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Give this one a pass

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 23 / 28
Date: April 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This review is based on only playing the game part way (DVD version). The fact that we lost interest in continuing to play it pretty well sums up my review. There is a reasonably interesting plot and context for the game, but you will want a walkthrough, rather than hints, in order to move along. The navigation is not as intuitive as many other PC games and the graphics can be crude at times. (e.g. when you are walking around it is possible to see furniture or other objects that are only two dimensional. The protagonist is supposed to be "the best" as a detective, but this doesn't correspond to his financial state or his whining approach. Many times the dialogue with other characters is irrelevant - it doesn't matter which choice you make. Other times, the wrong answer means you have to return and/or start over. Save even more often than usual with this game. On my system I was not able to adjust the sound once the game was started, and the normal setting I use was to low to hear the dialogue, hence I had to try to remember to adjust it beforehand.
The game play is OK, but doesn't always make much sense. For instance, Nick can't begin his first day without coffee and you have to puzzle out how to make it without any water in the apartment. The solution did not occur to me because it resorted to a desparate measure out of proportion to the problem. This is a puzzle for the sake of a puzzle, but doesn't advance the plot or occur in a natural way. You can also miss a part of the play, and go through a great deal of the game without realizing you've missed something, until you are inexplicably stuck. The number of things that you pick up is also limited (though a large number), but this means that you have to go back and "drop" things for later retrieval. However, there is frequently no real reason within the plot context to take some of the things to a given location. There are quite a few cut scenes, which aren't badly done, but your actions are rather limited by them at times. There is the familiar puzzle of assembling a torn up document, but the procedure to do this doesn't work well. This kind of thing has been solved well by such games as Law & Order, so it's not all that difficult. Instead they use a cool 3-D representation of the object, which you can rotate, but this feature isn't used in a very effective manner.

Horrible game!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 16
Date: March 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I decided not to listen to the previous reviewer that said that the cutscenes were the worst he'd ever seen and that the game was horrible and I wasted my money!!!! This game is the most horrible game ever and I have played many games and many games that were great and many games that were ok or nothing special. There is no way to bypass the lengthy movie in the beginning everytime you start to play in this "game", which is really a commercial for bayer or painkillers, it gave me such a headache. The cutscenes were choppy and obvious; anyone could have done a better job than that. They should receive an award for worst editing, worst voice acting, worst dubbing, worst acting, worst game ever. If you don't want to listen to reason, get it, waste your money and make them rich. I cannot convey to you how horrible this game is and amateurish and visually backward. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Cheesy. Tedious. Ugly. Illogical.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: February 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I had a lot of complaints about this game.

First, it's one of those where you have to go around and talk talk talk to a bunch of different people. But in this game, sometimes if you say the wrong thing, you lose. Of course, what the game is expecting you to say MAKES NO SENSE! You just have to guess and hope you picked the right thing to say. If not, try and try again.

Second, I thought the 2D photo cut-outs pasted into a 3D computer-generated environment was very cheesy and ugly. The dialog dubbing was goofy.

Also, this game wants you to pick up a ton of things (if you can figure out what and were to pick them up), not all of which will fit into your inventory at the same time. But, you never know what you will need! Why would I think to carry around a bunch of chewing gum--because I might need every single one of them at one point, or I lose and have to go back and do the scene over. Very, very annoying, and not fun at all for me.

The load times were also quite slow between locations and at start-up.

I would skip this one.

Don't bother....

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 10 / 19
Date: February 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is, for the most part, a complete waste of time. Aside from the HORRIBLE dub job on the audio, the FMV sequences are rough, forced, and contrived...The 'puzzles' weren't so much puzzles as much as trial and error with the inventory items...Unless you get this game as either a gift or at a bargain basement price, don't waste your time and money...

Couldn't even finish it

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: October 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I practically live on the computer with this type of game. I am not an expert but just someone who really loves solving mysteries and such. This was one of the worst games I have ever tried to play. I say tried because I never finished it. The dialogs between characters are pitiful and the movement and control of the character and objects is too complicated to make it fun. If you like a challenge then you might like this, but if you just like to have fun (like with CSI) then it's not worth it.

Flawed, but trying

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: April 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is a strange little game that reminds me of Tex Murphy #3 (Under a Killing Moon) in ambition and graphics, but frankly it's not nearly that well written. Or acted. The puzzles are convoluted and obscure, with the solutions being not just tricky but ridiculous, practically impossible to figure out unless you just select items at random. Acting, writing, and translating are all equally hideous and amateurish; it's downright embarrassing to watch the lead embrace his girlfriend, both as relaxed and loving as two bricks.

All the same, I'd love to see them make more. They've got the right idea, and the execution can only get better. But next time, guys, pay for professional actors. And writers. And translators!!

What planet is this softwaare from?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: April 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Clunky interface and static controls make it very hard to get used to and persisitently frustrating. Interesting story, though (and if you like mystery, more the better). I like the video inter-weaving, but the 3d graphics, well (am I just spoiled by the likes of Halo and Max Payne?) truthfully leave something to be desired. The puzzles are way too hard for anyone to ever figure out on their own (I had to cheat, and I like a good challlenge, you know?). I'll bet this guy I know, Dave, could figure it out, he's a puzzle brain-iac...

Challenging & Different

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 19
Date: April 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This turned out to be a challenging & fun game. I would recommend it for young adults and above due to some violence & "cuss" words. I found the graphics very good & after I adjusted to keeping spaces open in the inventory plus maneuvering using the combo of mouse and arrow keys all went fine. I actually inadvertently deleted my game (this is a hazard & hopefully on their sequel there will be a question pop up asking if one truly wants to delete their player name)! At the time I was about 2/3 thru the game! However, this turned out to be good as when I started over the game went along much smoother because I was familiar with it and I picked up more info from the dialogue, etc.

This game comes with outstanding support for the player. There are forums plus e-mail support! So many games only offer e-mail support for technical problems but this one offers actual game help and they are very prompt and friendly with their replies. The forum people were equally helpful. The only other game site that I am aware of offering such great help is Chemicus, Bioscopia, etc.

Besure to watch the credits after completing the game--you get to see the "cast" having fun!

Good FMV Detective Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I absolutely loved the Tex Murphy series of FMV (Full Motion Video) games. And I love murder/detective/mystery stories. Conspiracies has all these elements. You are a PI and you need to solve the case. It has a good ending, with clear hints for a sequel (which I heard they're busy with). The puzzles was sometimes a bit difficult, but if you don't mind using a walkthrough, it doesn't matter too much. The inventory system could've been done better. A good hint is to try and throw things in the dustbin. If it works, you didn't need it. If not, keep it. Either on your apartment floor or in your limited inventory.
The acting wasn't too bad. Some characters were better than others. I liked the main character, Nick, but he wasn't dynamic enough.
The graphics isn't the best either, but the game was made a couple of years ago, so it's excusable.
I gave the game five stars for fun, because there's so little good, detective games, especially in the FMV format, out there. But I couldn't give it five for overall, because it's still not as good as the Tex Murphy series was (and those are nearly a decade old by now!).
If you like detective stories, you'll enjoy this. It's not CSI (which is way too easy and spoonfed clues to you). This is a true, detective, PI story. Enjoy!

Fun Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I really liked this game. Maybe it's just me, but I love the movie aspect of the game, interacting with real people instead of animations. Good story too! A good murder mystery.

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