Murder mysteries
always go down
quite well with me,
and this game had
me whipping out my
magnifying glass
and forensic kit.
One whipping-out later and I
was scurrying off to Dundee
Manor where the heinous crime
had been committed. Naturally
enough I had my official Angela
Lansbury hints 'n' tips book
tucked in my back pocket!
The victim was one Philip
Stowe who was only at the
manor to celebrate his
engagement to Emily, the
daughter of Major Dundee.
There's no mucking about in this
game as there's the deadly
serious matter of murder to look
into, so without so much as an
"'ello, 'ello, 'ello, what have we
here then?" you're straight on
the case, sniffing around the
place for clues and interviewing
potential murderers.
Dundee Manor and its
grounds are large, and the
guests (suspects) are numerous.
After interrogating, erm,
questioning a few likely-looking people you'll
start to get an idea of
who was where when the
dastardly deed took place,
and who might have had a
motive for bumping the old boy
off. With a bit of careful
searching, you'll also begin to
collect evidence from the
locations you visit. Whodunnits
often stand or fall on how well
the character interaction is
handled, and also on
how clever the author
has been in hiding the
true identity of the
murderer from the player.
In both cases Jack
Lockerby has done well.
He's made it easy to grill
the suspects without having
to resort to an excessive
amount of detailed
questioning. At the same
time he's managed to keep the
murderer's (or murderers')
identity hidden until the
appropriate moment. You won't
know for sure until you've
amassed all the pieces of
damning evidence.
The trouble with detective
games is that the reviewer can't
say all that much for fear of
giving everything away.
Needless to say you'll find that
not a lot can be taken for
granted and that the plot twists
one way, and then turns
another, to make you doubt your
evidence or suspicions. Was
Philip Stowe really a drug
addict? Did the bullet from
the gun really kill him?
Was the blood on the
carpet even his? You'll
never know unless you play
Murder He Said. It's a 128K-only game and is bound to
give you weeks of pleasure (or
frustration) until you crack the
crime. Oh, and I'd recommend a
few repeat watchings of
'Inspector Morse' to get you in
the mood!