Secret of Chateau de Moreau: Mystery Meets Adventure

4:33 Creative Labs, aka FourThirtyThree, has launched their new title Secret of Chateau de Moreau.  The new game can be favorably compared to the popular title Phoenix Wright, in terms of its emphasis on evidence gathering and presentation—but it’s got a style all its own, and many will prefer Secret of Chateau de Moreau.

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Backstory isn’t just important in this narrative driven title, it’s critical.  From the opening cut scenes on, players will have to stay observant.  The smallest detail can contain a vital clue.  Clue to what? To solving the murder of Count Moreau, of course.  On the one hand, the player character Antoine Moreau has it made—the Count’s death has brought to light his will, and Antoine gets everything.  On the other hand, this makes him a pretty attractive suspect, because it gives him a motive.  Plus, his relatives aren’t feeling too generous with him, seeing as how the Count cut them out of his fortune.  This mystery isn’t one that needs to be solved for just for fun (or profit).  Antoine has to clear his name, and to do that, the real killer will have to be smoked out.

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Finding the real killer is easier said than done.  There’s a whole host of non-player characters and pretty much everyone has a good motive for knocking off the Count.  And the chateau is positively saturated with plots and secrets.  To uncover them all, players will use the efficient and well-designed user-interface and menus to navigate their way through a vast, shadowy castle and explore its grounds.  The controls are smooth and intuitive, and the touch screen makes point-and-click adventure effortless.

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Like adventure games before it, Secret of Chateau de Moreau requires players to solve puzzles (over 100 of them!), converse with the other characters, and collect objects.  Doing so will allow Antoine to make sense of the story that’s being revealed in bits and pieces as the player progresses.

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But players won’t just uncover a story, they’ll be taking part in it.  The game is not a simple matter of win or lose.  FourThirtyThree has heavily touted the game’s alternate endings, and with good reason.  Forty different potential outcomes make losing almost as fun as winning Secret of Chateau de Moreau. The puzzles pack a punch, the interactions between characters adds a layer of intrigue, and the overall presentation of the game drives it home.

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The presentation is very close to flawless.  With the number of flashy 3D games out there, it’s easy to forget how much impact intricate, detailed illustrations can have.  It’s like stepping into a period novel, one with a dark undercurrent just about to break the surface.  The stills are gorgeous, and the gameplay is just as beautifully designed to add to the game’s mystery.  Realistic sound effects round out Secret of Chateau de Moreau.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-secret-chateau-moreau/id456142869?mt=8