Developers G5 Entertainment know their way around an iPad, that's for sure. A well designed interface and some fantastic graphics could cover lots of gameplay sins, if they existed. Happily, Mystery of the Crystal Portal 2: Beyond the Horizon HD has found a nice balance between the casual and puzzle genres, providing some great eye candy and a relaxing atmosphere, along with a decent level of challenge. The first thing that caught our attention was the use of some animated cut-scenes, perhaps a bit too much, since they play automatically each time you begin a game. Having to skip through these extended scenes to get to my saved game was a bit of a drag, but nothing that harms the core gameplay. Objects in the game are well drawn and placed in such a way that they seem completely organic. This is critical for the success of a hidden-object game. Dialogue is not spoken, but is well written, and each area of Beyond the Horizon HD that you explore is a treat. We especially liked the use of motion in almost every level, as well as some nice lighting and photorealism that brings the characters and objects off the screen.

The storyline here is a continuation of the first game, where the young girl Nicole went in search of her father and had some adventures. Her new circumstances make the previous chapter feel normal in comparison, and you'll navigate through a series of puzzles on the way to settling the mystery of his disappearance. The G5 style of hidden-object game is a bit different than what others tend to do. Building a narrative around the set pieces has become almost common at this point, and more games than ever come out with a storyline that follows the player through a series of typical hidden-object screens. What is unique about Beyond the Horizon HD is the use of puzzles within puzzles, where you'll need to collate a series of objects before you can find other objects. There are even some ancillary puzzles where you'll need to repair an object before you can use it. The variety in gameplay is a welcome change from tedious games that are nothing but accumulated screens of hidden objects. The story isn't that important to enjoying the game, but we did like the way that elements from the story are woven into the challenges for each level. When you're trying to accomplish something more than just knocking off the list of objects in a room, games like this tend to do better.

Some unconventional approaches make this a slightly less intuitive game for veteran hidden-object fans. Sure, you're still searching for objects against the background, but there are times when an object you're seeking has to be found by solving a series of puzzles surrounding another object. And, you don't know exactly which objects need to be found in which order... This is a weakness of the game, really. You should have a way to tell which key object is instrumental in you making progress. As it is, you tend to experiment until you find the right object, rather than have a logical and intuitive method for knowing which objects to search out. There is a clue feature that will ring missing objects, but you won't be able to reuse this feature until it passes its cooldown period. We prefer this approach to those where clue points are gathered and used up. Whether I need one clue or six clues, I need some system I can always turn to when I'm stuck. The help or hint system in Beyond the Horizon HD is there when you need it, and makes finding those impossibly well hidden objects much easier.

Some small tweaks made since I last played a G5 game help to make Mystery of the Crystal Portal 2: Beyond the Horizon HD more accessible. First, touching an object that is part of a set will automatically bring up the other objects in that set. You don't have to guess as much about which object goes where. There were still some funny feeling controls around dragging and dropping, but tapping controls works fine. We didn't like that some key objects have to be placed and then tapped, or placed over again in some screens, before they registered. The puzzle sequences where you're asked to repair an object before you can use it are overly simple. Beyond the Horizon HD mostly feels aimed at younger audiences, but there are some areas where even grown-ups will need a hint. It's a nice game that gives fan service to the series, but provides a good amount of gameplay for the money. We'd recommend it to fans of hidden-object games, especially if you like being pushed a bit to solve puzzles as opposed to just tracking down objects.