Have brain, will solve mysteries

With its Dan Brown approach to historically informed intrigue, and humble touch-screen interface, "Cate West: The Vanishing Files" works a treat on DS.

Although by no means the first squint-against-the-clock game to arrive on Nintendo DS, Cate West brings a touch of class to the genre this coming Friday. There's a Wii version out the same day, we should add, that's kinder to your eyes. However Wii + TV = much less portable. It's the Carry Cate With You approach we most appreciate.

Cate joins a rapidly increasing number of detective games to have flourished almost without fanfare in recent months. The Vanishing Files falls into the Hidden Object category, in which players spot the difference, locate components, replace missing objects, or scrutinize locations for random exotic items to score points. As with "Mystery Stories" on DS, these games are aimed at the female audience - hence headstrong female leads, a la Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan (aka Bones). In this case we have a mystery novelist with psychic powers!

A touch of fantasy and sparks of genuine charisma help elevate Cate West from the standard hidden object heroes. This threatens to nurture that elusive crowd often referred to as Fans of the Series on which to build a successful franchise. And in this post Brain Training Britain of ours, there are plenty of women up to the challenge.

Of course these hidden object games originated on PC as inexpensive coffee-break games, and to be honest you're still better off playing on a nice big high-resolution screen than peering into your dinky DS. Even with the option to zoom in and examine the scenes, objects are often laughably indistinct from the clutter.

But again we have to point out (excuse the pun) that you can't take your PC or even notebook PC to the beach or curl up on the sofa with it. Hence we suspect that this new breed of DS games that require folks to hunt for the tiniest bits and bobs could become rather huge when it comes to the gift giving season just around the corner.

Cate West: The Vanishing Files will appear on Nintendo DS and Wii on 9 October, published by Oxygen Interactive.