Unfortunately, I'm not recommending "Alex Hunter - Lord of the Mind Platinum Edition." The game's got acceptable graphics for what it is. But, it has enough gameplay issues that I just can't recommend it. To wit:

- This is supposedly a Hidden Object Game (HOG). In a HOG, the non-HOG puzzles should be perception-based with some mild logic puzzles of putting together the pieces you have. There are certainly HOGs in this game. But, in general, the non-HOG puzzles are mostly what appear to be heavy logic puzzles. In reality, they're really just brute force puzzles. With a logic puzzle, you examine the situation, figure out the rules, and determine that the answer is X. In these brute force puzzles, you can't do that. The best you can do is look at the situation, figure out the rules, and optimize your moves to try to minimize the combinations you have to try before stumbling upon the answer that works. Very frustrating in a HOG-type game.

- The game will randomly re-activate HOGs you've already done, but give you no game-based reason to go back to that area and see that a HOG has re-activated. The only way you figure it out is when you're stuck and either look at the map to see an old area now has something for you to do there, or wander back through all the accessible areas to see.

- The story is even more filled with holes than the story in other HOGs.

Yes. I got about 8 hours of play out of the game. But, the game is just not good enough to recommend. I suppose if you can find it for a couple of dollars or in a heavily discounted bundle, you could try it. Just be aware of the situation.

Falls victim to the common hidden object game problem where you go places because the map tells you there's something to do there, not for any good in-game reason.

Ridiculous puzzles, like how you have to scare a bird so he drops a tile, then find handcuffs to lift the trap door where there happens to be a gas can, so you can refuel the lawn mower and use it to mow the lawn so you can find the tile, then use the tile to unlock the fountain, so you can get water to make coffee to drug a guard. I play a lot of HOGs, so I think I have a high tolerance for stupid illogical puzzles, but really.

Alex Hunter - LotM is a classical hidden-object adventure game with a little twist.

Gameplay-wise you drag and drop , combine and manipulate various found objects to find a solution for the arisen problems and puzzles. I'd rate it a 7.5 of 10.
The twist of this game is, that you are jumping between our reality and a very mysterious and creepy otherworld.
Soundwise it's just good suspense music and sound. Solid work.Voice acting doesn't sound too bad. So 7 of 10 here.
Graphically it's actually pretty good. All is well designed, I would even say it was done with a lot of love for detail. 7.5 of 10
Storywise it's not groundbraking or stepping up the game genre..but it's a nice and sweet,grim little story. Thumsb up. 8 of 10 here.
Recommended for casual hidden-object gamers and collectors. Price is also reasonable.It also has Steam Trading Cards.

In this game you play as Alex Hunter a private investigator, who takes a case from a long legged dame who strolls into his office after her father goes missing. There is a variety of puzzles and Hidden Object parts so the game keeps moving at a nice pace like a book its a good page turner. Some of the puzzles take ALOT of time to solve and many are very, very, very, difficult. These difficult games can just be skipped, there are hints if you get stuck, and a guide. A good game that you can stop playing anytime and come back to since the map screen has exclamation marks showing which areas have something to investigate.

The visual look of the game is impressive, the scenes never feel dead, their alive with animals moving, instead of just a static image like other games. The music is awesome, and this edition has a bonus feature that lets you rock out detective style.

Rating: 9/10 Value: $7.99

Play as Alex Hunter, private investigator, hired by Miss Patterson to find her missing scientist father. Fortunately this game has nothing to do with the 'Maltese Falcon' or 'The Shadow' beyond that "noire" flare. Takes place in the late 1800's, I estimate, from the crazy inventions and steam powered "science" which inspires today's steam punk. (I really love the elevator.) Action/adventure/mystery all rolled into one. Damsel in distress, rescue her father, stop the crazy "mad" scientist and save the world, what more could one ask for?

Well executed linear storyline with just a place or two that feels "padded". Mostly point and click, but enough hidden object scenes to still be an actual hidden object game. Puzzles of various types and not all of them in the neat little game puzzle boxes. Some of the more puzzling aspects of this game is simply trying to figure out how to do something, or just where an item is. I must point out that I really liked the fact that if the player thinks they need a screwdriver, they really do need a screwdriver and not a coin or bobby pin or some other obsure, does not quite make sense item to solve something. It simply becomes a matter of where is the screwdriver. As far as actual designated puzzles I only remember one as being a down right frustration. Since there is no penalty for skipping a single puzzle, I skipped after about 10 minutes of game time. After I skipped I remembered there was a walkthrough and I could have looked up the solution. C'est la vive.

