I bought the first one and loved it. I've bought this one and love it. I wouldn't class it as hidden object though. It looks as if I might be about a fifth of the way through and I've been playing for several hours so far. This game might be confusing to begin with if you have not played the first though. The help button is great and always lets me know what to do when I get stuck. There is plenty of story and lots of individual characters. You do have to search for things but mainly there are tasks.
I've gotten bored with most hidden object games but I've always liked the mystery case files so I gave this a go. It was really good. I wasn't bored at all. There is a good mix of puzzles. There are some difficult puzzles with multiple elements to them, but you can skip them if you want. The story was good. The visuals are great and I'm not at all sorry that I bought it.
I've played this for a few hours straight now and I still love it. It is a towers game. It is challenging and difficult to get three stars for a level, but you can usually get past most after a try or two. There are plenty of levels, I haven't finished it yet. I like the visuals of different kinds of water craft. There isn't anything I don't like really. Glad I bought it.
This is a gentle game and is fine to play. You don't have to click as much as the farm frenzy type (which I like but sometimes get cramp from). I really like the visuals, the animals are cute and you have to work out what to grow and sell in order to meet the time deadline. More soothing than exciting but that's fine by me.