Mr. Disguise — Test Your Eye for Detail
Pick out a sneaky thief from a colorful crowd in a charming, adorable app that gives “Where’s Waldo”-type games a stylish update.
What’s the App?
“Mr. Disguise” is a $1 hidden-object game app for iOS devices geared for kids, but with enough challenge and visual panache to please grown-ups as well. Mr. Disguise is an international thief that pulls off heists around the world — which include stealing fog and rain from London, for example — then trots around the globe evading capture.
He’s a master of disguise, though, which makes it hard for authorities to apprehend the clever criminal. It’s up to you to pick him out from the crowd using the slightest of clues as he hops, skips and creeps from international locales like Paris, Mexico, Egypt and other jet-setting hotspots — even a particularly baroque Halloween party.
Tapping on characters in the crowd yields clues to his latest guise, such as “has curly hair” or “is wearing pants,” but the trick is to find him with the fewest clues possible. You can unlock achievements as you pursue Mr. Disguise, such as finding him in 30 seconds or less, allowing you to varying the challenge level of a fairly simple game.
The app is an entertaining, witty take on a tried-and-true gaming genre that takes beautiful advantage of the visual possibilities that smartphones and tablets offer. Mr. Disguise opens with an entertaining, charming animation, reminiscent of the piquant opening sequence of the movie “Catch Me If You Can,” that details Mr. Disguise’s shenanigans.
The game has a lot of attention to detail. Even the characters in the crowd have playful, intricate quirks: there are sailors dressed in drag, disco queens and kings, high-tech pirates, rockabilly bunnies and angry grandmothers with iPods. You’ll wish you could hear them walk and talk.
The game does an admirable job bringing the world in a compact, colorful way, and it’ll pique the interest and curiosity of any kid. The visual sophistication is a lot of the pleasure — it’s appealing and rich enough so you won’t tire of playing it again. It’s even a pleasure to read, simple yet full of verve.
You’ll Like It If…
You’re a parent looking for a charming game for kids. If you’re a big kid trapped in an adult body, the graphics won’t dull your senses either. If you have a soft spot for “Where’s Waldo,” you’ll love this modern update to a tried-and-true classic.
The game does require a minimal level of reading, but children can work through simple clues to find the conniving thief. Some of the characters are hard for very young kids, but a generation reared on cartoons like “Adventure Time” will enjoy the eccentricity.
It’s Not My Thing — What Else Ya Got?
Sometimes you just want to go back to the classics themselves, and luckily, many old-school developers are bringing arcade and board games to smartphones. “Where’s Waldo,” the king of hidden-object games, is available for iOS for $1. The app adds time constraints to the mix for a fresh update. Meanwhile, Atari also brings the simple charm of 80s arcade games to phones.