CGRundertow SPIRIT OF WANDERING: THE LEGEND for iPad Video Game Review

Spirit of Wandering: The Legend review. Classic Game Room presents a CGRundertow review of Spirit of Wandering: The Legend from G5 Entertainment for the iPad. Spirit of Wandering is a hidden object adventure game with a pirates theme. This game was originally released to the PC. Rather than a list of objects to find, you're given a group of outlines. Actually, you get two groups of outlines. Not a word in sight. I guess pirates can't read. The first group is a collection of common items, and those are the ones you have to locate first. So you look at the outlines, and you find the corresponding objects in the picture. Then you move on to the cherished items. This Mobile/Tablet video review features video gameplay footage of Spirit of Wandering: The Legend for the iPad and audio commentary from Classic Game Room's Derek.

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Closed Caption:

This is a game about finding things that arrrghhh
hidden on the screen. See, because it’s
a hidden object game...with pirates...and,
you know...pirates like to say...screen.
It’s Spirit of Wandering: The Legend.
So obviously, Spirit of Wandering is a hidden-object
adventure game with a pirates theme. This
game was originally released to the PC a few
years ago, and now, it has set sail into the
very crowded waters of the App Store. There
is no shortage of these games on iOS devices,
but Spirit of Wandering does set itself aparrrrrt.
See, because it’s a bit different.
So the normal routine is you get a scene,
you get a list of objects to find in that
scene and you start seeking and tapping...or
I guess, clicking depending on the platform.
The rules are a bit different in Spirit of
Wandering. Rather than a list of words, you
get this group of outlines...actually, you
get two groups of outlines.
Not a word in sight. I guess pirates can’t
read.
The first group is a collection of common
items, and those are the ones you have to
locate first. So you look at the outlines,
and you find the corresponding objects in
the picture. Once you’ve found all the common
items, you have to find one of the other items...the
so-called cherished items.
These work the same way. You get an outline,
you find the item. But in this case, the process
includes this magic lens that somehow catches
fire when it’s held above your target. Once
you find it, you’ll get a new group of common
items, and you repeat the process until you’ve
found all the cherished items.
It’s a different approach than most of the
hidden-object games I’ve played, and there
are definitely things I like about it. Spirit
of Wandering basically splits your target
items into much smaller and more manageable
pieces, so instead of chipping away at a list
for several minutes, you feel like you’re
making progress and working faster.
What I don’t like is that the cherished
items are sort of anticlimactic. You might
think they’re going to be really well-hidden
and harder to find...but they’re not any
different than the normal items. And in fact,
they’re actually a lot easier to find because
of the giant flaming lens that pulls a Navi
on you and says, “HEY! LISTEN! FIRE!”
So although this structure has benefits, it
also feels a bit arbitrary at times...and
even annoying. That’s because the outlines
you’re given often don’t match the objects
they correspond to, and that’s because the
outlines show them from different angles.
You end up having to think of those outlines
in three dimensions, which is a nice side
effect...but a lot of times, it does feel
a bit unfair.
Especially when you’re just given a square.
The story is only mildly interesting and feels
more like Pirates of the Caribbean than anything
else. Pirates are attacked by a deadly ghost
ship, and the captain loses her crew and her
lover. Turns out they’re actually being
held captive in a spirit realm, so she’s
forced to collect cherished items that will
provide her access. It does tie the gameplay
to the narrative, derivative as it may be,
so I guess it does work.
And at times, so does Spirit of Wandering.
I’m not as big of a fan of this one as other
games of this style, but I do admire the unique
approaches it takes. So if you’re into this
genre but looking for a change, Spirit of
Wandering is a swashbuckling romance with
some fun ideas and a lot of booty.