Dear Operative X,

With a name like that, I’m not sure why I should trust you, but I’ve been assured that you are an Interpol agent in good standing. The insidious DR. CHAOS (the caps are necessary) is on the loose after a decade of hiding. I’m not sure what he’s doing or why he needs to be caught, but he must be stopped!

How are you, dear Operative, going to catch him? Evidentially, the only way to catch DR. CHAOS is by looking through piles of completely random crap in beautiful cities around the globe. Either the not-so-good doctor believes in covering his tracks by dumping the contents of a yard sale on the crime scene or someone really needs a new janitorial staff. You see, Agents of Interpol is a revival of sorts to the long-dormant “hidden object” genre.

If you’ve never played one of these games before, you can think of Agents of Interpol as Where’s Waldo on steroids. Each case presents you with a time limit and a certain number of objects that you have to correctly identify. You’ll travel to a series of locations (like the Buckingham Palace or St. Basil’s Cathedral) and be asked to look at a clutter room. Each of these rooms has a shopping list of items to find, you just need to click on them before that timer runs out.

If you are reading this and thinking that this doesn’t exactly sound like incredibly deep gameplay, you’re totally right. Agents of Interpol is not this Fall’s big game. It has no illusions about replacing Chrono Trigger or Castlevania as your handheld obsession. It’s just meant to be a simple distraction. Distracting it is, Agents of Interpol is strangely engrossing.

After I first downloaded the game, I sat back on my couch and put on some 30 Rock. I like to play puzzle games while I watch TV, it’s a great way to relax. I figured that it would be a good way to try out Agents. Before I knew it, I completely lost track of what was happening on the television. I was there, in the Kremlin, looking for two pens and a ham sandwich. More importantly, I was actually having fun.

Agents of Interpol is not a stressful game. There is a time limit, but it barely applies. It‘s a fantastic game for those moments where you have ten minutes to kill and want a distraction. Bam, those ten minutes are gone and your eyes have gotten a great workout. It’s far from a perfect game. The touch screen controls are kind of iffy, especially when you are trying to click on a small object. There is a zoom, but it occasionally doesn’t want to actually stay zoomed in. These quibbles aside, Agents provides a couple hours of solid entertainment and, unlike so many other iPhone games, it doesn’t feel gimmicky.

In the end, should you spend the money? Are you the type who doesn’t necessarily need every handheld game to be the full console experience? If you’re just looking for something to play in a waiting room, you won’t regret picking up Agents. Need something deeper, something more active? You might want to look elsewhere for your kicks.

Giveaway:
Do you want to win a copy for your own iPhone or iPod Touch? Send an email to greg@4colorrebellion.com with the subject “Agents Giveaway” by Wednesday, December 24th at Midnight. One of you might wake up on Christmas with a nice little stocking stuffer.

Score:

Positives: Great distraction, easy to play, nice artwork.
Negatives: Finicky touch-screen controls.