Still Life

Everybody says you shouldn't let your past control you, but what if you don't have a choice? In present-day Chicago, Victoria "Vic" McPherson is an FBI agent on the trail of a serial killer who has been growing more and more violent with each discovered victim. In 1920's Prague, her grandfather, Gustav, is a P.I. investigating the death and disappearances of a growing number of prostitutes. When she finds her grandfather's journal in the attic, Vic begins to notice some disturbing similarities between the case she's working now, and the string of murders her grandfather was working on nearly eighty years ago. But any similarities must be coincidence, or else the work of a copy-cat. After all, there's no possible way the killer could still be around all these decades later... is there? Still Life is a murder mystery in the form of an adventure game that, for all its ups and downs, is a lot of fun to play and has a great story at its core.

You play with the mouse, clicking to interact when the cursor changes, and clicking on the ground to move there. (You can actually double-click to run, although the boost of speed you get from it is negligible.) During conversation you can press the [spacebar] to skip through a block of text, or the left and right mouse buttons to ask questions. Right-clicking or pressing [ESC] will open the menu where you can use and view your inventory, journal, or save and load your game almost any time you want. Since you're rarely given specific directions, it's important to listen to what the characters tell you, or look around your environment for clues.

Be warned that since this game was made in olden times you cannot skip puzzles, and at least one lockpicking minigame may drive you absolutely insane, even with a guide. Ah, 2005. When puzzles were overcomplicated and gamers wept. In fact, while most of the puzzle-solving in Still Life revolves around standard adventure game use-this-item-here shenanigans, there are still quite a few surprisingly difficult ones.

As both Vic and her grandfather Gus, you'll explore two different locations and two different time periods. The gameplay shifts between them in chapters. Playing as Vic, you'll use high-tech forensic equipment to gather and analyze evidence, or chase down suspects in a 4x4. When Vic stops to read her grandfather's journal when she has the time, the perspective shifts to Gustav, who may have to resort to more "old fashioned" methods of investigation, but has a rather unusual ability that may come in handy as well. While technically the sequel to a game called Post Mortem that focuses on one of Gustav's earlier cases, the game is an independent story that doesn't need any background to be enjoyed.

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Analysis: One thing you can never accuse Still Life of is rushing anything. Even when you wish they would, in fact, since you'll do a lot of moving slowly from place to place talking to people at great length. Fortunately, when the story does start rolling along, what emerges is actually a really good mystery story with a lot of tension and genuinely creepy moments. Of course, you should probably suspect some cheesiness too, and plot points aren't always handled as smoothly as you might hope. The story also seems to assume you're reading Vic and Gustav's notes as they get updated; there's a lot of background information in there on various people that gives some much-needed perspective and insight into the relationships they share with the protagonists.

The thing is, the gameplay is far from bad, but most of the time you're lead around by the nose. If you can't figure out a puzzle, you just can't proceed until you do. There's no way to really mess anything up since you don't have any choice, and it's disappointing that your sole interaction in conversation is simply to click the mouse and prompt the next line of dialogue. If you can't choose what you say, why even bother involving us at all? And this might seem a small nitpick, but why does everyone in Prague speak flawless English with no accent at all? People with the least Anglo-American names you can come up with start commenting on Gus's non-existent American accent, and one woman speaks flawless French at one point for no reason despite never having only spoken English prior.

The tone kind of strikes an odd balance between an episode of whatever your favourite cop television drama is, and a vaguely Broken Sword-ish sense of humour. Actually, it's a bit like what you'd get if you kidnapped Dan Brown and forced him to write an episode of NCIS. Vic makes a great protagonist, despite a tendency to crack some legendarily corny jokes at inappropriate times. It's great to see a female lead that's well rounded instead of leaning towards either extreme; soft and shy, or unpleasantly sarcastic and aggressive. Plus, how can you not like an FBI agent who owns a pair of bunny slippers when she's not kicking in doors or chasing bad guys on rooftops?

One of the best things I can say about Still Life is that the more I played it, the more engrossed I became, until I was genuinely sorry to see it end. Despite some issues with pacing, some cheesy moments, and relatively unoriginal gameplay, it's bolstered by a wonderful cast, absolutely gorgeous environments, a satisfyingly creepy mystery, and top notch production values for its time. Sadly, there's not really any replay value to be had; after all, once you've uncovered a mystery, what's the point in following the same trail of clues to the same ending again? But while it lasts, Still Life is definitely worth a look for fans of old-school-ish adventure gaming with a taste for a good story.

