Magician’s Handbook II is no exception to the saying about sequels; it simply didn’t measure up to the first game. Yes, the first game–The Magician’s Handbook: Cursed Valley [Game Download]–was a tough act to follow, but this game seems to have abandoned many of the things that made its predecessor so appealing.

Visually, this is a very difficult hidden object game. Now, I love HOGs, but I absolutely *hate* those in which the objects look nothing like the clues. In this one, for instance, you’re told to find a monkey at one point. But does the monkey actually look like a monkey? No, it’s a doll: complete with a dress, human-colored skin, etc. So why the heck call it a monkey? It didn’t even have a tail! (Yes, I’m obviously irritated about that.) Unfortunately, that’s not the only such example.

One feature the first game offered was a “Repel” clue that, when cast (which you could only do every so often), sharpened the resolution and cleaned up some of the visual clutter. This game could have used that spell from the start in every location, at every level. I found myself having to turn off every light in the room to make out some of the objects, and for others I had to do not only that but ALSO play at night just so I could see!

Finally, this game doesn’t have the humor and wit of it’s big brother, “Cursed Valley”. There were times with that game when I’d crack up, charmed by the story narrative. This one is… meh.

That said, it’s a long-playing game (because it takes so dang long to find monkeys that look like dolls, among other things) and it’s better than some I’ve played, so I’ll give it a 3-star “It’s okay” rating. Meanwhile, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the next in this series will be more like the first.
Rating: 3 / 5