L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

UPDATED* July 27, 2010

Available:
Big Fish for PC



Join Dorothy, the Tinman, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and
even Toto as you travel through the wonders of the Land of Oz! Go on a
Hidden Object quest to see the wizard and send Dorothy back home to
Kansas. Dorothy needs your help as she journeys through Munchkinland,
the field of poppies, the dark forests, the witch’s castle, and finally
the Emerald City where the companions meet the great and terrible Oz, in
L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!

• Based on a literary classic
  
• Fantastic gameplay
  
• Help Dorothy return to Kansas!
  

Click images to enlarge

Review from October 9, 2010

This review is based on the most current version.

L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (HOG)

This is a story-driven HOG... as a matter of fact, Baum's WWoOz novel is readable through the Main Menu. (Just click on 'Novel')

Choose from Easy, Normal or Hard version (affects the timer and refill time on the HINT button - there is no timer on Easy mode). You will get a speed bonus for finding objects quickly if you are in timed mode, always a nice touch.

There is a tab to choose Windowed mode right on the screen at all times. You cannot access other options without leaving the scene, which will not save in the middle - finish the scene before leaving, or do it over again.

The sound effect for mis-clicking is AWFUL. You can adjust the sfx and music separately, though don't turn either of them off, or both will mute.

Clicking on the name of an item in the to-find list will bring up what the object looks like in your crystal ball. Using the wand will show you exactly where an item is, and it is refillable.

The game starts with a typical hidden object scene, with a list of items for you to find. You can examine photos in the scenes, and they have items that you're looking for (though they may not be on the list yet). As an aside, I do not like the font they chose for the lists - somehow it is in contrast to the rest of the game, making it look cheap.

Next up is find-objects-by-shape. I had a bit of trouble with this one, as I had trouble figuring out what some of the items were... and some of them were VERY well-hidden!

Changing up the gameplay again, we have find-objects-by-category (find x-amount of certain type of object, like foods).

Then we came to the dreaded spot-the-differences. Find 15 subtle, barely-there differences. Ugh >_<

The graphics are not bad, though some of the items are quite hard to find (not impossible, just hard). Glinda has been modernized, and they chose a "normal" voice for her (not trilly or dramatic).

There are a lot of distracting pop-ups during the game, such as SPEED BONUS!!! every time you click items quickly. This wouldn't be so bad, but the letters are HUGE, you can't possibly miss them, and it impedes your progress. Same with COMBO BONUS!! (which is never explained). There are too many "atta-boy"s. If they'd just made them small, it would have been more enjoyable.

Worth trying for yourself, you may be surprised.