When I first got the game, I played a little with family. By the end of the day, it was on a bookshelf and not to be played until this week. With the case still dusty, I played through the game.

I will provide critical analysis to help you decide whether this is a good buy and to satisfy any interest you have about this game as an I Spy remake.  

I’ll look at both it’s flaws and strengths, eventually comparing them and making my score decisions.

Released in 2007, I Spy: Fun House provides the I Spy experience that most of us haven’t had in years. Mixing in over a dozen I Spy puzzles with smaller mini-games, the layout of the game does fit a circus fun house.

So without further ado, let’s jump in!

Graphics: 8 / 10

A strength of the game, the graphics were impressive. The I Spy pictures are very clear, allowing the objects found to be small. Since this is primarily a visual game, the graphics are the key aspect of the game and sure enough, they were done well.

The choosing menu does not have any words but instead contains a 360 degrees panorama of a fun house. Various objects play different games and the entire picture looks impressively made.

On the other hand, the game has surprisingly little depth meaning that there are very few graphics throughout the game. While there is incredibly high quality, there’s very little quantity.

The graphics are 2D with everything being picturesque. The menu looks like a miniature version of I Spy, itself, making it difficult to find the exact minigame you are searching for.

Text during minigames makes directions easy to read and the font used has impressive clarity.

With little to complain about besides lack of quantity, the graphics deserve a 8 / 10.

Sound / Music: 9 / 10

The carnival music played throughout the game provides the proper atmosphere of a fun house. Just hearing it for a few seconds is enough to evoke memories of clowns, tricks, and stunts. That said, they provide the perfect atmosphere for the game: fun and exciting.

The quality of music is undeniable, too. While I absolutely despise carnival music, I could stand listening to it for several minutes due to the clarity from sound quality. The simple music does get repetitive, but it’s easy to stand it. Eventually, I muted my music.

During the main menu, you’ll hear louder, more traditional carnival music. Since an I Spy game requires concentration, the two might seem to clash. However, the designers found a solution for this problem. They played softer music that was still carnival based but heavily toned down during puzzles and minigames. Those I could definitely stand to listen.

While you do not hear them frequently, the sound effects do work well with the game. They are fun and silly but not too childish. They play louder than the music, but that’s only because the music is toned down. It’s less likely for you to get annoyed at the sound effects than the music tracks.

While I would not have expected to give carnival music on the DS such a high score, this game definitely made me rethink the quality of music that the device is capable of and why other DS games don’t have similar quality.

With very little to complain besides repetitiveness, music / sound scores 9 / 10.

Addictiveness: 2 / 10

Within a few minutes, the game loses its appeal. The DS touchscreen can be used to move the picture, since the entire thing can’t be seen at once. This scrolling makes it harder to find individual components and the scrolling quickly gets tiring.

Unless you have some innate joy for searching, the game is not addictive; It’s really just a puzzle to pass a few minutes doing.

While you might get satisfaction from completing one I Spy, there’s 17 more.

The other mini-games are simple and unfulfilling. They’re as simple as grouping objects by whether they are animals or electronics. I did find the Bejeweled mini-game challenging and fun, but that was the only one.  

With little addictiveness, this category rates a poor 2 / 10.

Story: N / A

Without a story, Fun House is merely a collection of minigames. You have eighteen I Spy games spread across six large pictures and several smaller mini-games that only take a few seconds to learn. In fact, the game is so primitive and easy to complete that a story-mode would only have helped.

On the other hand, you do try to collect enough tickets to escape the fun house, except in the end, you can’t.

Depth: 4 / 10

With many I Spy puzzles and other mini-games, the game has depth.

The puzzles often take ten minutes to complete at most, while the mini-games can be played from two to fifteen minutes, depending on which game it is.

The minigames and puzzles, themselves, have virtually no depth. You simply follow the rules and play.

With little else to do besides these small diversions, the entire game will be exhausted within three hours, less if you truly concentrate.

With more breadth and superficial depth, the category only scores 4 / 10.  

Difficulty: 3 / 10

On one hand, the searching of objects within the I Spy games do require a bit of searching. While the game does get easier for a certain picture, there are always one or two that will elude you for a few minutes. Eventually, you do find them all.

The other mini-games, however, are a waste of time and a joke. If you’re older than 10, you’ll likely tire of their simplicity within a few minutes.

Only the Bejeweled mini-game truly grabbed my interest, since it was actually challenging and more fun than the I Spy puzzles, which is sad since I can get that in a simple flash game online.

With very little true difficulty, the score cannot be high.

3 / 10.

Overall: 5.4 / 10

Graphics : 8 *  25% = 2

Sound / Music : 9 *  20% = 1.8

Addictiveness : 2 * 25% = 0.5

Story : N/A * 0% = 0

Depth : 4 * 15% = 0.6

Difficulty : 3 * 15% = 0.45

Sum = Overall Score = 5.35 / 10

This mathematical comparison of important categories leads to a mediocre overall score of 5.4 / 10.

The game had both pronounced weaknesses and strengths. They combined to make a mediocre score. The major problems included a lack of content and difficulty, while the graphics and music were impressive. While the game did live up to I Spy, it’s not that fun for either young kids nor older players. The scrolling makes it boring for kids to look through and the minigames alienate older players. I would not recommend buying the game, but there are a few instances in which you might.

You might decide to buy the game if you:

1. want a quick game that you can beat within a few hours

2. are an I Spy fanatic who’s collected the books and want the unique puzzles depicted in the game, albeit their comparative easiness.

3. love carnivals and want a game with that type of atmosphere, even if the gameplay isn’t too immersive

In these three cases, I Spy Fun House would work. I doubt that any of you have played this game before, but if you have, please share!

As always, feel free to comment!

Thank you for reading!