I enjoy hidden object games, usually.

The problem with Escape Rosecliff Island is that, unlike a lot of hidden object games, there is almost no storyline. You don't get to explore an island, pick up tools along the way, find hidden object scenes and solve puzzles to advance like a lot of the popular hidden object games. You just pick a scene, find some objects, go to the next one, find some objects. Every once in a while, you break up the endless monotony with an extremely simple puzzle; such as, matching cards and word searches. After finishing the end-level puzzle (word search, match-3, etc.) you receive a tool to help you escape the island.

I tried to push through, until I realized that you start revisiting scenes. After that, I just couldn't take anymore.

Maybe, I skipped a cut scene? All I know is that I have no idea why I was on the island. The puzzles are flat and boring and I have no hope that the ending would do this game any justice.

I wish I could recommend this game, but I can't. Not even for the price of 5 dollars.

Apparently the plot states that you have been shipwrecked on Rosecliff Island, and your task is to collect items to help you escape. There is no explanation as to who the previous resident(s) of the island were, or why the island is now deserted. There is no dialogue with NPCs, no narration, nothing. The gameplay consists of you bouncing from one hidden object scene to the next, and as you finish a "level," you complete a simple "puzzle" game such as a word search or matching tiles. Upon completion of the puzzle games, you are rewarded an item to assist in your escape, such as a bucket or a stack of wood. As you progress along, you begin to see the same hidden object scenes again... and again... and again. As much as I enjoy hidden object games, even I found myself overwhelmed with mind-numbing boredom.

On the plus side, the artwork is nice, with the hidden object scenes not being overly cluttered, and the items were often cleverly hidden.

Verdict: Don't spend 5 dollars for this game unless you happen to enjoy visiting the same hidden object scenes over and over. If so, buy it if it is on sale for 90 percent off.

This is the worst hidden object game I've ever played. It's unimaginative and the same scenes are repeated over and over. I went through this one thinking it had to get better, or it was going to have a great ending -- nope. Complete waste of time and money. The horrifying thing is that two more entries were spawned in this series that are carbon copies with new scenes. Wow!

I have over 700 games in my Steam account, and the vast majority of them are still unplayed. So now I'm dedicating an hour to each of these games and writing a series of One Hour Reviews. An hour isn't very long to judge a game on, so think of this as more of a first impression, and take this review in the spirit in which it's given. Be sure to read other reviews from players who have spent more time in the game.

One Hour Reviews #58 - Escape Rosecliff Island

An unexpected storm has left you shipwrecked on a mysterious and remote private island. Seek & Find hidden objects and solve puzzles to escape!

That intro right there is the entire story to Escape Rosecliff Island. Hope you enjoyed it. Because from here on out your sole purpose in this game is to hunt for hidden objects.

The game is broken up into levels, and each level consists of scenes which you have to clear by finding all of the hidden objects. Each scene can also contain hidden locks, which aren't necessary to pass the level, but if you find enough of them you can unlock a couple of other mini games.

At the end of each level, you do get a reprieve from hunting for hidden objects by doing a final puzzle. Each level also has a time limit, although it's a pretty generous one, and you can turn that off in the options. If you get stuck, you can click for hints to help you out. They are limited, but there's an option for unlimited hints if you want an even more casual experience.

My Mom has these crossword puzzle books in her bathroom. When you crack one open, you know exactly what you're gonna get. Pages and pages of crossword puzzles. You solve one, and move on to the next one, and then the one after that. Escape Rosecliff Island feels like the hidden object version of that crossword puzzle book. If that's all you are looking for, then you're gonna be fine with this game. But if you were looking for something more, then I suggest you keep looking.

I can't fault Rosecliff Island for what it offers, but neither can I recommend it when there are much better hidden object games out there.

So I'm not an hidden object game aficionado. This is only the second one I've played. Anyway, the number one reason why I'm not recommending this is the ridiculous amount of repetition. Each of the 25 puzzle locations has in the neighborhood of 50-70 hidden objects in them. In the main mode, you visit each of them by level 15 but then are forced to play 10 more levels (of multiple locations each) to get to the end. I think the justification for the repetition is that you search for 10 objects at a time per location but since the objects are also repeated across locations it just feels even more repetitious. Secondly, the threadbare "story." Each level, after searching several locations on the island, you collect an item to help you get to the end of the game. SPOILER However, you get to the end of the game after collecting 25 escape objects to be told you only need 9 of them :( All that repetition for nothing. Other that that, after each level you get to do a simple game mode like card matching, match 3, word search, or some jigsaw type ones. These are just ok. You can unlock a mode where you get to do 15 levels of match three, but that was the least fun type. Now on the plus side, the hidden objects are well placed within the locations and there was some fun word play in the clues sometimes. Also, I did enjoy the simple final escape puzzle. I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed the Unlimited Seek and Find mode that you can unlock. Contrary to what I expected in this mode, you get to find every available item at a location (which like I said seemed to be in the 50-70 item range.) I played through the game twice because I knew I wanted to write a review, but otherwise I only would have played through it once. BOTTOM LINE: For half the price, Season of Mystery: The Cherry Blossom Murders is a better hidden object game buy. It has an actual story and less repetition and Steam achievements. However, if you're going by game time alone, Escape from Rosecliff Island forces you to spend much more time on it.

Unfortunately this game DOESN'T WORK FOR MACs anymore. while you can go about contacting popcap for an updateded replacement, STEAM IS STUPID and doesn't want to fix this. So if your considering this game and play on mac don't do it....

While it was working its a basic hidden item game with some mini-games between 'missions' to keep it moving a bit, nothing new to the gendre but isn't bad for what it is, just don't expect anything outside of the normal cookie cutter

Overall, this is a fine Hidden Object game. However, it is EXTREMELY padded with repetition. You have to find objects in each scene probably 10-15 times before you complete the game.

There is no story, which is fine in my opinion. And once you do complete all 25 levels, there is a nice ending sequence where you put your boat back together.

I have to say, they made the game about 4 times as long as it should have been. No one plays these games for the "value per dollar", do they?

This game has many repeated backgrounds. Only other puzzles are match 3 games, which are better featured in many other games. I wouldn't pay more than a dollar for this and that's pushing it as well.

While I did finish the story mode of Escape Rosecliff Island completely, and did have a fair amount of fun with the concept of searching for objects hidden where you'd expect them least, the game very, very quickly became very redundant.

In my opinion, searching for 80 objects in one level (the highest amount you'll have to find) is just too much. There's 25 levels, and on average, you'll have to go through 4 or 5 different places to look for objects.

One small highlight, however, was the finding of all 50 locks, which would then permit to play the bonus games, as well as looking for all the objects in every of the 25 pictures. With well over 2000 objects to find, it will definitely take some time - and I took this time to find all of them without taking hints.

Still, I wouldn't really recommend this game, unless you have great patience and tolerance for redundant gameplay and repetitive actions. I purchased this game in a bundle of Popcap games, which in my opinion is the only way you should get a hold of a copy of this game.

Pretty lame, even for a Hidden Object game.