: Treasure Hunt tells the tale of you, the reader, finding all the items that will lead to Captain Kidd’s treasure.  Not only do you sharpen your brain with these books but you go on an adventure as well.

Over the years, there have been many variations of the books ranging from computer games to miniature books. But now is the age of technology, where children learn through Leapfrogs, and kid friendly Wii games. To keep up with its young audience, I SPY began to aim its riddle filled fun to game consoles such as the Wii and DS systems. A while back, I SPY took one of its classic books, and adjusted it to fit the Wii. This book is none other than I SPY: Spooky Night.

I picked up the I SPY: Spooky Mansion (same theme, different title from the book) game during the summer time and due to my work schedule, I just finished it. Originally I bought the game for the sake of nostalgia and my inner child insisting that I buy it. I was also curious to see how they took my old childhood favorite and spun it to meet the modern day needs of a fun video game. With a price tag of twenty dollars, the game was practically a steal.

The game itself is extremely enjoyable and quickly gobbles up time. Skelly the Skeleton, the owner of the mansion, decides to play a little game with you no sooner you enter the house. You cannot go out the way you came in. To exit the estate, you must solve thirty two riddles. Only then will you escape from Skelly’s mansion.

The ambiance of the game is spooky but not so frightening that it will give children nightmares. It’s a gentle play on Halloween based concepts like snakes, spiders, and other mildly creepy aspects. As for myself, I find the light humored concepts to be comical and cheesy. Details are found throughout the game, especially in the board game riddle. With nearly every riddle, there are mini games to be played such as feeding a spider, sending bats to sleep, and other fun games.

One of the downsides to the game is the visuals. Since everything is supposed to be spooky, it’s shaded in dark tones of brown, black, and other eerie colors. However, this can easily be remedied by going into the game’s menu, and changing the contrast. By doing this, the dark shades will fade away, allowing for the player to see more of the details the game has to offer; as well as the objects they’re looking for.

The visuals in this game feel more cartoony, which suits nicely for children. Yet for those who play the game for nostalgia, it’s different from the original PC game and book. Growing up, I played the PC game constantly and I remember the realistic graphics that made the game more entertaining and believable. It felt as though Skelly was right there in front of me, taunting me with another piece of the mysterious message. Even the ghost machine labs in both games are styled differently. As to where the PC game looked as though everything could be physically experimented with, the Wii version looked like a bunch of wires that could lead to quite a shock.

I’m glad that kids today will be able to experience the fun and learning aspects of I SPY by way of a Wiimote and a great game. I give this game an eight out of ten, with its endless fun and its modern take on a classic. While I’m not too fond of the graphics, the game was designed for children, and probably not nostalgic people like myself.

What are your memories of I SPY? Have you played any of the games yet? If so what ones and did you enjoy them? Feel free to leave a comment and as always, followers are welcome.