First thing the game says is something about an Eclipse. The lunar eclipse was this morning. Was that the Vampire Moon? OMG. By coincidence, I’ve managed to creep myself out with a DS game. No, only kidding.
It’s been a while. I pick the coral pink fat DS to play on. Get the stylus, noting the different and stiffer feel of the small pre iPhone touch pad technology and begin on this point and click, hunt and seek puzzler from City Interactive. It feels similar to a Nancy Drew type games, which is complimentary.
Instead, the main character Emily is a reporter. Who is sent to Transylvania to chase a story. The dialog rolls out on the top screen and you tap objects on the second screen below. It feels a bit retro typing about a DS game on the iPad, it’s like the iPad is talking about her Grandma.
Vampire Moon the Mystery of the Hidden Sun has a gothic feel to it. There are gargoyles and bats. The menus and the story are told in a bookish format with a cherry sienna hue. It’s a palette of old book leather. The reading material writes out in the book for you. As the story is explained, you are asked to find various items. You may need an old knight’s shield to cover a hole in a wooden bridge to be able to get across. Or you could need a hammer to complete a task.
The game – play consists mainly of seek and find puzzles. The spooky environments have many objects embedded in them for you to find. Some of them are timed. Finding gems and jewels adds to your score. If you tap on the wrong items too many times then it will deduct from your score. Hints are provided and you can earn more.
The puzzles range from easy to exasperating. It depends on how good your imagination and skills are. The game has about twenty five levels. It is somewhat repetitive, but if you get that need to find everything then you will like this game. The story line is very simplistic and seems to be geared to teens. I did catch a few spelling errors in the items. On the list is “Tub” when what you are actually looking for is a “Tube” of paint.
This game doesn’t offer anything much new. It does what is expected of it fairly well enough. It lacks excitement and a genuine horror feel. The Vampire aspect of it isn’t very developed and it mainly deals with legends rather than flesh and cold blooded vampires like Edward Cullen.
This is a tame game that makes a fine time waster. It can draw you into it easily because it is relaxing. Unless you get stuck on one of the puzzles. It doesn’t seem like it’s harsh or violent at all. Young teens would probably enjoy it. I ive Vampire Moon 8 t padlocks out of 10.
Played on an original DS with a copy provided by the publisher.
