Titanic Mystery is a hidden object puzzler from Purple Hills.  100 years after the sinking of the original Titanic a replica of the ship – Titanic 2 – is undertaking the original maiden voyage with descendents of the original passengers on board.  The replica has been designed in the style of the original ship both inside and out and the puzzles take place in a number of locations throughout the ship, some more glamorous than others!

Once you have boarded the ship you receive a letter confirming there is a bomb on board and challenging you to follow the clues to solve the mystery.  Titanic Mystery offers two types of play: timed play or relaxed play.  The time limits given for timed play are very generous.  I would say I rarely needed more than 25-30% of the time offered. 

Visiting each location opens up a basic hidden object puzzle, asking you to find 10 types of object in the location (for example, 10 butterflies).  Once you have found these a full hidden object puzzle opens up, providing you with a full list of objects to find.  There is also a hidden puzzle that can be unlocked by finding all the pieces of an object.  These puzzles range from simple jigsaws to complete to Titanic-related anagrams to solve.

A nice touch to the game is the array of facts that are revealed about the original Titanic over the course of the game.  These snippets of information range from the cost of a first class ticket ($4700, equivalent to $50,000 in today’s financial climate) to the food served in first class on the night of the disaster.

As the story unfolds it becomes clear that events which took place on the original Titanic are linked to someone in the present and form the reason the bomb has been planted.  Each time you clear a location you receive a diary entry from one of the original Titanic passengers and this enables you to slowly piece together the mystery.  It is necessary to return to some locations again to complete further hidden object puzzles and thus obtain more diary entries; however, the number of locations in the game is vast, so it doesn’t feel repetitive.

If Titanic Mystery has one flaw it is that it is possibly a little too easy.  As I said earlier, even in timed mode I always had plenty of time left and often found the majority of objects in very quick succession, with only the odd one or two causing problems.  Nonetheless, despite racing through many of the hidden object puzzles quickly, I still spent approximately 5 hours on the game so I think it still has a lot to offer (particularly for players new to this genre) and offers good value for money.

Titanic Mystery is bright, well illustrated and has some excellent locations to discover throughout the game.  The range of puzzles is good and the story is entertaining, if a little predictable at times!  This will be a really good choice for people who are new to the hidden object genre but I think even more experienced players could find something to please them in this fun, well considered and puzzle filled title.