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Character interaction and problem/puzzle solving fill this latest mystery installment based on Agatha Christie’s classic novels. This point-and-click detective adventure, the second on the Wii after And Then There Were None, has Hercule Poirot investigating a case with his pal Hastings as an observer, which creates some entertaining banter and welcome breaks from the prodding and snooping among more than 20 characters and several appealing locations at the Seadrift Island resort.
This case focuses on the murder of an actress and the ending is different from the book. It’s a nice interactive case complete with an automatic journal. Once you begin in Poirot’s office, you must patiently find the tools you need for the investigation, then Poirot lands on site at the resort. Presented pieces provides Poirot perfect pile of points to ponder… in other words, you should probably pick up every item you can find en route to discussing the case with characters and shifty suspects, then note their significance to the case.
This game has some stealth aspects, such as staying in the shadows when following suspects, but most times you’ll be navigating or interacting with objects/characters. The dialogue is plentiful, but it would’ve been nice to choose your simple responses in a different order to get different results. Also more combinations and interaction option among the items you find would provide even more variety, but developers keep your course pretty straight.
Once you’ve gathered the pieces, you always have access to hints and Poirot’s advice. “The Finger of Suspicion”, which has its own unique function in the game, also gives you helpful information, but the sleuthing and solving largely falls on your analytical skills.
The brightness control options helps visibility issues while the selecting the screen edges bypassing the potentially lengthy walking animations and navigation. The witty dialogue boosts the entertainment and balances out any tedious work like finding that last item or talking to every character. A nice game that proceeds at your own pace and won’t break the bank at $19.99 MSRP.
Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB for drug reference, mild language and mild violence. This game can also be found on PC.
