Dear Reader:

You are viewing a story from GN Version 4.0. Time may not have been kind to formatting, integrity of links, images, information, etc.

The Hidden - impressions

by cortjezter
04 August 2011
GN Version 4.0
Part of Kotaku's hands-on impressions of The Hidden, coming later this year for 3DS:

But there is one other, important feature that sets The Hidden apart from other games on Nintendo's handheld: It's location based. You can save the locations you've played the game in, like a coffee shop you frequent before work, your living room, or your friend's basement. The game remembers the locations based on both the information you save on them and the nearest WiFi hotspot—used only to help the game identify locations, as the game has no online functionality, so no information will be shared.

What the game then does with these locations you choose to save is that it will notify you of later ghost outbreaks in places you've been, challenging you to go back and take them out—and hopefully you can, because they'll be stronger. But so will you. At it's core, The Hidden is a casual game, meant to be played five or so minutes at a time throughout your day, according to the Majesco rep. So going to different locations to play isn't meant to be intrusive, but rather the game is meant to fit into your daily routine.

Because of this location-based feature that's very much an integral part of the game, there's in an inherent Foursquare-esque feel to the game—and that of itself makes the game unique. Social media is something that's interested in where you are, because other people in your life are too. Social networks are interested in attracting people, so they "game-ify" their services, giving you rewards for leveling up and points for checking in on things like Foursquare and bringing more people in on the experience. And because of this, games with this sort of feature set have been seen on smartphones—which are social media hubs and gaming devices in their own right. This is the domain of games born in the iOS era.
[Kotaku]