Marooned 2 – Secrets of the Akoni is a nicely executed hidden object game with a quite a bit of depth.  The story sets the stage as you follow the main character, Macy Black, and her adventures on a strange island full of several twists and turns.  While the story is not one that will have you hooked here, it is the fun and engaging gameplay that will bring you back for more.  Each level consists of a static scene where you must locate a number of hidden objects with the goal of unlocking the one trapped piece that slowly unlocks as you locate more objects.  The controls consist of exclusively using the touch screen to scroll through the current scene and touch items that you locate.  The menus are easy to navigate for almost all ages and the overall control scheme works well.  Games like these are perfect for the iPad since you can instantly locate an object by simply touching the screen.

What gives the game even more depth is the added competitive multiplayer.  In two player mode, you go against someone else trying to locate the set of objects first.  If you find an object, you drag it to your name and receive a point.  While the maps are the same, the objects to search for change making for a different experience every time you play.

For tweens and teenagers, this game is the right level of difficulty to manage.  There are ‘hint spears’ that are conveniently placed throughout each scene in case you get stuck.  I found this to be quite a lifesaver when trying to locate the last couple of objects in a scene.  The younger crowd may have a bit of difficulty not only finding some objects but also understanding exactly what they are searching for (e.g., sceptre).   However, this may create a nice opportunity for cooperative gameplay to strengthen your child’s vocabulary.  Of course, I wouldn’t go as far as to suggest this as a vocabulary building app, but it may have that added bonus.

There are a few technical issues that detracted from the overall experience.  Sometimes it was difficult to find an object based on the name.  This was usually corrected by utilizing a hint, but there are only a limited number of hints you can use per level.  Also, there are a few actions that are difficult to figure out as you progress through the story, but nothing too bad.  Overall, I had a fun time playing through Marooned 2 and I recommend it for any fan of hidden object games.

-MICHAEL STROUD