Mystery Age 1: The Imperial Staff (FROG)

Mystery Age: The Imperial Staff
by Digital Quarter - August, 2009

Series links:  Mystery Age 1: The Imperial Staff, Mystery Age 2: The Dark Priests, Mystery Age 3: Liberation of Souls

Available at:
Big Fish for PC



After  a powerful storm threatens your village, your father has decided to  venture out in search of it`s cause. This exciting Hidden Object  Adventure game will have you track down the pieces of the ancient  Imperial Staff to stop the mysterious black rain, and save your father  from an evil spirit! Explore the wilderness and solve perplexing puzzles as you search for this mythical weapon in Mystery Age – The Imperial Staff.

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Mystery Age: The Imperial Staff (FROG)

This is one of the early games by one of my favorite game developers, Digital Quarter. Options include separate sliders for music and sound, full screen (800x600 not supported) and custom cursor.

The HINT button is refillable, and though it fills very slowly, you can make it fill much more quickly by finding eye-shapes on the screens.

Gameplay is formulaic - find fragmented items across two or three scenes, then find 10 each of two different types of items. Some pieces of items are hidden and can't be accessed until you complete one of the other items and use it one of the scene (items found on other scenes can be used on any of the scenes in the segment). Pieces to find are pictured at the bottom of the screen, and will gray out as you find them. The interface is cumbersome, with completed items that you can use going to the side of the screen, thereby taking up valuable screen space, and cutting down how much you see graphically.

Speaking of graphics, they are quite lovely... what you get to see of them

I've mentioned before that I am not a fan of FROG's, and these early fragmented-object games are exactly the reason why. Click on whatever looks out of place, then strain to find the final pieces, which are either colored to match the background, or hidden... and in this game, you may look for something fruitlessly, as it may be hidden until you find a way to interact with the screen!

Because of my aggravation with the gameplay, it's hard to be immersed in the story, which is always something I enjoy. I am going to finish the game for three reasons: 1. I LOVE Mystery Age 2: The Dark Priests , and I want to see how this one ties in, 2. Because I'm very close to the end, thus don't have to suffer for much longer, and 3. Because I have a list of unfinished games, and I want to be able to cross this one off the list. Any one of these items would not be enough to make me want to finish the game, but because there are three reasons, I'll bravely journey on.

This is not by any means a bad game, it's just not a type that I enjoy. The only thing I have left to say is, Digital Quarter, you've come a long way