01/19/05 >> Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (PC)

Genre: Adventure / Mystery

 

 

 

 

My first novel by Agatha Christie happened to be And There Were None. I loved the introduction and sat in a Barnes and Noble for four fours to complete the book. Years later this little beauty can be found in national chains like Target, Circuit City, and Best Buy under the PC section. Despite a few flaws, it’s a brilliant mystery game that’s severely underrated and worthy of anyone’s time.

 

 

S t o r y ~

The player is cast into Patrick Narracott’s shoes, an amateur sleuth and boatman who is responsible for ferrying a group of strangers for a three day vacation at Mr. and Mrs. Owens’s estate on Shipwreck Island. A storm arrives after the guests are in the house and Narracott later discovers his boat’s been scuttled. Now trapped on the island and with a storm surrounding the rocky island, he doesn’t realize he’s trapped with a killer who is using scare tactics and out to murder each and every guest until there are none left standing. And for fans of the book who know the story by heart, the last hours of gaming is a complete surprise.

 

G a m e p l a y ~

The game play involves a series of clicks with the mouse on different characters and objects to discover who’s behind the crime and if there’s a way for help to arrive. The puzzles are not exactly challenging but still manage to hold their own, much like finding the materials to make a parachute or opening the secret passage in one of the rooms. Despite the back of the box claiming there is roughly 20 hours of gaming, the story can be finished in less than 10. The package also states there are multiple endings for replay value, but all endings can be achieved by creating a save file in one later point of the game and playing from that file four different times to see them all. The multiple endings are bland and somewhat similar to one another, which is disappointing.

 

 

C o n t r o l s ~

It’s a simple point and click game. Using the middle button on the mouse brings up the save/load game screen while right clicking opens the inventory menu.

 

G r a p h i c s ~

The graphics are outdated compared to today’s standards, but still good nonetheless. The hair on Emily Brent and Vera bother me though.

 

S o u n d ~

The voice acting is well done with several voices actors taking on two characters in the game. I didn’t even know until I saw the credits so that’s a definite plus. The background music fits perfectly for this genre but overkills itself when players have to listen to the same tune from beginning to end.

 

 

C o n c l u s i o n ~

Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None belongs on anyone’s shelf that appreciates Christie and/or is a mystery buff. It’s a good game to play once in awhile because the game starts up even without having to plop in the disk. So either shell out 30 dollars for the game or simply borrow from a friend, this is something you won’t regret playing.

 

 

Game Score

 

8.3

 

 

Reviewed By: Contributed