Chasing Dragonflies

Well, Monsieur Poirot is certainly not having a good night. So far, the game is fairly faithful to the book. I went through an Agatha Christie binge a while back and read several of her mysteries. Murder On The Orient Express was definitely one of my favorites, and I loved the 1974 version with Albert Finney as Poirot. It's early in the game, and so far it's a pretty straightforward point-and-click adventure. I do like some of the quirkier details, however. When the context-specific cursor turns into an ear indicating that you can listen to someone's conversation, it's not just some generic ear icon; instead it turns into a little woman's ear with a blue earring. Hm...after typing that, it seems a bit weird to have a disembodied ear floating around, but that's the nature of point-and-click adventure games for you. Some of the better adventure games will have more intuitive and less intrusive cursor/movement systems. One of the best in this genre was the interf...

The Adventure Company has brought Agatha Christie's Murder On The Orient Express to adventure games. Bringing such a world-famous and well-loved murder mystery by one of " the best-selling writers of books of all time " to life as a video game is a tricky endeavor. Anytime you reinterpret a classic you risk alienating die-hard fans. And, anyone who has read the book knows how the story ends; how can the game hold anything new for Christie fans? Well, I can't provide the answer to that question in this post, but I can say that the developers have added some interesting new twists to the game. You play as Antoinette Marceau, Istanbul representative for the Compagnie Internationale des Wagon-Lits. One of her first tasks is to take care of Monsieur Hercule Poirot, making sure that he finds a seat on the strangely crowded Istanbul-Calais coach of the Orient Express . You play the game in the third person, and the set pieces are beautifully rendered. I'm no expert in ...

Sure, all stories must come to an end, but this was not that satisfying of an end. Characters, the environment, strange phone messages, all pointed to the fact that not all was what it seemed in Saxton for Nigel Danvers. What year was it really? Did Nigel truly escape from the prying eyes of Hadden Industries? But the end scene, for me anyway, did not provide any real insight into explaining what things really were if they weren't what they appeared to be. A good ending is difficult to achieve, and a horrible ending can ruin a story; however, this too-short end game was not enough to erase the days of great play. For adventure gamers and ghost enthusiasts alike, this is definitely a game to check out. What's next? Perhaps Agatha Christie's " Murder On the Orient Express ."

Day Five in The Lost Crown. Well, Nigel's really gone and done it now. Somehow he must make everything right again, but for now, the town has turned against him. Sleepy Saxton was never very inviting, but now, as the gray mist turns into a steady downpour, all I can think of is "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" -- the sedge has withered from the lake And no birds sing. While the story is coming to a close, and the excitement is ratcheting up a bit, the voice acting is going downhill. I can't help but think that the quality of this game would have been exponentially improved by better voice acting. Still, I need to know what happens to Nigel, and what will happen to the rest of the pour souls in Saxton.

A long day and tired eyes are not at all conducive to adventure gaming. I've only played about 20 minutes, but enough to get me to the next day. It's day four in The Lost Crown, and Nigel is getting close to his goal. How will the different threads come together? Will he find the crown? Or will he find William Ager instead? Who's been watching him all this time? Hadden Industries? In the words of the mysterious Nanny Noah: "All will be revealed."

Haunted, decrepit churches are a cliche, but this particular cliche still has the power to frighten this gamer. Day 4 of the The Lost Crown has brought the ever-curious Nigel Danvers to Ulcombe Church. From the very first day, the denizens of Saxton have told Nigel that "not all is what it seems." What is real in the story? Clues pop up intermittently, hinting that Nigel may have left reality far behind when he woke up on the train from London to SedgeMarsh. What year is it? Is that tear in the scenery a trick of the light, or is this all just a fantasy? The end is approaching, but I'm tempting fate too much already by the small amount that I've played so far: Mike is traveling, and there's no way that I'll finish the game alone tonight!

Day three of The Lost Crown, and it isn't getting any less scary. One aspect of the game that is a pleasant surprise from other adventure games: Some areas that were blocked from you earlier in the game became surprise twists in the plot. An old building that you viewed from afar or a picture of a young woman that you happen upon early in the game open up new secrets to you later as the story unfolds. Many of the adventure games that I've played recently have been too short. But this game is long and leisurely; as you wander through Saxton and the story, you also meander through the history of the town and some of its more ghostly characters. Day three -- As with all good stories, I'm sad that the end is in sight!

God, the end of the second day in The Lost Crown was beyond hair-raising. I screamed more than a few times during Nigel's midnight search of the old museum. The use of the ghost-hunting equipment is a terrific twist to your typical adventure game inventory-based puzzles. Not only does the use of various pieces of equipment (EMF detectors, night-vision cameras, etc.) help you to solve certain clues, it also adds to the spooky atmosphere. Knowing that you're walking through a ghost-filled cemetery in the middle of the night and your only field of view is the wavering green video screen immediately before you is chill-inducing. I have to admit, the only way I've been able to play this is alongside my husband. I'm sure I'd give myself a heart attack if I tried to play this alone at night!

Wow, it's been nearly another year since my last posted. I haven’t completely neglected my adventure gaming, but I can’t lie, I haven’t been completely faithful to PC gaming. I must admit, I’ve dipped (OK, maybe more like done a full bore cannon ball splash) into the world of console gaming (I know, blasphemy!). A little bit of Rainbow Six Las Vegas 2 , a dash of Grand Theft Auto IV , a smidgen of Halo 3 . But back to the main event. I’ve started playing The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure by Jonathan Boakes. Boakes , creator of the creepy first-person Darkfall and Darkfall II: Lights Out games, is back to his favorite haunts with The Lost Crown. Only this time, he takes the third-person route. I wondered if the change in point of view would ratchet down the creepiness. If you’re looking to be scared out of your wits, play the first Darkfall game in the dark with your headphones on. Moving through the various set pieces in first person with the various creaks, moans, groans,...