GrE writes, "Ever have a guilty pleasure that you know isn't really very good, but you can't help but love? We all do, whether it's a cheesy romantic comedy that we don't want to admit to our mates that we love, or a great fondness for singing along to Barbie Girl. It's fine to have, even though your pretensions may make you wish you didn't. The problem is that when your job is to review a game and that game happens to be a huge guilty pleasure, it becomes very conflicting. You see, when it comes to Cate West: The Vanishing Files, I'm very much of two minds. On the one hand, it's extremely samey and does absolutely nothing to challenge the Wii technologically or the player's physical ability. It's the sort of game that will quickly remind you of the puzzle books your parents used to bribe you with on long car journeys. However, despite its shortcomings, I still greatly enjoyed my experience with this gentle, hidden object based puzzle game. If ever there's an example of a 'marmite' game (a game you either love or hate), this is it!"
N-Europe writes: "Cate West: The Vanishing Files is based upon the PC game of the same title, which actually has a free demo to download. The game revolves around finding items hidden in images, but not hidden as you might expect, some are stashed "in" the furniture, a shotgun might be superimposed on a chair leg or a broom, and the quest to find them begins. Unsurprisingly, you assume the role of Cate West, a mystery novel writer who has visions."
Boomtown writes: "What do you get if you cross Allison DuBois with Jessica Fletcher, would you be surprised to hear it's Cate West? For those of you that may have been living under a rock for the last twenty five years Allison DuBois is the real life psychic detective who was dramatised in the TV show Medium, whilst Jessica Fletcher is the mystery writer who kept sticking her nose in in 'Murder She Wrote'. So, that makes Cate West a mystery writer who just happens to be psychic too, a strange combination."
Guardian writes: "Psychic Cate West gets involved in the investigation of a string of seemingly connected murders, using her powers to assist the Arcadia City Police Department in their enquiries. Rather unfortunately, the sole content of your extrasensory quest is a series of tawdry, spot-the-difference and find-the-object puzzles. Presented with a cluttered illustration, you use the Wii remote as a magnifying glass to identify a list of objects that include things as random as a hand axe, a viking hat, carrots, pliers, Excalibur, a flamingo, antennae and a palm tree."
I have a feeling that I would not like this game at all.
I like relaxing games like these, make a change from the usual genres
Casual games = fail
"This really isn’t the sort of game that a hardened FPS player would like"
Hm. Might need to pass. Graphic adventures just aren't quite kill-kill-stab-stabby enough for me.
WHERE DID THE FILES GO?