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| | Publisher: Big Fish Games  Genre: Puzzle & Trivia | | | Min OS X: 10.2 CPU: G3 @ 400 MHz RAM: 128 MB Hard Disk: 40 MB |
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Puzzle games on the computer have been around for years (anyone remember Tetris?), but it's only in the last few years that they've really started taking off because of broadband, Flash, and cell phones. While Mystery Case Files: Huntsville (MCF) uses none of these technologies for its actual gameplay (except the free Shockwave demo version that is very limited in scope), according to its producer Big Fish Games, MCF has been a monster hit, with more than $1 million of sales in the first three months and the game still being #1 seller almost everywhere.Looking at the MCF page on Shockwave.com, you can see the positive responses toward the game. However, you can also see the negative ones. The reviews from the public seem to be mixed, earning 3 stars out of 5 on the site, and I would tend to agree. As a whole, the game has a fun feel to it and if you like puzzle games, gameplay is enjoyable and well done. On the flip side, the game does have a few glaring, though largely avoidable bugs, and some people might become tired of the repetitive play after an hour or so. A sleuth by any other name... The premise of MCF is pretty clear: you're a detective who is assigned to solve various cases in Huntsville. You accomplish your missions by finding "clues" in various locations within Huntsville, and then putting together pieces of a puzzle to discover the culprit of the crime, all within a limited amount of time. The process of finding the clues involves looking at pictures of locations that are littered with a slew of random and not-so-random items. The second part of the mission requires you to reorganize pieces of a puzzle that, when completed, shows one of the town's locations with the culprit in mid-sin.Looking at the list of cases to solve (15 total), with the final one being labeled "Big Boss," you might deduce that they relate to each other and lead you to a climax. You might be right. While you do get an occasional odd clue that hints at a bigger picture, and the final puzzle is unique and more difficult to solve (giving the feel of a "climax"), the cases themselves don't provide any real lead-up to the conclusion. However, even though this connection is lacking, the individual cases themselves are still fun to play. I just wouldn't recommend playing them all in one sitting...like I did (don't ask why—I'm really not sure what compelled me to such insanity). Each case starts with a brief summary of the crime. Here is where a bit of the game's polish shows through. The descriptions are cute and silly, with lots of alliteration and pithy phrases. The screen also provides you with the total number of items you are to find and the allotted time given to solve the case. Starting the investigation takes you to the town's map. Selecting one of the locations involved in the case then brings you to a picture of the location. Littered about the image are all sorts of items, many of which seem completely unrelated to the location (some of them are humorous if not downright bizarre; a scythe in a barber shop?). At each location, you are given a list of about eight items, and the list updates as items are found. You are also allowed three hints per case to help you find objects with which you are having particular trouble. Once you've found all the items (and again, these "clues" really have nothing to do with the solution to the case), the final piece of the puzzle is, well, an actual puzzle (by the way, this is the part of the game that's not included in the Shockwave demo; in the demo, all you get to do is look for objects). It's a picture of one of the locations, divided into squares that are randomly shuffled about. Once you've put the puzzle in order (with the help of a small snapshot of the location), you discover who the culprit is. Again, pith and alliteration abound to end the case and compliment you on your success and spectacular sleuthing (and honestly, I'm amazed at how many variations on the words "detective skills" appear throughout the game). The objects to be selected in the image are random every time a case is done or redone. Thus, the game can be replayed, each time requiring you to find different clues. In fact, you may need to replay some of the cases if you can't solve them in the allotted time. For each case (or replay of a case) the clues can be difficult to find for various reasons. For one, some of the objects are old (like a rotary telephone) or things or words people don't normally know or think about (like a nautilus, femur, and honey dipper). In addition, some objects cast no shadows and blend into the background pretty well. However, despite these challenges, the objects remain, for the most part, in the same place every time you revisit a location. So over time, objects will become easier to find. Rather than making the game boring, this bonus actually reduces possible frustration because it balances out the difficult searches with some quick discoveries, and you will need some quickies as time becomes more and more of the essence later in the game.
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