As for the hidden object scenes, they do vary slightly, but not much. There are over 30 different beauty items for each tank, but it still would have been nice to have more. It’s a lot of fun to play, although to be fair, there are other more in-depth fish raising sims out there, like FishCo, or Fish Tycoon. On the whole, it has good production values, complete with polished art, smooth game play, and voice overs during the cutscenes. That’s not counting replay value if you go back and aim for the cup trophies, which easily pushes the game into the 9-10 hour range. It takes roughly 1 1/2 hours to complete a tank with a star score, and there are 3 tanks to complete, so you can expect to play 4-5 hours before you complete the basics. There are no set levels, so it’s all about earning cash to buy more goodies for your tanks. The length is great, although much of it comes from playing the hidden object rounds repeatedly. The screensaver reflects your progress in the game, so you can see the actual plants and fish that you’ve earned. The game also comes with a screensaver, which you can turn on and off from inside the game. A star trophy (given if all three stats reach 100%) will allow you to unlock a new tank, but you can keep improving your old tank in order to earn a cup trophy. You can earn two types of trophies for each aquarium. There are 20 different fish to buy, including lionfish, pipefish, clownfish and other aquatic animals like green sea turtles. Comfort items include lights, air pumps, filters, and temperature regulators (8 for each tank). You can position these items anywhere you like, and can move them around at any time. Items to increase the tank’s beauty include plants, shells, coral, and ornaments (over 30 for each tank tank). The fish gives you hints about what they’d like, shown as thought bubbles over their heads.
Just like in the first Fishdom, there are three bars at the top, each measuring the progress of your tank’s fish, beauty, and comfort. You can use the cash you earn to buy fish and items to keep your fish happy. You can earn extra hints by finding extra seahorses in the hidden object scenes. If you need a hint, you can click the seahorse jar, which releases a seahorse that stands next to a hidden object on your list. Too many random clicks can wake up a school of goldfish that make a mess of bubbles across the screen, obscuring the hidden objects from view.
If you take too long, you’ll run out of air and resurface with less cash, but there’s no other penalty. You have just 3 minutes to find everything on your list. If you don’t click on anything for a while, an item will sparkle to get your attention. The game offers timed or relaxed modes, although the timer doesn’t really count for much. Quick eye rounds give you 15 seconds to find one of three items on a list.
Not all gold rush items sparkle, and some are covered with ooze that makes them harder to spot. There are also special "Gold Rush" levels, where you’re given 30 seconds to gather up as many gold items as you can. Sometimes you’ll be asked to find a number of the same items, like ten Greek vases. Most of the time, objects are named, but occasionally you’ll get a simple clue, like "puts out fires" for an extinguisher. Of course, this makes the game play a bit easier, but since the scenes are suitably cluttered, it’s not without challenge. Things consistently look like they should, so there isn’t too much guess work involved.
All of the items are clearly drawn, so it’s a pleasure to find them. The items are fairly typical hidden object fare, including assorted oddities like sweaters, pearls, guitars, and other things that would probably classify the water as polluted. And you know what that means - it’s time for hidden object gameplay!įor each hidden object round, you’ll be given a list of items to find among the underwater scene. In order to earn more money to build up her aquarium, she decides to go deep sea diving, collecting all kinds of "junk" at the bottom of the sea. Jennifer knows she can create an excellent aquarium, but a lack of cash flow means she can only afford one fish.