Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders

I love seing Agatha Christie's work made into games. As a big fan of the Sherlock Holmes series (yes, they, too have their weaknesses) and some older Hercule Poirot games, I was convinced this game was for me. While I personally have no quarrels with the style it is done in I must say that the writing is mediocre to terrible. There were times where I just couldn't believe the clumsy dialogues and the nonsense that the characters let off. I didn't expect great graphics, and I certainly don't need them in a game like this, but the writing is essential! ...In this case it's quite disappointing. Aditionally, the "riddles" are very easy (I would say too easy, but that may be different for other people) and the game will hold your hands at all times. This is not to say that that is entirely bad, at least you know when you've found all the clues, but I do like a little more freedom to investigate stuff my way. I don't regret having bought the game for 2.50 and having played it through. But I certainly won't recommend it.

Glitchy - graphics distort, and occasionally the mouse pointer won't give you the "observe/talk" choice. The solution is to quit the game (sometimes close the program entirely) and start from the last save point. Slightly annoying, but fortunately, the game saves after every dialogue and major interaction. There are three types of puzzles: Problem solving, Conversation, and Clues Problem solving puzzles are of the variety found in "escape room" games. Object manipulation, discover secret hatch to reveal a numeric code that will open another hatch, etc. Conversation puzzles consist of dialogue choices, and give you "Ego Points" (which serve no real purpose game-wise) for properly roleplaying Poirot. If you're not familiar with the character or source material, no worries! There are no "wrong" choices, and the game will play out the same. Clues you learn through exploration and conversations can be used by Poirot to answer questions relevant to the case. The first phase of the game gives the impression that these are open questions and can be solved at your leisure; soon after, you will not get them, except in forced segments when the questions are posed and must be answered to continue. Although I found this to be the most interesting part of the game, there are many times when the clues aren't quite clear in relation to the question, and it becomes trial and error. Plot is fine - after all, it does take heavily (but with some differences) from a bestselling book! Get it on sale, if the three types of puzzles described sound interesting to you.

This game is a welcome change from all the other stuff on the market at the moment. I found it enjoyable and really relaxing especially good to wind down to after a long day at work. I hope there will be future games like this as the studio did a really good job.

This game pleasantly suprised me. Instead of your average "collect various things, interact with them on other things" this game focuses on deductive process of the crime-solving, and does it (in my opinion) very well. It is done very Puaroit-style - you observe people and endviroments, you draw conclusions from obtained clues, and sometimes just watch in the mirror twisting your moustache :) Added nice visuals and pleasant music, it is overall great experience. I would really like if Microids/Anuman made similar games of other Puaroit novels. Cons: controls during "little gray cells" scenes sometimes were annoyingly clunky. However, it might be because I use trackpoint, not the usual standalone mouse.

I'm a big fan of Agatha Christie's work - in particular, Poirot. I'm also a big fan of point-and-click adventure games. However, this one, despite plenty of ingredients that ought to make it work, fails to deliver. The 3D animation looks stylish at first glance. After a moment, though, and you'll see the wooden character animations, some really shoddy textures, and some very odd rendering glitches. It also seems highly unoptimized - on a fast PC, it's really struggling to keep up the frame-rate. The story is lifted from the novel of the same name; if you've read it, you'll know the twist already. Sadly, this twist is so obviously rammed in your face as you play this game that it loses any of the Christie 'magic'. The game itself is mostly composed of shifting from one scene to another, trying to solve puzzles that are wholly unrelated to the plot. For example, there are puzzle boxes that require a number of steps to unlock. Annoyingly, it's never really clear whether you have all the inventory items to complete a puzzle. The funniest bit, by far, is the voice acting. Those of us who grew up with David Suchet's portrayal are in for a nasty shock - the Belgian accent is lumpy, inconsistent, and almost mocking. It's the other characters, especially Hastings, who are the funniest: it's almost as if the actors were trying to impersonate a robot, but badly. Towards two-thirds through, my enjoyment dropped to about zero, and only finished it for a sense of closure. On sale, this game might give a couple of hours of entertainment.; at full price, avoid.