Customer Reviews

Cate West The Vanishing Files

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

You will quickly become addicted to this game. I love that it is a female character who solves the mysteries. Most of the games tend to be men.

The crime scenes are search and find type scenes. I must say the graphics are wonderful on this game. There are 15 levels that you have to solve the crimes on. Then you will be able to choose how you want it to end.

Another new and different feature is on compare sides problems you don't know which side to touch to get the point. Once you touch it then it changes to match the other side. These are difficult to find and again you can zoom in. This is just such a fun game.

Hint when zooming use the control pad to manuver as stray touches to the screen cost you minutes. Not only do you search and find and they disappear there are modes where you place things back on 2 different pictures to make them the same. Then it gets really tricky they give you say 2 items that are key to the crime and break then into pieces and you have to find them scattered all over town.

Cate's past plays a big part in searching out these clues and answering the questions. Cate has visions and dreams that help her find clues. Due to the violence it is rated at E 10+ and I certainly would agree with that. Myself I'd say it is an adult game.

Don't sit down to play unless you have an hour because you will want to learn just one more clue, then another. This is so far the BEST search and find game, it goes way beyond the routine. You will love it.

I just got it so obviously I have not solved it. It has a cool Zoom feature I have not seen on any other of my games so you can look closer at clues. Reminds me of Sherlock Holmes and his Magnifying glass.

I say 5 stars all the way on this one. I'll let you know later how long it takes to solve. That is if I can get it solved. I'm still running in circles with Professor Layton and the Curious Village.

I've been playing hidden object games on my PC for years, so I was happy to see these games come out in a DS format. I've really enjoyed Millionheir, Mystery PI, and Amazing Adventures. These games stayed true to the spirit of the originals, but made slight modifications to adapt to the DS format. I played "Vanishing Files" on the PC and really liked it. It has an interesting storyline, varied games, and was fairly challenging. But even on a full-sized PC screen, some objects were just too small and tricky to see. For the DS version of this game, the manufacturers made NO changes to the format, so it is nearly impossible to play. For example, in one section, you are supposed to compare two scenes and spot the differences. Both scenes appear on the touchscreen, so they are each about as a big as a postage stamp. And you are supposed to spot 10 differences! I couldn't make it pass the second stage; it was just too frustrating. Don't waste your money on this one!

This is a combination of a small variety of games, including 2 hidden object games, 2 picture matching games, and a brief mystery based on given evidence. This sequence is repeated (as mini-mysteries) over a dozen times with a thin, but interesting back story and overall mystery. There is a minimum of character development.

The game is generally quite easy (with a generous time allotment), and potential frustration is minimized by the "clue" feature, which comes at the cost of total score. I do not recommend this game for those looking for a challenge or an epic story. It is great for relaxing in the late evening, even for gamers, and it can be learned almost instantly. A nice, fairly short, straightforward, I-Spy mystery set to the DS. Note that it can be straining on the eyes.

I couldn't wait to get this game, but now I have it I'm so frustrated! I enjoy playing hidden object games, but the items in this one are just TOO SMALL! The lighting is too dark and the music can't be turned off and is very annoying. Due to eye strain, I end up with a headache every time I play. Please, if your going to have a magnifying feature, make it so that it really does enlarge the screen and you can see the objects.

There are those out there in the video game world who hate games like Mystery Case Files Millionheir, or games of it's type because they are too easy and lack depth. To those people I have this to say: Go get an Xbox 360 and play Halo for sixteen hours with nothing but fourteen cans of red bull and a bag of cool ranch doritios. For those of us who enjoy a good casual game let us continue shall we?

Cate West is a seek and find game, you look at pictures and try to find differences and solve a mystery. The plot is very rich with characters you'll get involved with and a gameplay mechanic that will test your limits.

This game is perfect for someone like me or my grandmother who owns Mystery PI for her computer. It is games like this that draw us casual gamers(and those who straddle the line) to the DS . Yes it is a clone of so many other seek and find games, but does that matter? If it is a good time then leave it alone.

In other words young folks like me
Challenge your brain with this game and others like it, your loved ones will thank you when you don't get althzimers or dementia when you are eighty-five.

