Blue Toad Murder Files Review

Relentless Software have become synonymous with the Buzz! franchise, which first appeared on the PlayStation 2. However, in July of 2009, they announced that they would be creating their first self-published game called Blue Toad Murder Files and that it would be appearing on the PlayStation Network. It's an episodic game that follows the Blue Toad Agency as they look to solve crimes, and the first two parts were released on the 17th of December, 2009.

Taking control of up to four Blue Toad Detectives, which range from the youth of Dickens, to the more experienced Maple, players find themselves in Little Riddle, a quaint British town which Mother, the Agency's chief, hopes will provide a welcome break for her charges. Unfortunately, this isn't the case, as shortly after arriving in Little Riddle the mayor is shot and killed, leading to an impromptu investigation despite reservations from the local law enforcement. None of the players ever actually speak, but their facial expressions are priceless and the various inhabitants of Little Riddle are equally enjoyable to watch and listen to. It means that interrogating them is actually quite fun, but as with any game, nothing is ever easy.

Although many of the villagers might actually want to help, they won't give up any information until they are helped with their own tasks. The game is exceedingly accessible, with only a few buttons actually used, but the tasks can actually be quite complicated. They range from fairly simple observation tests, to more challenging maths puzzles and they will certainly keep players on their toes. Each of the tasks has a time limit associated with it, and if players complete the task within the allotted time, they will be awarded a gold. Silver and bronze awards can also be gained by completing the task slightly slower, or making some errors and these are all totalled up. Upon solving the problem, players will then get the chance to listen to some dialogue from their suspect, which should definitely be paid attention to, as the game also features random questions about things that have happened, like recalling the colour of the train that players arrived on.

After all of the suspects have been seen, players must then decide "whodunnit" and after that, all of the players are ranked based on their performance throughout the game. It means that everything has a really nice structure, although if four people are playing it doesn't mean there will be many turns for each person, as there are only ten puzzles in each episode. Each of the singular sections can actually take a while too, so there can be a lot of waiting around for other players if they don't want to get involved and help out the person currently playing the game. The puzzles are definitely enjoyable though, and there is rarely any form of repetition between them - it means that every person will receive a fresh challenge and studying previous turns won't offer any kind of advantage. The developers could have easily just repeated puzzles in Episode Two as well, but they haven't, and this results in puzzles which are arguably even harder. It's not a bad thing though, as they are generally quite well explained and none of them seem impossible, they just require some thought.

Despite being the most challenging part of the game, the puzzles are also the most bland to look at. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though, it's just that the rest of the game is so bright and bubbly. Everything has a certain graphical charm, which ranges from the "world map", which features cars driving around the narrow streets, to the unique appearance that every character has. The voice acting is simply excellent, with many English stereotypes encountered throughout the two episodes. The Hotel Manager, who bears a striking resemblance to one Basil Fawlty, is probably the pick of the bunch, but it's these characters that really help to give the game some personality - they also make listening and paying attention much easier, which is to the game's credit.

The game's real negative comes with its perceived value. Each episode is actually quite short, clocking in around 1-2 hours, and this is a bit of a shame. Perhaps more could have been added to the gameplay to flesh things out a bit, as aside from completing the tasks, there isn't really any other form of interaction. The interrogation is all automated, so the only detective work is subtle observation, nothing the players do will actually affect the outcome. There is also very little replay value, as the tasks are identical the second time around, so once they've been completed once, there isn't really much point doing them again. If the player decides to give up, the answer is explained in detail too, which again rules out any repeat challenge.

7

Average

Blue Road Murder Files is a thoroughly enjoyable game, which features a delightful cast of characters and some challenging tasks. It's also quite fun to play with the family, although doing so can make the game feel quite slow for those not involved. The real problems come with a real lack of replayability, as the experience is identical second time around and this isn't something that can easily be ignored considering the length of each episode. It's still good fun though and it should be played for the voice acting alone.