I hope this becomes a series because I really like the character Alex Hunter. He reminds me of Humphrey Bogart for some reason, that cynical, rather jaded overlook on life probably, or could just be the voice acting in the introduction. Regardless I really would like to go through those previous cases involving fraud, theft, bribery, and murder. Sounds like a good adventure to me.

This game has those hidden/ghost/shape shifting objects so do not miss them, since the previous chapters lock so there is no going back. There is a bonus chapter after finishing the main storyline, in game achievements, and accesible extras (wallpapers, production sketches). Steam also has achievements and trading cards.

All in all an excellent game, and I personally like the pregame music.

I want to give this game 5 stars, intellectually. It had the good HINTs/STRATEGY GUIDE (bundled). It had a MAP feature to speed travel and show you were the next actionable locations were. It had the JOURNAL system that auto recorded all the clues you had seen elsewhere in the game. It had BONUS CONTENT (i.e. "Secret Room", Wallpapers, Audio Tracks) which unlocked when you found enough of the secret mysterious symbols throughout the game. It had a reasonable plot (for a Hidden Objs genre game), good atmosphere/feel, and the Hidden Objects puzzles threw a few Aha moments at me.

However, it felt like just before it hit excellence in most of those areas, it would fall slightly short, again and again. It had a LOT of sliding piece puzzles, which I find personally annoying. The plot didn't go far enough for me to get personally invested in it. The arcade puzzles were interesting, but sloppily implimented ... so I'd have to replay because it was sometimes scoring hits as misses (shooting gallery), etc. Overall it felt like things were being added from a master "to do list" of what games should have, instead of being organically grown out of the game itself.

Missing/Broken Feature(s):
* Achievements in Game (But no Steam Achievements)
* I wish it had Steam collectible Cards, too.
* Soundtracks in Extra Content section: Only 1 of the tracks would play music (with LONG delay)

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars (even with all the bonus features)

So long as you limit yourself when it comes to hints and skipping puzzles, this is one of the best Hidden Object Games I've ever played. It certainly took me longer to finish than any of the Midnight Mysteries, Samantha Swift, or Clockwork Man games. My only caveat is that I'm not personally a huge fan of sliding tile puzzles and this game has several - some of which I managed to solve on my own and some of which I used the in-game hint book or the Skip button to pass. But if you like that sort of thing and like finding hidden objects and solving point-and-click puzzles, then this game is for you, especially if it's on sale. No Steam achievements, but the in-game achievements also give it a little replay value since you're not likely to get them all on your first try.
Rating: 4/5

First: If you are encountering troubles with this game you have to use kompatibility mode and use the XP SP3 setting, the game will run then "smoothly". Often it's the part with the sewers that is causing trouble. Because of the water and steam animation.

The game is graphically beautiful, the soundtrack is quite atmospheric, fitting to the game. The voiceacting of the characters is good. The HOS are easy, while some of the mini riddles are a bit too ambivalent. All in all the game is worthwhile. There are some things that could have been solved in another way, but it's a good HOG.

Pros:

• Beautiful scenes in the game.
• HOS crisp and clean, the objects are identifyable.
• Sound and Voiceacting are fitting.

Cons:

• Some of the riddles (minigames) are nothing more than brute force riddles.
• The game still is a bit buggy, but you can change that (Read first paragraph if you are encountering some of the troubles I encountered.

This game could have been a perfect beginners game for the genre. Also a rarety among those games, the protagonist is male again. This doesn't mean, that the game is perfect as a whole, but it's a good Hidden Object Game, offering a lot of locations, and having quite a few riddles - some of them are a bit strange for the game, but that is a minor issue. The only thing that is souring up the positive prospects are the issues with the bugs, especially the animation bugs - but they are easy to solve, even for people with only a little experience in tuning computers and games. Yes, I liked this game, it was a charm to play it.

I usually don't play these 'hidden object' games, but this one was a very relaxing and also a bit exciting.
The storyline makes sense, some of the puzzle games were bit harder.
There is also a bonus chapter. A bit longer than i expected, that's a very plus to this game.
You can also use hint which takes you to place you need, to solve puzzle or find a hidden object.
Moving around through the map is easy, so you just click the room where is point of interest and you don't have to walk through another 4 or 5 places.
Finding hidden symbols is bit challenging :)
If you are looking for a relax - don't hesitate to buy this game and solve the case, detective!

I really enjoyed the puzzles and story of this picture find game. It was more challenging than I expected and very enjoyable.