Warning: this game will strain your eyes!

I rarely even consider reviewing a game before finishing it, but I'm prepared to make an exception for The Vanishing Files.

I had actually wanted this game for some time -- not desperately, but it looked interesting, and I like mysteries. Unfortunately, it hasn't lived up to my expectations; when I look for a mystery, I'm looking for a story that will keep me on the edge of my seat. The Vanishing Files is nothing of the sort; instead of keeping me on the edge of my seat, I have no trouble putting it down. The story is fairly weak and seems cliched, and the voice-overs are generally tiny snippets of the actual dialogue, such as "Hey," and "Cate". I find this annoying, but that might just be me. Also, some of the dialogue boxes seem to be cut off, and occasionally a black square will appear instead of a character's face.

Gameplay revolves around searching for "clues", which will lead to "evidence" that is broken up into little pieces that you have to find one by one. After collecting all the evidence, Cate must match up the criminal's hideout with the vision she had of the same place ("find the differences") and then she has to take the evidence, gather information, and arrest one of eight suspects. Her colleague Ben must then recreate a crime scene by replacing the random items that were collected from it. Before and after each chapter, there is a snippet of storyline in which more of Cate's troubled past is revealed.

The game itself is a good idea, it really is; I've always enjoyed those I Spy books -- you know, the ones with the rhyming searches? It's just, the designers of the game seem to have failed to take the size of the DS screen into account. The search field is TINY! You can zoom in, yes, but you'll still find yourself squinting at the screen in an effort to find that last item. Unless you're the zealous no-clues-at-all sort, you will probably be using the hint button often, and that deducts from your score.

You'll be searching for a slew of random items (two hands, a clock, a watermelon, a knight, a take-out box, a ticket, half of 32, a T-Rex, ect.) and somehow, Cate will collect these things and decide on the evidence you're looking for: a telephone and a pair of old ice skates, for example. (How she gets that, I have no idea, but whatever... it's her vision, not mine.) Collect the shattered bits of evidence, then match up the scenes (again, tiny tiny differences that are barely visible to the unaided eye, such as a slightly longer shadow, or an extra line in a window); arrest the crook of your choice (she will provide clues to narrow it down, but unfortunately these don't seem to help much), then reconstruct a crime scene. Repeat ad infinitum.

I've been playing for a while in the hopes that it will get more interesting; I'm more than halfway through the game and so far no luck. Maybe they'll astonish me with a surprising and delightfully witty ending, I don't know -- I have my doubts, as I've been figuring the storyline out faster than Cate has.

This is another one of those hide and seek games which are totally addictive to me. This one has several different puzzle games in it too.....like find the difference between 2 pictures. You can either play the story line or the mini games as you open up the different areas.

As an adult who loves her DS Lite.......I find these puzzle games give me hours are enjoyment.

Very cool story (mystery). I learned not to play this game if my eyes were tired - THAT'S how hard it is. For instance, you're looking for an object right? Can't find it and eventually ask for a clue. EVEN WITH THE CLUE YOU STILL CAN'T SEE THE OBJECT. But I want to know where it is for the next time around so I do the random tapping that gets you the time penalty. There was a sparkle so I know I hit it but STILL couldn't see it! Come on now, that's TOO hard, OK? (There are only one or two items that were "invisible" like that. "Vanishing" is right.)
I have all the hidden object games (I think) that are in Nintendo DS format and this is my least favorite/least "re-played". The first time through is OK because of the mystery.

Search and find games help me relax but this one just gave me eye strain and a headache. The picture is muddy with no definition and sometimes just a part of the object is displayed. I've zoomed in and out trying to make out the pictures to no avail. I loaned it out to a friend and she felt the same way. It is more of a guessing game than a game of skill.

My first time to use the Nintendo and solve the mystery. I purchased Portrait of a Thief, great introduction to using the Nintendo, and found it very interesting. However, when I started, currently finishing, Cate West: The Vanishing Files, very disappointed. The scene you are to find the hiden objects, very blurry, difficult to see. One scene the item literally was right on the very edge of the screen and only saw a sliver of the item. Portrait of a Thief, easier to see, clearer picture, not as "grayed over". Very disappointed, would not recommend.