I have to think that the makers of this game, Level-5 Inc., wanted to make a Sherlock Holmes game and couldn't get the rights or something, because how you'd imagine that to be, is very similar to how this plays. However that sounded it wasn't meant to sound bad, quite the contrary! This is by far one of the most original games I've ever played, and I enjoyed the hell out of it for, if nothing else, that reason alone! The game plays basically like a point and click adventure with puzzles thrown in to break up the monotony. Now most games say they have puzzles in them to do something similar, but this game has real puzzles. I'm not talking move a block out of the way to find a button, or having to time when to jump down a corridor kind of puzzles. Like real, legit, puzzles. Like "On my way to St. Ives, i met a man with seven wives…" puzzles. Which is good and bad. These brain teasers are really fun at times, but there were a few i got stuck on and couldn't figure out the answer and had to ask help from a friend, or just look them up online in some cases. Now the game does provide a system so that you can get hints, but my problem with this is, most of the time you have to get to the third hint to even get a clue, because the first two are mostly filler. I mean there are math puzzles in the game and the first hint will be like "Maybe you should do some math man!" and it's like "awesome… like i hadn't thought of that already…" Most of the time it didn't bug me, but there were a few times that it was so redundant i wanted to punch the game in the face. That said, there are very few puzzles that are impossible to get right on the first try. Most of them after you get the answer, however you do so, your brain will click and you'll wonder why you couldn't figure that out yourself from the get go.
The biggest problem with this game is getting from one puzzle to the other. The bumming around town interface is a little less than desirable. Basically it displays one section of the town at a time and you click on everything to either find the hint coins i already mentioned, or hidden puzzles. I feel like a 3D interface would have worked better, or maybe even side scrolling sections would have improved upon this mechanic, because just tapping everywhere on the screen until you find what you're looking for can get old. Who knows, maybe the grass is always greener, because all of this is coming from the same guy who when he gets stuck in a Resident Evil game walks along every wall pushing the X button over and over again until i find what i need. Who knows which is worse, all i know is it got old at times in this game, but not to an unbearable point by any means.
The Story is fine enough. it's your kind of standard, "Big mystery in a little town" story, but with some delightful twists here and there. The animated sequences are pretty top notch in my opinion, and the voice acting in them was pretty awesome. All of my favorite parts, aside from the few really outstandingly enjoyable puzzles, were the scenes acted out by the cast. Really enjoyable stuff. Specifically one about three quarters into the game, it really ramps up the emotion in the game. I was kind of going through the motions until it happened, and then i realized that i found these characters likable and that i cared what happened to them!
Overall the game was pretty good. At best one of the most unique games i've played, and at worst a little tedious. I'd say it's definitely worth checking out!
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