An eager, portly Swiss constable, a jewel heist all too reminiscent of a master thief known once as Raven, a detective famed for shooting the aforementioned criminal dead and a long train journey with mysterious cargo aboard… Either the reanimated Agatha Christie has released a new bestseller, or we have a point and click adventure ahead of us!
After an introduction to the overarching plot, presumably set over all three episodes, we are introduced to our chisel jawed, muscle bound, heroic protagonist. Or not! Anton Jakob Zellner, to give his full moniker, is anything but clichéd. Instead, he’s rotund, jolly and sports a fantastically bushy moustache. Instantly likeable due to his father-like demeanour and aspirations of an exciting life, he finds himself on a mediocre assignment mere days after the copycat burglar has stolen one of two priceless gems.
That’s not to say our bumbling constable won’t get himself into his fair share of shakes however. With a keen detective nose and a penchant for sticking it in a little, ol’ Zellner is determined to help solve the case, whether his help is wanted or not.
Mystery solving comes in two forms, conversationalist interrogation and inventory management. So like every point and click before, you talk to people and combine odd concoctions of items to create a solution. Sound simple? Of course it does! Yet anyone who’s played Monkey Island or other such adventures know that’s way off the mark. A lot of sneaky interactive points and mind boggling combinations later; it can be easy to get frustrated.
Most puzzles are reasonably obvious without pandering, yet some can stump to a point of disbelief! Luckily, the journal keeps track of all your on-going investigations. There is a hint system in place should you hit a wall, however to use the hints, you must first pay points, of which you accrue via solving puzzles or doing something a little extra. Unfortunately, the tips received can often be of little assistance; instead of a resolution to your woes, it has a fondness for habitually highlighting the interaction points. Now I’m all for not getting the straight answer, as having to work through it yourself is a much more rewarding experience, yet for the truly tricky sections, there’s not much help besides plain old Google. Oftentimes after discovering the solution, you’ll also find you knew the answer all along; it was just a case of executing it that was the issue.
Presentation wise, there’s not a lot more you could ask for. Characters are diverse and unique as opposed to the normal super hunks you find wandering about in games; it’s more relatable and engaging because of that. People of all ages and creed are there to interact with; due to the stellar variance in voice work, they’re genuinely engaging.
The graphics aren’t the sharpest about, yet they do give off a welcoming appeal, thankfully objects don’t shine and pulsate a la the old Resident Evil’s, so clues can be easily missed if you’re not being thorough enough, but then that’s to be expected in this sort of game! An engaging soundtrack accompanies the warm visuals whilst not being intrusive; you could honestly just listen to the main menu music over and over!
After a slow start, things do get pacey towards the end with our undeniably likeable constable, it’s almost a shame it’s presented in an episodic format as inevitably, after you’ve completed it, there are several unanswered questions lingering! On the other hand, it leaves you satisfactorily and wanting more! Perhaps on the short side of 6 hours for a first run, replayability is encouraged due to the points system. Of course, with this only being the first of three segments, I’m looking forward to the progression in both the plot and hopefully some more intuitive mechanics at points. It’s great to see a once prevalent genre reappear as if it were yesterday; and for anyone new to the ‘point and click’ saga’s, it’s definitely worth a look.
Reviewed on PC, available this summer on PS3 and Xbox 360.
