After playing and reviewing Hidden Expedition: Everest, I figured that we had reached the best a “search and find” game could get. After playing Yard Sale Hidden Treasures: Sunnyville, I find that I was quite mistaken. Yard Sale is, at it’s root, a search and fine game. Fortunately, with fun characters, great visuals and sound, and some awesome mini games thrown in, it becomes something of a hybrid game experience that works well.
The goals of this particular yard sale adventure...
The game places you as the new guy in town. You just bought a house, and there’s not much in it. There’s a person coming to town who, from what I gathered, judges house interiors for a magazine. It’s up to you to go to garage sales and find objects to decorate all the rooms in
your house. This, of course, is where the “finding objects” game comes into play. You visit various colorful locales to find both random objects, and items that would fit well in various rooms of your house.
At this point, things seem pretty standard. But then during the second or third yard sale hunt I found a broken down lamp. I needed to use this lamp, but it was too shabby. So the game took me through an awesome mini-game to restore the lamp! I had to break out the
A successful day of compulsive shopping!
old glass, paint the frame, cut new class, place it in the right place, etc. This was quite unexpected, and very enjoyable. There are other sections like this that involve old paintings, treasure maps, and other items. Stuff like this keeps the gameplay fresh.
There is one unlockable gameplay mode after you beat the main game in either timed or “relaxed” (no time) mode. Over all, as with most games like this, there is quite a bit to do. Each yard sale can be revisited many times with different items to find on each occasion. I should also mention that the game has a nice hint system built in. Basically, you only have so many hints per yard sale, but you can find more by tapping stars in the environment.
Presentation & Graphics
All the visuals in this game are top notch save for one; the actual yard sale images. While searching for items, when you zoom in things don’t look quite as clear as one would expect. Other than that, the particle effects and mini game animations, and everything else is fantastic!
Sound
Excellent music and sound effects. Top notch.
Restoration mini-games are a lot of fun!
Gameplay
It’s more than just a search and find game. Bringing fun “restoration” mini-games into the mix is a lot of fun, and keeps the game fresh. The plot makes sense for this kind of game, and everything you do is driven by it. The controls work well, with just a couple occasions where I could tap the object I found easily.
Gamelife
Although there’s no online play or leaderboards, this game offers a lot of gameplay, and will keep you occupied with two different game modes.
Game Rating
It’s not often that a game is so enjoyable that it moves to my personal game menu after I review it. Yard Sale, as odd as it seems, is one of those games. Great sound and visuals, plot-driven gameplay, and fun mini-games round out a great experience that will keep you coming back.
Yard Sale Hidden Treasures: Sunnyville – $2.99
