I have read most of Agatha
Christie’s mysteries several times each, beginning when I was a teenager. My
mother was a big fan, and so we owned most of her books. I always read my
favorite books many times over, and Murder on the Orient Express was, and
still is, on my top 10 list of all-time great reads. So, I looked forward to
reviewing the Adventure Company’s version of Murder on the Orient Express for
the computer. I’m happy to say that I enjoyed playing the game, but much of my
enjoyment came from the fact that I love the story and the era. Players who
are unfamiliar with the book may not receive quite as much pleasure, as the
actual adventure itself isn’t anything above the ordinary.
As any fan of Agatha
Christie knows, she practically invented the modern British mystery, which
always takes place amongst the upper classes of British society. Many of her
novels were written between the two world wars, before the days of excessive
taxation. Her titled characters could live very comfortably off monies earned
from land rents and interest from stocks, and therefore didn’t have regular
jobs, which left them a lot of leisure time. As England was still enjoying a
strong economy compared to the rest of the world, Britons could live and
travel abroad very cheaply, as the pound’s conversion rate against other
currencies was favorable. In 1933, the train called the Orient Express ran
from Istanbul, Turkey to Calais, France, and many of the rich and famous
traveled on it. The very name Orient Express exudes romance and privilege,
which this game manages to emulate almost perfectly.
The story begins at the
train station in Istanbul, where Mademoiselle Marceau, who works for the
company that owns the Orient Express, is waiting to take charge of Monsieur
Poirot, the famous Belgian detective. As directed by her supervisor, she is to
see to it that his trip is a smooth one. She is a new character and replaces
the former character of Monsieur Bouc from the novel, and serves the same
purpose as the straight man to Poirot’s famous detecting prowess. Players will
direct the actions of Mademoiselle Marceau, under the tutelage of Poirot.
Once the train is
underway, Poirot and Marceau settle in for the evening in the Dining Car.
While they relax, they amuse themselves by observing the fellow passengers and
marking various facts and conjectures about them. Little do they suspect that
soon they will be investigating them in earnest! The train is about to be
stopped in its tracks by debris from an avalanche, and while it is stopped
overnight, a passenger is killed in his berth. As it is unlikely that the
culprit was somebody that boarded the train just for that purpose, and then
left the same way, suspicion naturally falls on the other passengers. Poirot
is inconveniently restricted in his movements, as he sprained his ankle when
the train was stopped suddenly by the avalanche. But fortunately, Marceau is
more than willing to be his eyes and ears. If only she can apply her little
grey cells as efficiently as Poirot…..
This game is a
traditional point-n-click adventure, and possesses all the typical features
such as a large inventory, lots of dialogue and plenty of legwork. Marceau
will spend most of her time in this game stealing, oops, I mean borrowing,
items she finds lying around and trying to find ways to transform all these
seemingly innocuous objects into useful items. She will also spend a lot of
time talking to everyone. She even gets to listen at the doors! And, of
course, Poirot is always there to offer his guidance and advice.
The interface is pretty
simple and easy to understand. The cursor changes to indicate which actions
are available. The inventory holds the items Marcel picks up, and the items
can be combined in a separate inventory window. This is a little clumsy, as it
requires moving back and forth between the two windows to move the items from
inventory to the combining area. This could have easily been accomplished in
the inventory area by dragging one item onto the other. Descriptions and other
details about each item can be gleaned by choosing the item and then clicking
it on the magnifying glass, but again, this is a trifle clumsy and would have
been better handled by using the glass on the items.
At the beginning of the
game, Marceau has to catch Poirot’s attention and introduce herself. For some
reason, though, she is blocked several times by various people who stand in
her way all around the marketplace and station. In order to get by them, she
has to perform mundane tasks. The purpose of this is probably to introduce the
player to the interface controls, but this type of gameplay feels forced and
is somewhat out of place in the story. Thankfully, though, this is but a short
part of the game. The rest of the adventure is solidly in line with the book.
The designers have done a
tremendous job recreating the atmosphere of the original story. All the
characters sound and look just as they should, from the Swedish nurse to the
obligatory Colonel from India. The Eastern European Princess, the English
governess, the loud American, they are all portrayed as one would picture
them. The voice acting is spot on for the most part, and Poirot is actually
voiced by the actor David Suchet, who portrays Poirot in a BBC series.
The backgrounds,
characters and decorative items are very detailed and create a wonderful
ambience of the era. The clothes are realistic, and the furnishings on the
train are, as well. The train itself is drawn nicely, and players get a sense
of really being on a train. I took my first ever train ride two years ago, and
really appreciated how similar this imaginary train ride felt to my actual
train ride.
As in any adventure game,
the players will need to talk to everyone as often as possible, and pick up
everything that isn’t nailed down. The puzzles are either inventory-based, or
are discovered by conversation. Most of the puzzles aren’t very difficult, but
are entertaining enough to solve. They are integrated fairly well into the
story and most of them seem natural, but a few are silly, such as the ones
that involve the train’s resident chef, who seems to constantly require care.
The gameplay is linear and pretty confined to certain areas, and Marceau often
has to cover the same ground again and again to figure out what items are
missing, in order to advance. Periodically, Marceau will confer with Poirot,
who will offer clues on the items that Marceau has found. There is even a
subtle sense of humor, often found in the snide asides from the head attendant
in the train.
The plot is exactly like
the book, but with an added plot element that surfaces in the end. This leads
to an alternate ending from the original story, and is offered by Poirot as a
third possible solution, in addition to the two he offered in the book. This
surprise ending wasn’t necessary, as players like me are playing for the
familiarity of the story and don’t mind knowing the end, and others who
haven’t read the book wouldn’t know the end, anyway. It would have been better
left out entirely, as it feels tacked on.
As an adventure game,
this game is entertaining enough, but isn’t above average in any significant
way. The puzzles aren’t very challenging and most are conversation based, and
there aren’t very many of them, either. The game world is small, and there
isn’t much to do in the game besides talk to everyone and try strange
combinations of inventory items. The game is short, so players don’t get much
bang for their buck in terms of actual playing time.
However, as an
interactive version of a much-loved novel, this game is tops! I thoroughly
enjoyed the entire experience, except for those first few minutes in the
beginning of the game and the added solution in the end. I truly felt as if I
had been transported into the world of the Orient Express. I can honestly
state that if I’m satisfied with a treatment of a favorite book, then that
treatment as a whole must be pretty accurate. I can’t watch any of the Lord of
the Rings movies, because of all the just plain wrongness (my new word of the
day) they possess. There are a few changes and additions to the story in this
game, but they are kept to a minimum. The result is very satisfying to any
Christie fan.
So, this game is hard to
rate. It really depends on the type of player as to whether they will enjoy
this or not. Any Christie fan will, and many adventure players may because of
the historical setting and atmosphere. Adventure gamers who enjoy a good
challenge and lots of puzzles will probably be disappointed, though.
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Gameplay: 7.0
Standard
adventure treatment. The gameplay as a whole is adequately
entertaining, but is short on length and short on challenge. However, as an
interactive story it’s great! Fans of Agatha Christie will be pleased.
Graphics: 8.0
It all looks true
to the time era, the 1930’s in Europe.
Sound: 6.0
Nothing special
here.
Difficulty: Medium
There’s nothing
very difficult, but a few of the puzzles aren’t obvious and will require some
back-tracking.
Concept: 6.0
Nothing new here,
but it is presented well.
Overall: 7.0
Murder on the
Orient Express is a great presentation of a classic book. As an adventure
game, though, it is a little lacking. Whether players will enjoy it or not
will depend largely on the type of player.
