The second release from Telltale Games' Pilot Program, comes Puzzle Agent 2. Being the successor form the first explorative concept idea, Puzzle Agent 2 has been a very great adventure game. Based on the comic writing of Graham Annable, Telltale bring to life a Grickle themed mystery which takes place at the village of Scoggins in Minnesota. This point and click adventure is based on brain teasing puzzles, and hiding a very well plotted mystery of the hidden people which is being released to PC Windows, Mac, iPod, iPad, iPhone and for Nintendo Wii.

We last met FBI Puzzle Investigations Department agent named Nelson Thethers in the strange snowy place called Scoggins to solve the mystery of the missing people along with the mystery of the hidden people. The story continues on this path since we find our hero still trying to get hold of the puzzle pieces on the Scoggins case. He’s not happy with the outcome and with the Eraser factory being re-opened and its foreman still missing has kept Nelson awake at night. Although he’s on vacation, he will move his vacation location to Scoggins to try to put the pieces together and solve this puzzle once and for all.

The game although it's a pilot game, is very interesting and the music really puts you in the correct mood. The story line is a mix of CSI, X-Files and the plot similar to the movie 'The Village'. Although in 'The Village' the creatures who live outside the village are never seen in the village, in this game, the 'Hidden People' found in Scoggins do all kind of mischief around the village by either sabotaging machinery or other crimes. The game really does a good job in keeping the story interesting and spooky, leaving you stuck with a lot of question of why and how things happen in the mysterious village of Scoggins.

The gameplay controls is quite easy and rewarding. When you left click in an area of the screen the game will highlight any interactive objects which you can either examine or people you can talk to. The game is not just a point and click adventure since it is mostly based on puzzle solving parts. The puzzles, once solved will unlock a part of the story and unveil a mystery. Some puzzles are quite easy being jigsaw puzzles and reading a story to identify the result to big puzzles like codes and shuffle puzzles. If you get stuck in a puzzle, well don't worry since our hero uses chewing gum to help him concentrate and solve the puzzle. When you start you will be given eight gums which can be used in puzzles to give you hints. When you run out of gums, there are plenty of gum hidden in Scoggins. In every screen of the game you will always find some gum stuck to a table or a window. For a help in your quest, the first gum, is stuck to the reception desk at the hotel. Picking up these gums will increase your available hint. After each puzzle you will be rated according to how much hints you used and wrong answers.

The game is very interesting and graphically, it's a new concept which I think will be accepted very well. The voice-over is done correctly and the mix of suspense with the correct music/ sound effects make the game really cool.

Conclusion

Puzzle Agent 2, being the second release of Telltale's pilot program will make a hit with adventure game fans. The correct use of music and sound effects exhale the gameplay suspense experience while keeping the game a bit on the funny side as well. The storyline plot is well built and will surely keep you stuck to what’s really behind the mysteries surrounding Scoggins and their hidden people myth... or not? From the ending it is hinting for Puzzle Agent 3, and we hope that it is coming.