I've been reading the threads here and was disappointed that some games are only available as a download. Saw these games at CD Universe and now I can get a box version.

Cooking Quest
Our Price: $19.89
Scheduled to release Apr 23, 2008
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7668917&style=games
Review: http://www.gamezebo.com/reviews/cooking_quest_review.html

Escape The Museum
Our Price: $19.89
Scheduled to release Apr 23, 2008
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7668918&style=games
Review: http://www.gamezebo.com/reviews/escape_the_museum_review.html

Unsure if the following games are hidden object puzzles

Coffee Rush
Our Price: $19.89
Scheduled to release Apr 23, 2008
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7668916&style=games

Jojo's Fashion Show
Our Price: $19.89
Scheduled to release Apr 23, 2008
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7668919&style=games

Hawaiian Explorer : Lost Island
Our Price: $19.89
Scheduled to release Friday, June 27, 2008
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7668927&style=games

History Channel : Monster Quest
Our Price: $19.89
Scheduled to release Friday, June 20, 2008
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7668925&style=games

Hide & Secret 2
Our Price: $19.89
Scheduled to release Friday, May 30, 2008
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7668921&style=games

Mission, the more popular casual games usually end up at Walmart and sometimes at Best Buy and Target too

Thanks Looney, I'll be checking out Walmart and Best Buy.

I'm looking forward to play my first hidden object game!

Mission, my first was Ravenhearst and it was a good one to start on. I have seen that one at WalMart more than once.

You can also order games online at Walmart.com (and I'm sure lots of other sites) and you can get home delivery or pick them up at the store.

Have fun

Looney, I went to Walmart hoping to buy Ravenhearst. There were only 2 hidden objects games - Ghost Hunters: The Haunting of Majesty Manor and Hidden Relics, on display.

I picked up Ghost Hunters @ $18.69. This eGames game comes in a nice plastic DVD case which is better than a cardboard box which can get crushed easily.

Ghost Hunters seems to be easy. The GameZebo review is right. This is okay as this is my first hidden object game. I complete 1 level (4 rooms + bonus rounds) in about 40 minutes.

There is no relaxed mode of play. Random clicks will result in 30 second penalty. There are special items like batteries when picked up will give a bonus hints. The hint option will let you move the cursor around and if the object is close by, there will be beeping. As a result, I was never stuck so far as I used the hint option to find the really hidden ones.

Here are some screenshots of the Ghost Hunters: The Haunting of Majesty Manor:

Ghost Hunters Splash page

Introduction 1

Introduction 2

Day 1

Bathroom

Library

Bonus rounds

Parlor - Bonus round


While at Walmart, I saw this 3-in-1 Sherlock Holmes game from Frogwares - they are the people behind Dracula Origin and the graphics are well done. This is a DVD game in a hard plastic case. The 3 Sherlock Holmes games are The Awakened, Secret of the Silver Earring and The Mystery of the Mummy.

At $34.99, this 3-in-1 Sherlock Holmes game is worth a buy - not more than $12 per game. Unfortunately, 2 of the games are in first person view, so I give this a pass.

That is a good deal on the Sherlocks. Do first person games make you sick? Some folks have had good luck taking meds and using a anti-nausea bracelet. I don't usually get sick but every now and again one will strike me wrong if I move the cursor too quickly.

Ghost Hunter looks beautiful. Are the hints unlimited? Do you have to actually solve the mystery, or does the game do that by eliminating all others?

Ravenhearst, if you can find it, has a really neat storyline which is what really pulled me in. I wanted to know what was going to happen next

Oh yes, I get dizzy playing a first person view game. As opposed to first person, I get to see the characters doing all kinds of acivities in a third person view game. That is more enjoyable. First person view games are good for shooter games, though.

The hints in Ghost Hunter are limited. There are 5 hints a day. In the Day 1 screenshot, you can see I need to find a total of 27 objects in 3 rooms and I have 5 hints for the 3 rooms. The number of objects/rooms changes on each day. There are bonus hints in the form of batteries hidden in each room. For each battery I find, I get an additional hint. Generally, there is one or zero battery in each room.

I do not know if I have to solve the mystery or if the game do that by eliminating all others. I have not completed the game. I am on day 6 now. After each day, I get a suspect. So now I have 5 suspects (day 6 not completed yet). I have to wait and see what happens next.

Ghost Hunter is a multi user game. I can create different users to play the game. These users will all start from day 1. I'm not sure if this is a standard feature for most hidden object games, if it is not, this game is cool as it has the multi user capability.

Because I created 2 users to play, I can see that the object to find in the room changes. Say in the library, the list of objects to find for user A is different from user B. Some objects are repeated and for those repeated ones, it is easy for me to find - the location of the objects does not change.

mission, you can check out previous comments on Ghost Hunter Here.

Happy Gaming!
Ana

Thanks Ana for the link.