Agatha Christie Death on the Nile Review

Agatha Christie Death on the Nile Review (by Gamezebo) 

Agatha Christie's classic murder-mystery novel Death on the Nile adapts itself to the hidden object game format perfectly, which is good news for all of the amateur sleuths out there.

You step into the shoes of famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot to solve the murder of Mrs. Linnet Doyle, a wealthy newlywed who is killed while on vacation on a luxury cruise ship sailing down the Nile River. All fourteen passengers are suspects, and each has their own motives and secrets to discover.

If Poirot is to get to the bottom of the mystery, he must search the ship from top to bottom for clues, question the suspects, and examine any evidence that turns up in the course of the search. For each investigation that Poirot performs (there are twelve in total), you must do these three things successfully.

In typical hidden object game fashion, you're given a specific list of items to find in rooms that are cluttered with all kinds of sundry and assorted stuff. Only by finding all the items on the list before time runs out can Poirot move on to the next part of the investigation.

That being said, Death on the Nile throws a few twists into the mix. Some of the items on the list of things to find will be special "clue" items that will help to shed new light on the investigation. It might be a letter or newspaper clipping that introduces a new motive for one of the suspects, or an object that turns up in an unexpected place, or even vital pieces of forensic evidence that relate directly to a murder. With each new clue that turns up, Poirot gets new questions to pose to the guests in the Salon, and new items to examine in the Clue Room.

Each investigation ends with a bonus round where you get to complete a short puzzle that relates to one of the pieces of evidence you gathered, such as completing a tile puzzle to put back together the fragments of a letter or photograph, figuring out the locking mechanism to a box, or matching Poirot's observations to the appropriate suspect or image.

The clues are the same each time you play through the game, but the other objects to find in the 26 rooms of the ship are randomized, meaning that it's possible to play the game more than once and have a very different experience each time.

What's particularly impressive about Death on the Nile is the way that the gameplay elements and story are intertwined, which creates a sense of realism and cohesion that is sometimes not as strong in hidden item games.

For example, Poirot's list might say to find the pieces of a ripped up letter in one of the passenger's rooms, which you'll have to piece back together in the bonus round, after which its contents reveal a juicy secret about one of the passengers, who you can then question them about in the salon.

There are also variations on standard item-hunting. For example, you might be asked to find "10 marbles in a jar," which is accomplished by click on various marbles and dragging them into a jar, or "3 teabags in a cup" or "6 roses in a vase" and so on.

Another nice touch is that all items in the room stick to the early 20th-century time period of the books. In other words, there are no televisions, computers, skidoos or UFOs here; but instead you'll be exploring a world of old-fashioned hats, analog radios, fine china, and brown leather suitcases.

Little touches like these make the experience shine as something that remains true to the original Agatha Christie novel. Indeed, there's not much to complain about at all beyond the fact that occasionally a few of the objects are hard to make out, and the bonus round challenges are uneven, ranging from easy matching games with no consequences to taxing logic puzzles.

Overall, though, Death on the Nile is a good bet for detective wannabes and hidden object fans alike. It's hard to go wrong when underpinned by such a great story, and thankfully the gameplay rises to the occasion.

Agatha Christie Death on the Nile Review (by Gamemile) 

Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile - When a Book Becomes a Game

If an elegant detective story by Agatha Christie becomes a game some day, it will surely be a tricky hidden-objects investigation through multiple rooms and locations, with interrogations levels and of course the game will be based on the gripping mystery of life and death.

Actually, this has already happened as Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile, developed by Flood Light Games and published by Oberon Games (one of casual games sharks who gave Dream Day Wedding to the world) is now released at Big Fish Games.

Call it a book, call it a game, or a genuine investigation simulator. No matter how you call it, it fully recreates the high artistic value of Agatha Christie's work.

So, the game begins with the murder of rich heiress Linnet Doyle, who got killed while cruising on the Nile on a high-class ship S.S. Karnak with her husband. Hercule Poirot, who turns out to be in the right place at the right time, is to carry out an investigation and track down the murderer.

In order to do this, Poirot(who in fact is you) will need to sleuth for clues in all the rooms of the liner, and question each of the passengers.

A large percentage of levels feature typical hidden-objects mechanics. You are to find the clues to solve the mystery of Linnet's Death.

Look for the required objects that are listed on the left-hand side of the screen and click them. The item will immediately be crossed out of your to-find-list.

But in Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile the hidden object mechanics is especially tricky. From now on in order to find the clues, you can check different objects. From now, background of each location is no longer a steady picture, but it contains animated elements!

Just like in real life, you can lift a book resting on the floor, turn its pages in order to find the clue hidden behind the pages, or watch the wall clock ticking etc.

Similarly to MCF Ravenhearst, after searching for clues at the usual levels you'll be offered to tackle a sliding puzzle containing a picture that will shed light on a mysterious murder and bring you one step closer to its solution.

Another stage of levels includes questioning the suspects (as every passenger is suspected). On this sort of level, you'll have a chance to meet the passengers and familiarize with their biographies to sort out who was involved in this dreadful story.

Impressive visuals of the game indicate a profound knowledge by game designers and artists not only of Agatha Christie's work, but also the history and culture of the first part of 20th century. Art is just classy and elegant, and so is the sound of the game.

Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile is another hidden objects chef-d'oeuvre that will take its place among such all-time state-of-art games as Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst.