I'm certainly not a stranger to hidden object games and while I prefer mine with a bit of adventure to them, I occasionally have been known to indulge in a relaxing, more traditional HOG.

Hidden Objects: Mystery Crimes definitely falls under the category of your traditional hidden object game, although it does have a decent story element to it as the game is broken up into separate cases that you need to apply your hidden object finding talents to in order to solve.

During each case, you'll have certain crime scenes available to search where you can find clues relevant to your investigation. Once you locate these items, you'll have to get forensics to examine them before you can get answers. This, unfortunately, takes time, sometimes a lot of time... fingers drumming on the table... foot tapping incessantly... but, lucky for us, we can speed that time up by using gems... and yes, of course, they cost money. Real money. Sigh.

Maybe I'm just a traditionalist. Maybe I'm just getting old. But remember those days when you could just buy a game and play it without having to continuously dish out cash in order to play? Why does every game now have to keep hitting you up for money?

Now some games are alright. They don't overdo it, and you can still enjoy the game without spending a fortune. The add-ons buys aren't necessary to actually play the game. But I don't know... Hidden Objects: Mystery Crimes didn't seem like it was going to be all that fun without cracking open my wallet.

For one thing, it's a game that requires energy in order to play each hidden object scene. And it took about 30 energy every time I played. Your maximum energy is 150... so, I if I did my math right... that means I can play 5 times until I have to either wait forever... okay maybe not FOREVER... but it felt like it... or pay up. Awesome.

And what's worse is that the scenes aren't really that challenging. I plowed through them in about 20 seconds. So I just got a minute and a half worth of playtime for free. Woo.

And the scenes and the objects you need to find repeat. It becomes not so much about can I find the objects, but how quickly can I click on all of them, which isn't really why I play hidden object games.

The graphics themselves weren't bad. Pretty standard with a darker gritty theme that was appropriate for the detective theme... Of course, don't get me started on the whole detective theme... I just feel it is a bit played out is all... And a lot of these new detective stories are just pandering to people who love CSI.

I did appreciate that I could choose between male and female detectives, so I'll give them that. Although to support my CSI theory, I will say some of the characters looked vaguely familiar....

Overall, I can't say I was a terribly big fan of Hidden Objects: Mystery Crimes. But, I self admittedly have a shortage of patience. I don't like games that make me wait, and I don't like games that continue to ask for money just so I can keep playing it. I'd rather dish it out ahead of time and then lose myself in the game for a few hours.

However, if you are looking for a game that you don't need to spend a lot of time on, just a few minutes a day really, you love CSI, and you want to try your hand at investigating some decent looking scenes, then Hidden Objects: Mystery Crimes may be your cup of tea, just don't serve it to me when I come to visit okay?