We just received a press release from German publisher RTL Playtainment along with two screenshots about a new WiiWare game by the name of The Mystery of Whiterock Castle. It appears to be a medieval version of ‘Where’s Wally’ (Waldo), where the player has to search for items in the landscape.
The pedantic among you may have picked up on the bold claim “The Mystery of Whiterock Castle heralds Playtainment as the first German publisher to release a downloadable game on WiiWare”. This clearly isn’t correct as German based Shin'en Multimedia and Snap Dragon Games have both published games on WiiWare already. Better luck next time guys!
Here’s the press release in all it’s glory:
The Mystery of Whiterock Castle Appears On WiiWare This Summer
Cologne, Germany - July 20, 2009 - The Mystery of Whiterock Castle heralds Playtainment as the first German publisher to release a downloadable game on WiiWare™. The classic “hidden object” game developed by the Frankfurt studio keen games, promises to transport players of all ages on a medieval fairytale adventure when it premieres this summer 2009.
The Mystery of Whiterock Castle tells the story of a young knave on a thrilling quest to find his beloved playmate, a princess who has mysteriously disappeared from the royal apartments. Armed with only a sword and a magnifying glass, players assume the role of the young knave who must scour countless rooms and gloomy dungeons in the meticulously detailed settings, rendered with gorgeous hand-painted 3D graphics.
The Mystery of Whiterock Castle offers quick and easy accessibility for the most inexperienced players, allowing players to use the Wii RemoteTM to find and collect numerous hidden objects concealed in ten different settings, either in cooperative mode, competing against other players or in a single player game. With randomly generated objects scattered around the levels, secret nooks and crannies and a variety of multiplayer modes and highscore lists, The Mystery of Whiterock Castle makes for an entertaining adventure that the whole family can enjoy.
Playtainment will achieve a first on WiiWare™ with the release of a title in the successful “hidden object” genre, one of the most popular genres in the casual gaming sector.
“With our entry into one of the biggest online platforms, RTL interactive is paving the way for other German developers in one of the fastest growing distribution models”, says Birgit Hönsch, head of games publishing at RTL interactive GmbH. “We will increase our online presence over the coming quarters to deliver premium download titles to gamers worldwide.”
The Mystery of Whiterock Castle will be available to download on Nintendo WiiWare™ in summer 2009.
Comments 18
Could be interesting, but it also sounds like it might just be a big ol' load of pixel-hunt. I'll try to stay optimistic, as I hope there is more to it than I'm giving it credit for.
Sweetness! Can already tell this could very well hold its own on the WiiWare service. Can't wait to hear more.
Could go either way this one, if its a point and click along the lines of Broken Sword then im interested, if its nothing more than a shallow treasure hunt then im not. The graphics do look nice though.
So you just have to find items? It looks like, in the first screenshot, you have to find nine pigeons. In the second, nine brown books. Go to your local dentist, and shift through their collection of Highlight magazines if you want this.
Its a shallow treasure hunt. My four year old nephew enjoys playing a haunted house treasure hunt game on the PC - this will be like that. Except with less variety it seems.
I don't like these hidden objects "adventures". It has almost nothing to do with my beloved adventure genre. But I do enjoy it at times. So if the price is right, why not?
i cant believe it...who the hell says 'knave' anymore?
@John3714
Highlight?! I remember those from when I was young, but I thought they were long gone at this point. Time for me to find a dentist with better literature.
More on-topic: the fact that the graphics / environments seem to be rendered in real time might offer this game unique qualities for its genre... like better random generation and perhaps a zoom that works more fluidly (maybe even dark levels where you search with a flashlight?). The likelihood of it actually taking full advantage of the possibilities, however, is presumably quite low.
EDIT: and now that I look at it, perhaps it won't be real-time... which is a shame given that those graphics could be done pretty well even with the Wii's power. Also, what the heck does "hand-painted 3D" mean??
Frankly, this has been done to death. Maybe not WiiWare itself yet.
My daughter enjoys books like this; she doesn't play video games though...
@Warioswoods
Yup. I almost got my little niece a subscription to Highlights this past Christmas.
That's crap, when I first saw the screenshot I thought it would be a point & click adventure game, then I read the press release and all my hopes were dashed.
@Warioswoods:
Yep, Highlights is still around. In fact, I sold them a short story not all that long ago. Good luck guessing my pseudonym though.
I've played a couple of "find the object" games on the DS before and have enjoyed them. I'll have to see how the review ends up before I decide if I want this for WiiWare or not.
Hm Lady youre the perfect example for RTLs target group.
So after market analyses the publisher knows already that you will buy it. Congratulations!
@accc:
I was thinking pretty much the same thing. The title sounds good and that first screenshot looks interesting, but then you read what it actually is...
I had the same reaction not too long ago when I first saw Cate West: The Vanishing Files. At first it sounds interesting, but then you look at it closer and you find out how shallow it is.
I've tried out a game like this from a DS demo in the Nintendo Channel (Mystery Case Files MillionHeir) and I'm afraid I really don't see the point in them.
@warioswoods
Hand painted 3d means that the game will have 3d paintings in it for graphics.
i love the "Wii RemoteTM"!!! anyway hope this is good
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