Windows:

Order the full version

Mac OS X:

Not available.
Try Boot Camp or Parallels or CrossOver Games.

Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera

What would you do for the person you loved? What if you found out they didn't love you back? As the saying goes, there's a fine line between love and hate. Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera is a hidden-object adventure that is a grim, creepy, adaptation of the classic story, and is an absolute blast. With top-notch production values and a heavy emphasis on story, this is the game every other title in the genre wishes it could be.

Christine was once a celebrated opera diva, but she hasn't performed in years. Her daughter Evelina is fascinated by her mother's stories of the stage... but she doesn't suspect that the past doesn't always stay in the past. When Evelina receives a letter from a stranger, she awakens to find herself in the crumbling remains of the very same Parisian Opera House from her mother's early career. How did she get there? Who is the mysterious voice that hisses at her from the shadows? And why does he seem so convinced that she betrayed him?

As Evelina, you'll search through the Opera House, looking for clues and trying to find a way out. In most cases, points of interest will sparkle to grab your attention, and the cursor will change if you move it over something that can be interacted with. Like most hidden-object titles, you'll search through scenes for items you need to solve puzzles. Move your cursor over an item on your list to see what the silhouette looks like, or click on the hint mirror when it's fully charged to reveal a random object. If you can't progress, try going back to places you've already visited; sometimes getting a new objective will unlock new hidden-object scenes, or draw your attention to a specific item that could now be of use. Although the puzzles do offer you the ability to skip them if you wait long enough, Evelina's journal keeps track of valuable clues you might be able to use to solve them.

Analysis: While we tend to see a lot of games with horror themes, most casual releases seem to shy away from making them serious about it. They try to lighten things up with corny dialogue or other humour. But while it's not what you would call outright scary, Phantom of the Opera takes the whole experience seriously, and sets out to engross you in the story and raise the hairs on the back of your neck. At its core, this is a story about what happens when love turns into obsession, and the desire to posses something no matter who you destroy in the process. The narrative is revealed in the notes Evelina finds laying around, and the flashbacks that are presented when the Phantom appears.

Phantom of the Opera is no slouch in its presentation, either. The environments are incredibly well designed, the art work is absolutely gorgeous, moody and full of dark, bruised purples and frosty blues that help complete the atmosphere. As you play, the Phantom rages at you unseen, alternately cursing you and insisting he can force you to love him. Not only is it unsettling, but combined with Evelina's comments as she explores, it makes the whole place feel much more alive and involving by keeping the protagonist and antagonist from becoming faceless, mute entities. The Opera House itself is a great setting, so fallen into decay that it almost seems like another world.

One of the only real downsides to the game is that you'll be doing a lot of footwork. The Opera House and the surrounding area is big, and while the map the game provides probably won't be necessary to find your way around, it can still be frustrating to slog your way back and forth just to use one item, or to resort to poking your head in all the rooms to see if anything's changed. The rest of the game is also so moody that the cluttering of random, unrelated items in the hidden-objects scene, while admittedly a staple of the genre, feels out of place. Aiiieeeee, the Phantom! I must search this graveyard for a hamster, a bulldog, and a parasol, post-haste!

Fortunately, on a technical scale the hidden-object scenes are generally quite well done, and aren't just challenging because the hint button takes so long to recharge. Some of the objects are a bit more obscure than what you might be used to, ranging from specific Egyptian deities to uncommon plants to pieces of musical instruments... and prepared Absinthe. (Trust me, all the sugar in the world won't fix that stuff.) The puzzles you'll encounter are likewise solid, requiring you to both fire up the old gray matter as well as be observant. It's always nice when a game treats you like you're capable of knowing more than which way to put your pants on in the morning.

Visually stunning and engrossing, Mystery Legends: Phantom of the Opera, is one of the best games I've played in a long time, regardless of genre. The ending is a little unsatisfying considering all the build up, and definitely leaves the doors wide open for a sequel. For most players, the game will probably clock in at around four to five hours, more if you take your time; it's a respectable length, but you'll probably wind up wishing there was more to it, if only because it's so well done. At the very least you should check out the demo. You'll be glad you did.

Currently, only the Collector's Edition of Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera is available. It includes a built-in strategy guide, a soundtrack, a bonus chapter, and a digital version of the original Phantom of the Opera book. The standard edition will be available in a few weeks.

Windows:

Download the demo

Order the full version

Mac OS X:

Download the demo

Order the full version