[DS] I SPY Universe / I SPY Fun House 2-Pack

I SPY games on the Nintendo DS are now twice the fun with the I SPY Universe / I SPY Fun House 2-game Pack. Players can get double the hidden object goodness with over 50 I SPY riddles and over 200 levels to play.

Each of these games have been previously released on their own but now you can get both for only $19.99. If you love hidden object games and enjoy the I SPY line, you may want to check this one out.

I Spy Universe

This is my favorite of the two and can be enjoyed by a broad range of age groups. I say that because each hint can be read to you aloud and directions are stated orally, meaning that a child does not need to read to play this. The puzzles do range from easy to medium so some are more challenging than others. Another nice feature is the option to use a hint when getting stuck. This helps avoid frustrated little ones.

Your mission is to help the sun shine again by collecting parts for a generator. These parts are awarded as you complete the games in each of the colored quadrants. With the games featuring hidden objects, you are given the item list in a rhyming riddle in true I SPY fashion. You can choose to see the full picture or the hints on the top screen, while the zoomed-in view is shown on the lower screen. Moving the screen can be done via the directional pad or the stylus.

To get enough ‘fuel’ to travel to new puzzles, you must play one of several mini-games. These include matching shapes, guessing the next item in a pattern, making a path between two points, and grouping items. The game is not terribly difficult but I found it to be a good distraction for a few hours.

I SPY Fun House

This game was just plain ol’ confusing. First, you’re told that you need 10 tickets to get out of the Fun House. Okay, that’s already kind of scary that you are (virtually) trapped inside a carnival attraction…with clowns. See? Scary stuff, right? Then you are shown a scene you can scroll through. There are no directions or indicators so you have to just click around and hope you’ll stumble upon the mini-games. Everything is written so the player must be able to read themselves.

The hidden object games, some of which are shown vertically, are more challenging since you cannot use hints. There are also games which include sorting by different properties and repeating sound patterns. Ten tickets will give you access to another mini-game involving sorting. It’s all pretty easy though.

All-in-all I though I SPY Fun House was horribly boring.

I felt like these two games were a mismatch in being paired together. It would have been better if the design and basic gameplay were the same in each. It’s still a great dealgetting two games in one, though, but I’d suggest looking for this title on sale.