James Patterson is an extremely successful author, who has penned a number of popular books and series, including classics like Along Came A Spider and Kiss the Girls.  One of his more recent creations is the Women’s Murder Club series of murder mysteries.  The books center on a group of women working in and around the justice system in San Francisco.  The novels have been so successful, that they spawned a television series, and now a hidden-object game from Floodlight Games.

Death in Scarlet was written by Patterson specifically for the game, and stars three of the series’ regulars, but this time around you are in control.  You proceed through the game playing as Inspector Lindsay Boxer, Dr. Claire Washburn, and crime reporter Cindy Thomas.  The game has you starting out as Inspector Boxer, called in the wee hours of the morning to check out a possible homicide at Marin Vista Point.  You discover the body of a beautiful young woman of Asian descent.  Strange Chinese marks are branded on her skin, and a Lotus tattoo adorns her hand.  This seems like a random Jane Doe, until the second victim shows up, with similar markings.  This one is no Jane Doe, though.  You recognize her as the anchor of a local television news broadcast.  Who is behind these murders, and what is their motive?

The game mixes standard hidden object puzzles with other puzzle types to make a game that is more than your standard seek-and-find adventure.  At the crime scenes, Lindsey will often have to solve some sort of puzzle to retrieve a particular piece of evidence pertinent to the investigation.  At Dr. Washburn’s forensics lab, you will have to put her chemicals in order and observe their reactions to trace evidence in order to, for example, determine a blood type or perform a chemical analysis of a substance.  Cindy will have to put pieces of microfiche together and determine which article of a selection pertains to the case.  She will also have to solve word puzzles similar to hang-man puzzles in order to find out pieces of information from informants.  The actual seek-and-find bits are well done, with objects that actually resemble their real-world counterparts, and that blend in well with their environments.  There doesn’t appear to be any penalty for random clicking around the screen, and there is no time limit, so the hidden object sections take on a much more laid-back, casual feeling.

The graphic design of this game is superb, and definitely up there with other popular hidden object games such as the Agatha Christie and Mystery Case Files series.  The objects are well drawn and distinctive, and the character designs are lovely.  The sound is good, as well, with catchy background music that changes based on your location.  The story is top notch, as would be expected when penned by the original author of the series.  The one problem that I had with the gameplay was the long loading times between cases.  This has been a problem that has plagued many hidden-object games that I have played in the past, and while it doesn’t adversely affect the outcome of the game, it does tend to take you out of the fantasy world as you watch the little status bar slowly creep across the screen.  Fans of the series will also no doubt be somewhat disappointed that ADA Jill Bernhardt only appears as an ancillary character in the story, but it’s shouldn’t be enough to put anyone off of the game.  Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet is definitely an excellent example of the mystery seek-and-find genre, and one you shouldn’t pass up.

Graphics:
Gameplay:
Story:
Sound:
Overall Rating:

(6 votes, average: 2.83 out of 5)

 Loading ...