by Jondi Schmitt

Created on: June 04, 2008   Last Updated: June 08, 2008

Women's Murder Club by Oberon Media deserves a clear 4/5 rating. The game brings back an old computer gamer favorite - the point & click adventure.

Based on an ABC police procedural/cop drama show that ran at the end of 2007, the game follows three female characters: a detective, a medical examiner and a news reporter. The game takes the player, as one of these three women, through a series of murder investigations. The murder scenes are revisited multiple times, where the player must search the area for clues, fingerprint the body, take blood samples and a number of other tasks.

Although the show, itself, did not succeed on prime time television (due mostly to the writer's strike) the video game has the makings of a successful video game. It takes the old point & click adventure genre and adds the current "crime scene investigation" trend, equaling a completely entertaining experience.

The game is not for the faint of heart or the easily frustrated. Although the graphics do not show any real blood and gore, the game is based on crimes and murders. Content does deal with blood and death. In order to pick up clues, run tests in the lab and to complete other seemingly mediocre tasks, the player must solve a number of different kinds of puzzles. For example, one murder scene has a clue shimmering beneath a lot of fishing nets. In order to get to the clue and find out what it is, the player must unravel the tangled nets. Another puzzle requires the player to solve a mathematical riddle in order to place the lab chemicals in the correct order to test a blood sample.

The sound design adds just the needed touch to the game. While not at all distracted, the background music and ambiance sounds are reminiscent of many of the television cop dramas and CSI shows - a fizzle when the chemicals mix, phones ringing around you in the police station and the familiar ring of game tokens at the local coffee shop where a counter-top gaming machine sits.

Women's Murder Club is fun and innovative. Even for the gamer who doesn't have much of an interest is CSI cop drama adventures could find entertainment in the game. It requires a good eye, some hand/eye coordination and an inquiring mind. The game mechanics are easy and intuitive, as would be expected with a point & click game. The storyline is intriguing and the game is well worth forking over a few bucks to play it through to the end.

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