Review: Where's Waldo In Hollywood - Waldo Now Hiding On Your iOS Device
by Staff Writer
December 23, 2010
Overview
Waldo, the world traveler, who always ends up in situations where it’s tough to spot him, is now on his way to Hollywood. The classic search and find book Where’s Waldo In Hollywood comes to iOS with an iPhone and and iPad version. He travels around movie sets along with his pals Wendy, Woof, and Wizard Whitebeard, as well as appearances by Odlaw.
Features
The heart of the game is the story mode giving you ten different scenes where you find Waldo as well as different objects he points out. Each page also has the letters of Hollywood scattered about as well as Waldo’s pals, and each one you find opens up a new set of challenges with objects to find. The iPad version features a two player mode as you’re both given a different image to find, and the first to find it wins. Both versions include a vs. Odlaw mode which is the same as the two player mode just versus the computer.
The Good
There is no search and find experience quite like Waldo simply because of the creativity, and style of the author Martin Handford. Every single scene is packed with detail with so many different things going on, and to witness. There is a ton of humor in the situations every character is put in, and the art style is just outstanding.
The iOS version gives you so many different challenges making it much more than just finding Waldo. You begin each page trying to find Waldo, and once found he gives you different objects to find scattered about the scene. You also get to look for the letters to spell Hollywood which is an optional challenge, and you can find his pals to open up new challenges as well.
Wizard Whitebeard gives you different sayings to find objects, and Wendy gives you photos of objects to find, but they fade quickly. You really garner a new appreciation for just how much is included in these images as you need to find so much more. In total each page gives you about 50 different things to find which will keep you Waldo watching for a long time to come.
The physical book version gives you the same objects to find in the form of a checklist on the back page. When it’s a challenge right in front of you right on the page you have such a stronger urge to find everything it asks. The iOS version also lets you zoom in to spot well hidden items, and you also get hints in case you’re stuck on a particular object.
Every image makes a great transformation to digital form, and they’ve been enhanced with some animated objects in the scene. There is also a background soundtrack with a different tune for each image to further enhance the Waldo experience. The overarching story is told to you by voice over, and there are various sayings from each character as you’re searching.
The two player mode on the iPad is really a great addition as you’re both given a different object to find in one particular location of the scene. The first to find it wins, and the first to five points wins the whole match, and it’s a whole new way to play Waldo. You can also play versus by yourself against Odlaw, but you need to unlock it by playing the story mode.
The Bad
Now the physical books give you 24” diagonal view, compared to the 9.7” iPad or 3.5” iPhone/iPod Touch. Either way you’ll need to scroll around the image to see all of it, but that’s much less of an issue on the iPad compared to the iPhone. The iPhone version never lets you appreciate the whole image, and you’re always zoomed in to such an extent it’s just not as enjoyable.
The iPad version has you scroll a little, but at the furthest zoomed out you can see every detail, and you can always get more detail by zooming in. The iPad is big enough to allow for the two player mode, which is a great mode by itself, but not available on the iPhone. Every time you do start the game it gives you a memory alert which is fixed by clearing the apps running in the background in the task bar.
The physical book includes 12 images, but only 10 in the iOS version so two of the pages didn’t get the digital treatment.
The Verdict
Where’s Waldo In Hollywood provides a great search and find experience with such an amazing art come to life digitally. There are so many different objectives to really appreciate so many aspects of the scenes. This book makes a great transformation to the iPad, and is great for fans of Waldo or those who have never seen the books.
Where’s Waldo In Hollywood is a should buy on the iPad for $1.99, but not worth it on the iPhone no matter the price as it’s too cramped.
