iPhone/iPad review of the day: Time Geeks: Find All! - a hidden object game that actually rocks

On iPhone
Game: Time Geeks: Find All!
Price: $0.99 / £0.59
Size: 21.7 MB
Get it now on the iTunes store:US/UK

On iPad
Game: Time Geeks: Find All! HD
Price: $1.99 / £1.19
Size: 28.2 MB
Get it now on the iTunes store:US/UK

Hidden object game. Did we scare you off yet? Hopefully not. Because while Time Geeks: Find All! is technically a hidden object game, it’s on a different level when compared to all of those dull casual titles. It’s sort of like Where’s Waldo? if it had adorable pixel art, a sense of humor and more geek references than you can count.

A bunch of aliens have gone into the past and moved things around and it’s up to you, the time geeks, to go back in time and put everything right. The game takes place across eight areas, each of which has numerous objects to find one at a time. The game will show you an object and then give you less than a minute to find it. If you fail, the item will be moved to a different area and you can retry. It’s pretty simple stuff, but the game spices things up with a few additional modes and even some minigames.

But many hidden object games play that way, so what makes Time Geeks so special? Put simply, it’s fun and funny instead of being boring. Hidden within Time Geeks’ charming pixel art is an absolute cavalcade of loving geek culture in-jokes and asides. So many that you likely won’t even catch them all. The first area, for example, appears to take place on the island from Lost. But in addition to the smoke monsters, hatches, and crashed planes, you’ll also find nods to everything from Twitter and Android to Pac-Man and The Legend of Zelda. And that’s just the first level. As an added bonus, as you complete areas, you’ll gather up a collection of pixel art characters and items that you can use to decorate your very own island, which you can either share on Facebook or save as wallpaper for your phone.

Yes. It’s a hidden object game. But it’s a hidden object game for geeks that has style and personality and is actually cool, and that makes it absolutely worthwhile.

Dec 17, 2010