Developer: Big Finish
Publisher: Big Finish
Year: 2010
Platform: Windows

The follow-up to 3 Cards to Midnight, Dead Time improves things a bit by making the game simpler for non-native English speakers. Rather than creating compound words to find hidden objects on each screen, the goal is to know just find everything related to a category.

Unfortunately, that’s the only improvement this game received. And being a native English speaker myself, I found the challenge to be sadly decreased with the new changes. Given that hidden object games are already not my cup of tea, it was harder for me to get through this one.

It doesn’t help that the plot remains threadbare as we follow the unlikable Jess character through more Tarot reading mumbo jumbo. There are some plot branches that in theory would make the plot more interesting, but given I don’t care two nickels about Jess’s fate, the replay value only comes in the various difficulty levels and not the story itself. The graphics and cut scenes have also somehow gotten worse, a confusing development for a sequel.

If you enjoyed the first game in the 3 Cards series, you’ll probably enjoy this one as well. And it is a nice diversion, especially with a friend. But don’t expect it to blow you away.