By Stevie Smith Feb 7, 2008, 16:22 GMT
The home videogame console market has more than its fair share of sporting franchises, epic RPGs, hack-and-slash distractions, and first-person shooter spectaculars, but what about the good old point-and-click adventure?
Review: Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None (Nintendo Wii). Credit: The Adventure Company.
Well, while seemingly a genre long-since abandoned by most console-based developers, The Adventure Company offers up Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None for the Nintendo Wii as a faithful slice of fond remembrance of a time when gentler paced gaming, studied investigation, and subtle perception was all the rage. Based on the popular PC title of the same name, which was originally released back in 2005, And Then There Were None sees the player step into the shoes of Patrick Narracott, an inconspicuous boatman charged with ferrying an eclectic collection of well-heeled guests to a dinner party at a beautiful estate located on the ominously named Shipwreck Island.
True to its name, stormy weather sees the island laying claim to Narracott’s moored launch, subsequently leaving him stranded on the island along with the guests. But, before long, Narracott begins to suspect that the wrecking of his boat was no accident, and those suspicions quickly prove themselves accurate when the guests -- all of which appear to have something to hide -- begin to fall foul of murderous intent. In a race against time, can Narracott put together the pieces of the deadly puzzle before the killer makes him the next victim?
First and foremost, if you’re considering And Then There Were None as a purchase while hoping for blood and gore, frantic action, adult expletives, or waves of hot lead, you’d be well advised to steer clear. Because, much like all the best point-and-click adventures, And Then There Were None creeps along at an almost imperceptible pace, allowing the player to explore environments at their leisure while examining objects, uncovering clues, combining acquired items, and solving head-scratching puzzles as they progress gradually towards a well-earned finale.
And that’s the gameplay key for any point-and-click release, clichéd as it may sound, the player is only ever likely to receive the reward of progression by working diligently and investigating every last nook and cranny for that next elusive clue. But that core point of attraction is, in itself, likely to alienate most of today’s spoon-fed gamers all-too quickly thanks to a gameplay system that refuses to pull the player along like a petulant child. The only way to move forward in And Then There Were None is to conduct an attentive, thorough and painstaking investigation.
Frankly, that entails listening carefully to tons of character dialogue while also collecting reams of messages, letters and notes of reference; it also entails thoughtful invention when combining collected items to successfully form something new that’s capable of interacting with something in the game world that would be otherwise inaccessible; and, perhaps most importantly, it involves masses of player patience.
Much like a big fat jar of Marmite, gamers cut from the action cloth are going to absolutely despise everything about And Then There Were None, while -- dare we say it -- the more studied and cerebral gaming demographic are likely to love its challenge without question. There’s rarely middle ground when it comes to point-and-click adventures, and And Then There Were None is no different in that respect.
However, while the game certainly boasts all of the prerequisite attributes necessary to see it emerge as a thoroughly dependable mystery adventure -- not least having come from the pen of legendary crime writer Agatha Christie -- its somewhat dated presentation, poorly-executed aesthetics, and shoehorned connection to the Nintendo Wii do sadly pull the rug out from beneath its feet and expose its weaknesses.
From a gameplay standpoint, And Then There Were None charts bizarre new territory for a point-and-click title in that it actually manages to move along at such a snail’s pace as to make the likes of the Broken Sword and Ankh series seem positively athletic by comparison. Indeed, from beginning to end, pacing never really gathers speed and the player may often find themselves struggling to maintain motivation thanks largely to uninteresting and pompous upper-crust characters, mediocre voice talents, and a genuine lack of atmosphere. Christie’s original 1940 novel may well have been lauded for its tension and suspense, but sadly none of it has bled over into the videogame adaptation.
You’d imagine that control implementation would be one of the biggest potential selling points for And Then There Were None on the Nintendo Wii, yet, while the Wii Remote lends itself perfectly to the point-and-click genre, the lack of invention integrated by the game’s developers is a serious disappointment. Beyond the annoyingly hit-and-miss use of the Wiimote to twist door handles when moving from room to room, and the throwaway distractions of using the controller to help interact with the occasional puzzle, the game fails monumentally to bolster its appeal by taking advantage of the Wii’s innovative scope.
Since it arrived on the videogame scene, the Nintendo Wii has been criticised from certain quarters for its lack of oomph in the processing department, which, to be fair, means that Nintendo’s little box of invention isn’t likely to offer the most eye-popping visual treat -- regardless of the game it’s hosting. The problem is, of course, that while the likes of Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3 might not wrestle aesthetic notoriety away from titles on the PS3 and Xbox 360, any visual disappointment is replaced by invaluable originality. And Then There Were None looks lumpy and dull in a visual sense, even to the point where its graphics seem sub-standard (even) for the Wii, and perhaps more befitting of the original PlayStation. Factor in the aforementioned lack of innovation, and the Marmite analogy once again comes into play. Hardcore point-and-click fans might be willing to look past the shortcomings, while everyone else will probably prefer to simply look past the game entirely.
Ultimately, And Then There Were None is little more than a lazy port from a PC original that attempts to justify its transfer to the world’s hottest videogame console through a handful of gimmicky control features that are more annoying than fulfilling. Granted, the story is mostly faithful to the novel -- Agatha Christie certainly knew her stuff -- but the pacing is painfully slow, even for a tried and true point-and-click adventure.
Furthermore, failing to utilise the Nintendo Wii’s considerable invention and innovation, especially when the entire game involves pointing the Wii Remote at the screen, is simply unforgivable. If delivering originality meant the developers had to imbue the game’s content with a host of new Wii-specific elements, then so be it. As it is, half-heartedly throwing in banal interactions such as door opening or rolling tumblers on safes really isn’t sufficient input to deserve high praise.
Much like the point-and-click genre itself, the creative team behind And Then There Were None were wrong to expect reward without first investing the time and effort required to earn it.
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GamerNov 9th, 2008 - 14:53:37
Solid writing and informative - told me everything I wanted to know. Thanks.
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