The Hardy Boys: Treasure on the Tracks

We used to bemoan the lack of point ’n’ click games on DS back when, well, there weren’t many point ’n’ click games on DS. Now fans have plenty to choose from but, alas, few rise to the top, and Treasure on the Tracks merely swells the ranks of mediocrity.

Most of the time you play as the badly drawn Hardy Boys, investigating the mystery of a golden train that’s got something to do with the Russian royal family. The story’s not bad, actually, and chucks in some historo-stuff about the Russian Revolution. But the game’s a pain to play. The interface is massively unhelpful, and minigames are thrown at you with no explanation as to how they work – a bomb-defusing one early on had us gnawing our fists in frustration. And the whole thing feels quite cheap. Yeah, this might be aimed at younger gamers, but surely their pocket money should go on something that’s worth it?

Nov 3, 2009