Sinister City by Jet Dogs Studios is a point-and-click adventure that has its main character, John, looking for his lost fiancee Nina. The game begins with John entering a quiet hotel in the outskirts of Sinister City. After speaking to the Hotel clerk – who eagerly explains that Sinister City is a place of evil – the game starts to take shape.Like The Great Gatsby by I-Play, Sinister City has the player reassembling a series of puzzles or searching for specific items in certain areas.
While in the motel, the clerk promises John a free room if he can find the missing receipts that were blown away by his counter fan earlier. When searching for items, click on locations like a dresser and a 3rd person view is given. The player can shuffle through papers, etc., to find the items associated with the current task. A hint button is available that will show the location of the item if you become stuck. This feature uses a bar that depletes once a hint is used, and refills slowly. This prevents the hint feature from being abused.
Sinister City is a game of concentration; you must carefully stare into cluttered closets, at walls full of unrelated items, and into boxes to find objects that are deliberately hidden from view. Sometimes a puzzle piece is in plain view, but it may not be as obvious because of its coloring or placement. Once the receipts are found and returned, John discovers that the clerk has access to a machine that can send him to the astral plane to help answer questions about his missing wife. Like before, John must dig through chests, cabinets, and shelving to find the parts to activate the machine.
Occasionally, the player will be presented with a more complex puzzle than the ones already mentioned. For example, to activate the Astral Projection Machine (after recovering the parts), different colored strings must be attached to the same colors on the opposite side of a box. This sounds easy in theory, but these strings are attached to copper arms that are twisted together, making it difficult to determine where each thread leads. An option is available to skip puzzles if they become too frustrating, but that defeats the purpose of playing the game.
Despite John’s urgency to save his fiancee, Sinister City is a casual gaming experience. The puzzles can be done at your leisure, and rooms can be explored thoroughly without feeling pressured. The overall experience will certainly draw you in. The voice acting could be better (John’s voice never seems to express any real emotion; it’s very monotone), and the supporting cast of characters sound like they’re strung out on caffeine (especially the innkeeper in the beginning).
With the bad voice acting aside, Sinister City is a fun game that will keep you busy for hours. If you like your casual puzzle games on the spooky side, Sinister City will certainly deliver.
Mike ‘ STGuy1040′ Pittaro
Platform: PC (Also available for Mac)
System Requirements:
OS: Windows XP/Vista
CPU: 1.0 GHz
RAM: 256 MB
DirectX: 8.0
Hard Drive: 125 MB
Developer / Publisher: Jet Dogs Studios
Price: $9.99 (Currently on sale for $6.99)
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