Agatha Christie – Dead Man’s Folly by I-Play (Review)

Dead Man’s Folly, published by I-Play Games, a hidden object game based on the novel written by the famed mystery author, Agatha Christie. DMF melds the great storytelling of Agatha Christie with newer technology to create an unique game that is quickly becoming flooded with “me too” software (this happens with any genre that becomes popular).

The setting of Dead Man’s Folly is the Nesse House where you take on a role in a “mock murder party” (there are actually groups around the world that put on such shows, they can be quite interesting for the participants). There are other people attending the party (though this is a one player game, everyone else is computer controlled) including the brilliant detective Hercule Poirot (who has starred in other titles from Agatha Christie) who you are in the position of helping solve the “murder” while another, real crime has been committed that needs solving too.

Dead Man’s Folly features 48 levels spread throughout 15 gaming scenes so needless to say, you will repeat each scene several times before figuring out who the murderer is. This could be seen as a negative because the objects that you are required to find are in the same place each time you play (a caveat of this type of game, unfortunately). The naming of the objects could also be viewed as a problem that DMF suffers from (some like “spade” for a “shovel” will throw off gamers at first). While not a game destroying problem, it does bring up situationswhere, unless you are familiar with the objects already, you will be forced to use a hint to finish a scene.

Those are literally the only problems I had with Dead Man’s Folly, the graphics are beautiful, the scene choices were interesting and actually connected to the story in some form and the audio was great (not a soundtrack purchase-if it was offered, but definitely worth listening to). DMF is a great hidden object game with beautiful graphics, more than generous time limits and several mini games that tie into the story (something more games of all genres should take note of).  
If you find yourself this holiday season looking for a fun game to have some fun with, and like hidden object games but want just a little more than the same old, then try and solve the mystery of Dead Man’s Folly.

8.5 out of 10

Agatha Christie – Dead Man’s Folly by I-Play – website