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First Person Shooters, RPG's, Racing, Simulation, Fighting: These are are the types of games that you usually hear about.
It is rather rare nowadays to find a full-fledge Mystery game based on puzzles and clever thinking.

The premise of the game is that you are a man trying to find his way around the rooms of a mansion. You get to manipulate them as you would a jigsaw puzzle. You even get a few extra things along the way like keys, explosives, ladders, room rotators, teleporters, etc.. There are obstacles in your way such as fires, walls, wooden walls -that you blow up- locked door, and the danger of your own explosives. The game is fun in that it is unique, requires thinking and is rather challenging. The controls are very simple and even for those who don't actually feel like reading the instructions, it becomes self-explanatory.

Unfortunately it isn't a perfect game. The main character doesn't seem to fit with the more cartoony backgrounds and items; he doesn't even seem to blend in with the scene background (Ever seen a guy float on a Cathedral? Yes, it's weird); the character doesn't always pick up objects where they are actually located (Nothing quite like seeing a guy picking up thin air and somehow get a phone). The graphics themselves seem more like they belong with pc games of the 90's, which is only good if you have a weak computer.

Of course, those are aesthetic issues with no regard to gameplay. That doesn't mean those don't exist. For example, sometimes it is hard to remember which sides of your room are open if you constantly move, because the walls tend to blend in. Also, there are bugs abound in the game. The wooden walls (that you're supposed to blow up) can move with your 'rooms' at times and actually end up blocking the wrong room. You don't even need the explosives to beat the first explosive level if you just accidentally move the wooden wall. Another issue is the music. It can get very annoying-there's no variety! Thankfully there is an off button for the main music, but not for sound effects. The biggest problem is that it gets too hard too quickly, especially since many people don't have much practice in these types of games.

Since the game is only 30 MB, fun, free, and runs on Flash - so it won't matter if you have Windows, Mac, or Linux - it is worth getting it. If you have people over, you could even work together to solve it. There definitely is party game potential. However, if you're the type of person that gets easily frustrated with a Rubik's cube or a regular jigsaw puzzle, it might be best to leave this game alone. While a web version is available for those who are Scrooges when it comes to wasting disk space, it isn't recommended for the unfortunate souls who use dial-up or community wifi.

3/5

Learn more about this author, Caren Franco.
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