by JustTheFacts Tue May 27, 2014 10:01 am
Very Original***
IN BRIEF
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
It looks very cartoony, I know. In this case, that’s a plus. This is a fun little game with a combination of gameplay I’ve not seen before, with a light-hearted “story” frame that keeps everything very simple. I love the way this game looks. It is cute in a non-pretty way. Different from anything we are used to. I like the voiceovers speaking some gobbledy gook language, although I don’t understand why they do. I hate the ‘music’. Unbelievably repetitious in the way that only time management games can do – and this is not one of those.
I’ve been trying really hard to resist the siren call of these so-called Free To Play games on principle, but they are slowly eroding my will power. It is clear to me that the very best game ideas are being channelled into this genre of games.
In this case, we live in a city where candy has been criminalised, and we are a detective building our agency from the ground up, starting with cat rescue cases. To play, we must interview suspects, which is done by playing a puzzle game that reminds me of Azkend. You must link adjoining symbols in a grid to eliminate them and accumulate enough of each type to ‘interview’ witnesses.
This in turn produces individual object tiles – for example, photos or maps – that we need to solve the case. Once we have passed this test, we will get to choose 3 questions from a predetermined set to help eliminate suspects. For example, Woman or man? Once all bar the villain are eliminated, you can choose to solve the case by announcing the guilty party.
Some cases are searching for missing things such as a cat or a donut shop. This involves some similar gameplay but also a series of 3 clues as to its whereabouts. For example, more than 3 tiles from the post office. Solving small cases unlocks more serious investigations. As you progress, time limits and/or move limits increase the difficulty.
You do not get to choose the direction your progress takes, or any aspect of the game as far as I could see, except dressing up your avatar and your office. Which you do by spending $$ and candies on it. And of course, there is the provision for buying time or moves to speed up your progress.
I don’t know how far you’d get without money in this one. I found I was failing to meet the moves criteria almost at once. But perhaps with a little practice...
COMBINED IMPACT
Will I play it? I don’t know. But it is worth a look at if you like puzzles and/or detective stories. It is refreshingly different.
_
_
_
_
