And Then There Were None

So, like I said in a different post, I got a new game for the Wii called And Then There Were None. This is a murder mystery type game and it's based on the book by Agatha Christie. Now, to be more truthful, my mother actually bought this game. She's big into the whole "mind" games. I guess she just likes to feel like she's smart or solving something.. I don't know. I don't know why she just doesn't do sudoku, but whatever.

So, I don't really know what to say about this game. I'll give my pure opinion first and then I'll get into a review of it. There was no fighting whatsoever in this game, I'm not sure I liked it too well. It was lacking substance in a lot of places and what you were actually supposed to do at certain parts in the game was simply run around "to waste time." And I'm not even joking. I don't like games where there is no point.

It was challenging in a lot of places and easy in others, and it was even impossible in some places. For example, your character gets poisoned and you have to find the antidote. They tell you that the antidote comes in the form of a cream used for arthritis, so I think maybe it's in an old person's bedroom. Nope... Well, maybe in one of the bathrooms. Nope... Well, maybe the bees have some. What the hell? Yes, you do find the antidote in the apiary on the ground next to a fence. How you're supposed to figure that out, besides plain dumb luck, I have no idea. Yes, it does provide a clue to the end of the story (which is different from the book), but it's totally frustrating and just plain stupid.

(I'm supposed to be sleeping right now, I've got a LONG day ahead of me tomorrow. It's my birthday and I've got a ton of stuff planned, yay!)

Now, the worst part about this game was that the graphics were a flashback to the primortial soup of gaming. It was made for the Wii, one of the most advanced gaming systems, and the graphics look like they belong in a playstation game... the first one. :\ Ok, it's not fair to say that ALL of the graphics suck. The backgrounds are quite lovely, but the characters are blocky and stiff. And it's definitely too much to ask for a little detail. During a dining scene you can hear clinking plates and glasses in the ambiance, but to see food or drink in the glasses is WAY too much work. Here's a screen shot for you.

As you can see, the background is quite nice, but the people are simply ridiculous. Look at the redhead's hair! They can't do better than that?? And if you know anything about the story, the nine little sailor boys are the centerpiece of the dining room table. How ironic.

The general controls of the game are simple. Point and click. The "description" on the pointer changes depending on how you can interact with your surroundings. There are certain times in the game where the controls are difficult, but part of the game is figuring out how to work it. For example, how does one shake the honey off a honeycomb or blow up a life raft or dig a hole or use a manual pump for water, etc, etc.

The storyline is also simple. It's all based around a nursery rhyme. Although, why someone would repeat this rhyme to a child, I haven't the slightest. Nine strangers, 10 counting your character, are gathered on an island. The intended 9 guests are all accused of a supposed crime. The point of the game is to try and find a way off the island before everyone is forced to "pay the piper". The rhyme is fairly gruesome about how nine sailor boys all find ways to off themselves, and each of the characters dies in a way that the rhyme depicts. Choking, oversleeping, being cut in half, etc.

The ending does vary, so it's up to you to decide how many people live or die... or perhaps it's up to one's ineptitude to decide how many people live or die. My overall opinion is this: if you run into it at someone's house or you see it for free, by all means, give it a go, but don't pay more than $5 for it. It's not worth that much.