The year is 1937. It's a dark time in the city. Fade Haven has fallen prey to a rat burglar who is robbing the town of its precious diamonds. Is there anyone who can help? Time to call in Detective Pete! But of course, he needs your help. Team up with the super sleuth in Fade: Case of the Stolen Diamonds, a unique puzzle game for iPad by Treetop Games. Can you recover all the diamonds and bring the thief to justice?

On each level, Pete the mouse continuously walks in one direction, turning (or dying) when he hits an obstacle. It is up to you to get him safely to the exit while recovering diamonds the thief has dropped. On each level, anything that is bright white can be faded to gray by touching the screen. When an object is faded, it's just as if it's not there. Pete can walk right through brick walls and bullets and spikes become harmless. When you collect enough diamonds, bonus levels are unlocked, and if you pass all of them you gain access to different game modes.

New mechanics are seamlessly introduced as you progress, and the fade mechanism alone allows for all sorts of interesting puzzles. If you stop fading when Pete is still in a wall, he will be stuck until you fade again. This is great for adjusting your timing to avoid bullets, for example. Or fade the bricks underneath Pete, and he can walk under obstacles. In later levels you get a bunny buddy who you can send to push buttons for you, or drop him into a pit and walk on his head to get across!

Fade is one of those games that takes a simple concept and develops it into an increasingly complex experience. And it does it very well. Many levels take a steady hand and precise timing, and it can be frustrating to know in your head how to solve a puzzle but not be able to translate it to the screen. Thankfully, levels can be skipped and returned to later. The noir style art and music add a depth by giving the game a setting, if not a deep storyline. With it's innovative gameplay and clever puzzles, Fade: Case of the Stolen Diamonds blows a breath of fresh air into the puzzle genre. What are you waiting for? You've got a burglar to catch!

Fade: Case of the Stolen Diamonds Lite

(iPad)

Fade: Case of the Stolen Diamonds

(iPad)

NOTE: This game was played and reviewed on an iPad 2. Game was available in the North American market at the time of publication, but may not be available in other territories. Please see individual app market pages for purchasing info.