Mountain Crime: Requital

Mountain Crime: Requital
by Alawar / Stargaze Games - September, 2011

Available from:
Alawar
Big Fish for PC / Mac
GameHouse
iWin
Steam



Someone is killing the guests at a mountain resort, and you could be next if you don't solve the mystery at the heart of this chilling thriller! Take the role of a doctor who's summoned to a remote hotel to tend to a patient, and hold on to your sanity as you discover the first victim moments upon arriving at the retreat. As night falls and a storm rages outside, you'll question the other guests, search for clues and become entangled in a noose that tightens with your discovery of each new body.

To escape with your life, you'll need to scour hidden object scenes for the items you need to open up new areas, crack brain-bending puzzles and read newspaper clippings that reveal the hotel's horrific past. As the picture of what's happening comes into focus, two questions will take shape in your mind: What ties do you have to the hotel? And why did one of the victims claim you are the killer? The answer will shock you! Play Mountain Crime today to discover the truth! For mature players only.

• Two difficulty modes
  
• Map with available actions
  
• Interactive conversations
  
• Fully-voiced characters
  
• Step-by-step tutorial
  
• Walkthrough (Big Fish)
  

Click images to enlarge
 

Mountain Crime: Requital (Adventure-lite/Pop-up)

This is a game I put off playing for a long time because I didn't really like the character designs that I saw on the purchase page. How silly is that? I'm so glad I finally got around to playing this!

There are separate sliders for music, sound, and voice. Usually I enjoy voice overs, but in this particular game, I found them distracting, so I turned them off. Other options include Full screen, custom cursors, and the ability to turn off sparkles at any time during gameplay. We also have two game modes: Casual and Expert. The tutorial is optional.

The HINT button is refillable, and the mini-games SKIPPABLE. Using the hint during the adventure portion of the game will either highlight something of interest, or indicate which direction you should be heading. The hint meter does not discharge if it shows you which exit to take. There is a rapid-click penalty during the HOS.

You will find a variety of notes, diaries, and pictures which give extra story and puzzle hints. The info will go into your journal, but you can also return to these items if you'd like to see them again.

The journal offers extra story, as well as documenting anything of interest you find during gameplay. There are four tabs: Notes, Tasks, Map, and Guests. The map will show both your current location, and where there are actions to be performed.

The primary thrust of the game is adventure, with some pop-up "hidden object" scenes now and then. The devs have handled this differently than any other game I've seen in the genre, having a hidden object scene with a single item we need to interact with. Find the eight pictured items and place them in the circle. This "fixes" the object in question, and we will get an inventory item out of it. These scenes are well-spaced, seeming more like a mini-game than a true hidden object scene -- especially since the items we gather are needed in order to interact with that particular object is. Very nicely done, devs!

Something that I rarely see in these games is that when we zoom in on an area, it doesn't just kick us out of the zoomed scene once we've found what we need there. Once we leave the scene, we can't go back to it (unless there is a note or picture, etc. there), but leaving the scene open so that we can really look at it is awesome - something I really appreciate... as is the fact that we can't return to it if there's nothing for us to do there, for it staves off the "Did I find everything I need there? Maybe I missed something..." moments.

The story is excellent, giving the feeling that we have to hurry, we have to do xx-action before it's too late. There were some confusing moments in there, but everything is explained during the final sequence. The writers took me by surprise, something I can definitely appreciate

Gameplay, story, graphics - all superb. I really enjoyed playing this game, and will definitely replay it

DELETED

This is one of my personal favorites, and even better is that fact that it was high quality as an SE-only... getting rare, nowadays!

Something A Little Different
  

BASED ON COMPLETED GAME

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
It was only on my third attempt that I was able to get into this game. It is slow to start, and I found the early adventure gameplay not at all obvious and generally confusing. Well, there is a little bit of that throughout, but eventually it doesn’t seem to matter much.

SIGHTS & SOUNDS
The cut scenes, of which there are many, use the 3D technique of adventure games, which I personally don’t like. They did a better job with this game than with most, but you have to laugh. The main character’s chest and waist have been exaggerated so much, he looks more feminine than manly. The game locations themselves are all clear and well done. The soundtrack is good. You may find your character’s voice acting a little over the top, but again, it is well done. The music is very good in that it offers lots of variety and is very exciting at times.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?
You are a doctor who receives an emergency call from the White Wolf Hotel. Rushing to get to the hotel, you barely escape a car wreck. Your patient has disappeared, the hotel staff are AWOL, and another guest is dead. Other guests behave suspiciously, there is an escaped lunatic out there, and now the weather has washed away the roads and you are stranded. The more you explore the hotel, the more bodies you find. How are they all connected? That question is never sufficiently answered for my taste.

GAMEPLAY
This is more an adventure lite game, with HOPs and puzzles that punctuate the struggle to find out what’s going on. The HOPs are a little different, in a scene, you will trigger a ring that depicts 6-8 items in greyscale. These make up the necessary components of whatever is needed. For example, a vacuum cleaner, or the items needed to clean an area. They are an interesting variant, but I don’t think I’d want too much of it. The HOPs get harder as the game progresses, with objects in the circle being less obviously a specific thing, so it starts to be more like a fragmented object puzzle.

One weird thing I noticed in this game. If you need, say, a screwdriver, there will be several identical screwdrivers within the scene. And it doesn’t matter which one you click on, it will be accepted. I can think of no reason other than to make the puzzle a little easier, for why the developers did this.

There are quite a few puzzles, not heaps but some, and they are interesting and quite different from the norm. Hint is directional and you have an interactive map that tells you where you have active tasks. It doesn’t let you jump, though, so there is a fair amount of back and forth in a moderately complex geography.

COMBINED IMPACT
Not a bad game. I did finally enjoy it. I dislike the fact that I am still not entirely sure of the back story and how everything ties together. Still, as a DD or for a punchcard coupon, I think it is okay.

I Recommend This Game!

I remember absolutely loving this game, but I can't remember the specifics of the story well enough to enlighten you!