Game Name: Murdered: Soul Suspect
Developer: Airtight Games
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: Microsoft Windows, PS3, PS4, XBOX 360 and XBOX One
Price: 26.95$ (XBOX One), Was free with Games with Gold for December.
Release Date: June 3rd, 2014 (North America)
Introduction
This is a main reason why I love Games with Gold. This was a free game that i downloaded in November. Yes, I know that this feature has been available on the PSN (Playstation Network) for a while. I do find that the games on XBOX are slightly better, but I am biased since I only own an XBOX One now. Let us see how this game is and what the premise of this game is.
Storyline
You play the character of Ronan O' Connor. He is a detective in the city of Salem. The beginning sequence is that you are in the hunt for a murderer called the Bell Killer. During a struggle, you are thrown out of a window. Then you fall to your death.
In the transition to the afterlife, you come to the realization that you are not alive and there is a sequence when you talk to your deceased wife. She advises you that you cannot crossover to the other side until you achieve your goal. Ronan is confused at first, but he comes to the realization that finding who is the Bell Killer, will be his ticket to reunite with his loved ones. Then the game starts.
Gameplay
If you have played Telltale games and stealth games in the past then you will recognize the game play. Throughout the game you are presented with missions and side missions. The side missions can be unlocked by collecting objects like hot water tanks, and if you have enough, it will open side missions within the area of the main mission.
The first mission is a tutorial on the controls and how to move around. It specifies what you can or cannot go through. There are specific instructions on how to get in and out of buildings. You need to either go through an open window or door. You are unable to cross the brick as the buildings are protected.
So you have to search and be a detective. The more clues that you discover, the easier it will be to put together the pieces of the puzzle for the mission and determine what the next steps should be. I know that pretty much describes every detective game since Police Quest. I do like the paranormal aspect. It makes it different than most games and can be a little refreshing.
On the XBOX One, you choose dialog with the X, Y, A, and B buttons. You can also take possession of a person and hear what they are thinking. You can even influence them sometimes into providing more information. This can be seen in the opening scene / tutorial.
There are parts of buildings that are run by Demons. There is a way of defeating them, but for some reason I had problems with it. They give you instructions to defeat them on screen, however, the timeframe is too quick and I often missed the mark and died. It can be annoying but in most cases there are always ways around them. You will not need to confront them. This also brings the element of stealth as you do not want to get these demons angry.
Between missions you have clips and they are well done. The narrations is pretty good as well. This game felt like if The Sixth Sense met Law and Order. So essentially, it feels like you are playing a movie which is exactly like playing a TellTale game.
I will admit that I have not finished the game yet. I am only about halfway done. Until now though the gameplay is very enjoyable and I feel involved in the storyline.
Sample Gameplay
Bottomline
This game is a little long but enjoyable. If you like murder mysteries with some paranormal activity then this is right up your alley. I feel that this is Square Enix's attempt to give some competition to TellTale since those games are pretty popular.
I actually hope that there is another one of these games in the future. Some would argue that these are not really games. This could be very well true, however we do not always want to play a game with 400 hours of gameplay. So this is a great game to play with your wife while she eats pop corn and you try to solve the various missions and mystery. It may be a little scary for younger children.
For 30$ I think that this is good pickup. There is fun to be had here. Since I got it for free this was well worth it. If you wait, it will probably even go down to 20$ in the new year.
Rating: 8 ghost mysteries out of 10
What did you think? Have you played it? Did I get it right or completely wrong? Let me know below.
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