There are two types of gamers (actually there are a lot more but for this review we’ll assume two) those who like adventure games and those who don’t. There is a certain brand of person who phines for that “needle in a haystack” feeling that adventure games are known for. Hmm. So the ham radio needs a power source… Oh, of course! This punchbowl filled with orange juice should do the trick. The solution couldn’t be any more obvious. Sarcasm aside, Murder on the Orient Express is standard point and click fare as far as adventure games go with a good amount of inventory-fiddling and errand running thrown in there for good measure.
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| This is an example of the many dramatic conversations you will have with Poirot | Gasp! A dead body! Oh, wait, it’s only a video game |
You take the role of Antoinette Marceau, a representative of the train company and charged with the menial task of assuring the comfort of a short, eccentric Belgian detective by the name of Hercule Poirot (voiced by David Suchet of the television series) on the trip from Istanbul to Paris. Unfortunately an avalanche blocks the tracks and during the night, a rich, arrogant American businessman is murdered in his sleep, much to the dismay of the other rich, arrogant passengers on the train. Poirot is injured in the sudden stop caused by the avalanche and, to save her job, Antoinette must contribute the legwork involved in solving the murder.
The mood and tone of the game is set by the highly wrought graphics and subtle musical score. Room interiors are authentic-looking and the lighting is subtle and appropriate. Character animations outside of the cutscenes however are lifeless, expressionless and robotic. More importantly, characters make few expressions when speaking so you must judge the truth of their statements through dialogue alone. That last complaint sounds nitpicky but let’s face it, this is a detective story.
To enjoy Murder on the Orient Express, you must have an eye for detail, a steady mouse hand, an analytical mind, and a stomach for endless dialogue. In fact, talking is what you’ll do for 90 percent of the game. Conversations drone on through mountains of questions with Antoinette playing the role of clueless cop to the extreme. “Can you verify your actions last night between the hours of midnight and 2am?”
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| Electricity? On a luxury train? Preposterous! | An example of the many blank stares you will see as you play |
The middlegame is perhaps the most interesting as the plot becomes “wide open” so to speak. What this means is you wander around the train searching through people’s stuff and wading through seas of dialogue. Poirot does a great Yoda impression, doling out bits of archaic wisdom but his main purpose is to keep you on track. And by on track I mean you have to gather every scrap of evidence. A cast of a footprint for example must be compared to all the shoes on the train.
The inventory is a bit clunky to use, especially when it comes to combining objects. You have to lift fingerprints by combining three objects. This sounds easy enough until you have to deal with the interface which forces you to start over for each suspect. The whole act is weird and unnecessary and frustrating each and every time you have to do it.
It’s hard to say who that target audience was for this game. Younger gamers will find many of the puzzles completely over their heads. For example one puzzle has you constructing a makeshift telegraph key. If you’re a fan of Agatha Christie novels, you’ll probably enjoy this game but overall it boils down to an average adventure. The puzzles are too few and far between to keep the interest of the dedicated “rope and crowbar” crowd. The “openness” of the midgame is overshadowed by tedious busywork. The graphics do a good job of setting the mood but beyond that there isn’t much that this game does well.
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| In an adventure game, take everything, even if you’re expected to pay for it | Being a company representative has its perks… you get to search through people’s stuff for example |
Perhaps the worst aspect of this game is that you, the main character, do little to actually determine the murderer. Instead you are really Poirot’s minion. The ending and solution inevitably comes from him, with a little input from you. After you’ve toiled through the busy work and collected the evidence, it doesn’t really matter if you’ve solved the case on your own because regardless of what you do, Poirot solves it for you. If Poirot is going to solve the case then he should be the player character. This alone should be a serious turn off for anyone, adventure gamer or not.
Top Game Moment:
TOP GAME MOMENT
Giving the dead guy’s fake teeth to the engineer who “has always wanted a fake set of teeth.” Yuck!
