Art Heist HD - Stealth and educational gaming

I was lucky enough to receive a promo code for this game, so I'm gonna share my impressions. As a learning tool this is great, when I first started playing I've only known some of the more famous works, but now I definitely know more of them, and I'm sure that as I progress further, I'll be able to recognize more and more. Research option is really necessary, don't start playing the game before you check the section for a specific artist. Each artist has it's own level in a museum and you have to explore to find their works. There is no map in the game so you'll have to memorize the paths you take, because when you steal all five works you'll have to quickly get out of the museum. On your way you'll encounter guards, security cameras, lasers, etc. There is also a Tourist mode, in which all obstacles are disabled, so you can look for the art pieces without worrying about that. The controls work fine, there are up and down arrows on the left side of the screen, together with the steal and shoot buttons, and left/right arrows on the right side. You can also double tap on an art piece to zoom it in. I like the mood in the game, there's a lot of sound*effects, guards even speak things like "all clear", and there are lots of presets for music. You can listen to classical, modern, just environment and turn it completely off and listen to your own music. All in all I love this game, it really has a lot of content if you want to pass all levels, and the developer said there are more coming. A few things I'd like to see: ability to combine arrows for movement on one side and steal/shoot button on the other and maybe make some of the paintings harder to get, maybe trigger an alarm when you take them off a wall, or put them in a safe in a locked room.

If you have any further questions you can ask

Thanks for the feedback madam_octa!

In regards to the map there is a hidden feature in the game. If you see a computer terminal you can press the Action button("X") and it will display a map of the museum. Also if you crouch down near a knocked out guard, that doesn't have a key card, a map will be displayed instead.

Yes Vermeer is the next artist to be featured, one of my absolute favorite painters.

The game sounds wonderful. Downloading now...

Yes, I noticed that with knocked out guards, can't wait for Vermeer

Top 50 in Adventure games
Top 20 in Educational games

Thank you.

I've always loved stealth games--hiding from guards, avoiding searchlights and laser beams-- and this game has plenty of those aspects. I really like the educational component as well. In order to steal the correct paintings, you first need to become familiar with the various artists. The soundtrack is very atmospheric as well.
For some reason the app store is not letting me write a review, but I will keep trying. I want to give it five stars!

Art Heist HD is a really creative game - I like the combination of art education and stealth gameplay. The different music options were a nice touch. The gameplay itself is fun and challenging - tension builds as you try to find all of the paintings in time while avoiding security. I wish the scrolling in "Research" mode where you can look at all of the paintings was smoother - it stops really quickly when trying to scroll and doesn't feel refined. It would be nice to have some explanation/description/history text for each of the paintings to learn more about them. Overall a really neat game that deserves a look, especially if you like art and/or stealth gaming.

Like the poster above, I tried to leave a review on iTunes but it kept erroring - will try again later.

Thanks for the feedback.

I'll submit an update next week with a few bug fixes, Vermeer and additional music options (baroque).

Really great game. I thought I knew my artists pretty well until I started playing this without doing any research... Epic Fail... Most of the time, I would do a Homer Simpson "DOH!" as the real artist would jog my memory, but many times I would just be thinking I did not know their works like I thought I did.

I love the very generous times given - I am not a person who likes games with time limits - obviously in a Thief type game, you can't take forever, but the times within are extremely reasonable, and serve just as a reminder that you can't get lost in the art work, you actually came there to do a job. I was going to make a comment about the lack of a map, but thanks for the tip - I'll look for the terminals. Even though totally unrealistic - I think the only element that I have issues with is the need to entirely back track to the front door to get out. I find myself wishing there was a "secret exit" very nearby the last correct painting I steal, because the back track just seems you have to do it, because you have to do it.... I think my crazy idea probably would upset gameplay balance, but....

The only other thought I had is possibly having some individual information on the various pieces of art within the research area of the gallery.

I like the UI a lot, and thought the controls to be very smooth. Gameplay elements have a nice balance. The mazes can be a bit tricky, and luckily don't feel tedious at all to me, even when you have to back track because you messed up. Most maze games are either too difficult to bother memorizing, or are so simplistic that you wonder why they are there.

This is a really nicely done game. I too am trying to leave a review on the store, and am having problems... Hopefully people here at TA will grab this one.