Title Crime Stories Date 03.21.2006 Genre Mystery, Adventure Platform PC Developer The Adventure Company Publisher The Adventure Company

Graphics
MM features classic, semi 3D, polygonal graphics. That is, the objects in the game have width, height, and depth, but you can't rotate it (as to view it from different angles). The graphics are quite simple. No fancy special effects or stuffs. The characters are nicely modeled, the environments look pretty natural, objects are colorful, and the artwork is lively.

Some settings in the game are just so beautiful. Take for example the jungle/temple area. I literally stare at it for a view minute. The office settings, the museum, the house, the street, etc. is highly realistic. Of course, the graphics are by no mean in par with graphics from other action/adventure or shooting game nowadays. But it works, nevertheless. Oh, and because the graphics are not that heavy, it should run fairly well on lower-end PCs.

You'll have to see the graphics yourself to know what I'm talking about. All I can say is, judging by the graphics alone, we can tell that MM is work on seriously by the developers.

Sound
The background music in this game is pretty enjoyable. They fit tight into the game. A gloomy music for a gloomy atmosphere and a cheerful one for the other. All the music is instrumental. If I remember right, there's literally a different music for every place in the game. One for the house, one for the villa, one for the temple, and so on. And every music perfectly matches its settings.

All the dialogues in the game are voiced. And it's a good one. The voice casting in MM is one of the best that I've ever heard. I like Martin's voice in particular. Quite unexpected from a game like MM, the sound is very nice and enjoyable. We can conclude once again that MM is work on seriously by its developers.

Story
Very intriguing. You can never guess what will come next (duh, it's a detective story after all). It arouses your curiosity and will keep you guessing till the end. The story is once again one of the good aspects of the game.

It's not your everyday, typical detective story. In fact, if I may, I'd rather called it a science fiction. Well, it IS. But some fans still consider it a detective story. Whatever.

It all began when Martin woke up from his sleep. Look like he just had one of his nightmares. No sooner than that, Martin got a phone call from his boss. Travis, one of the local cops told Martin of a bad news. Prof. Eulemberg, who is Martin's friend, had just been found dead in his villa. Urgh. Martin got to get going and investigate the case, but first, he had to sort some business.

The story of Martin Mystere revolts around death, murder (duh), investigation, fear, crime, and of course, mystery. There're a lot of tiny bits of history, trivia, and information on cultures and ancient civilizations. You'll see what I mean. Nah, it's not boring at all. It's actually quite interesting.

I think that's enough of the story. Besides, I don't want spoilers in my reviews. So you better see it for yourself.

Gameplay
The gameplay in Martin Mystere is not so different from other games of the same genre. It should be rather familiar to you. You control Martin. You wander around examining things, looking for clues and anything interesting. You talk to people, get some info, etc. You collect things and as usual "put it in its place". You can combine 2 or more items into one, in order to produce logical solution to the problems you're facing.

That being said, you'll most likely spend most of your time checking every little thing that can be check on. Not only they might suggest possible solution to your problem, they might also give you some interesting information. Sometimes you'll have to search thoroughly since some items are so small that it won't "come into view" right away. And sometimes, what you thought maybe a common item or a simple decoration might be the very thing you're looking for.

In Martin Mystere, you don't work on your investigation all the time. The structure of the game is actually quite simple. The investigation comprises a lot of sub-quests in it. You're going to spend most of your time with these sub-quests. After you finish a sub-quest, you move one step closer to your goal. It's quite simple, really.

Controls
The controls are perfectly simple. You can literally use one little mouse to finish up the game. You use the primary mouse button to check on things, to talk, to move around, and to use stuffs. You use the secondary mouse button to change your action setting (examine - use - talk).

Replayability
Well, this is one of those games that have no replay value so it wouldn't be fair to score it. Anyway, without a guide, you can play MM for a very long time; with a guide, you can finish it in under an hour. You get the idea. Besides, during your play, you'll most likely check everything upside down, from every possible angle, so there's not much to be replayed after you finish the game.

Fun Factor
The game is not that fun enough to make you jump from your seat or sweat all over from excitement, but it's fun enough to make you stay in front of the monitor and play it to the end. Well, it actually differs from people to people, but you should get the idea.

Overall
The graphics are simple and nice, the sound is enjoyable, and the story is interesting. You get the impression that Martin Mystere is a simple, nice game, with nothing being overly done. The developers certainly did a good job there. They worked seriously on this simple game. All in all, Martin Mystere is a nice game that will keep you occupied for a while.

Buy?
Well, there are not many games of this genre out there, so if you're looking for one, you can definitely try this game. Or if you just want some variation and take on something new, Martin Mystere should be in your shopping list.

Game Score

B+

Reviewed By: Contributed