Enigma Express Review

Based upon the characters we've already seen in Murder Files, Enigma Express is a stylish if formulaic Hidden Object game. It'll entertain fans of the genre but it probably won't grab many others.

Enigma Express fits into the almost cookie cutter style nature of many Hidden Object games. It's a freemium game so it's heavy on the timer bars and waiting things out. Players unlock new locations by replaying the same scenes a number of times in order to acquire jigsaw pieces that combine together to form the new area. In the early stages, this means there's plenty of repetition.

Each stage offers a slightly different take on the Hidden Object formula. Some offer a string of pictures of items that one must seek out, while another mode offers only one image at a time. Then there are items that are color-coded, offering different bonuses depending on what's involved. Ultimately though, the format is the same - seek out the item and tap on it.

Many of the items are quite small, so Enigma Express is a game that's going to be zoomed in a lot on the iPhone. Given it offers quite pleasant graphics that's a bit of a shame, but it's the only way that one has much chance of succeeding. There's a fairly generous Hints button to help out, too.

The problem with Enigma Express is its many restrictive elements. There's an energy bar so one can only take so many turns during a single session. One also has to wait it out for new areas to open up under the guise of waiting for train tracks to build. There's certainly a lot to do within Enigma Express but it's so trickle-fed that it's frustrating to have to wait things out or pay up to buy some energy. Recruiting friends helps somewhat, but it's still typical of the freemium concept.

Such restrictions means that Enigma Express isn't as fun as it should be. While the key elements might be there, it's all too slow and frustrating in the end. For keen Hidden Object finding fans, there'll be too much twiddling of thumbs.