'Blue Toad Murder Files' Eps 1 & 2 (PS3)

Also available on: N/A
Developer: Relentless Software
Publisher: Relentless Software
Genre: Puzzle

Whether it's down to morbid fascination or simply natural human inquisitiveness, murder mysteries hold unerring popularity on both the big and small screen. Unlocking the culprit behind some grisly, murderous plot just never seems to dampen in its appeal, no matter how convoluted the solution may ultimately prove to be. Enter the Blue Toad Murder Files, a story-driven six-episode puzzle series from British developer Relentless Software released exclusively on the PlayStation Network. The first two episodes in the series showcase strong production values, a reasonably gripping story and well-drawn characters. However, the short length of each episode coupled with the unreasonably high price tag make this one mystery probably not worth solving.

Players take on the role of a sleuth from the mysterious Blue Toad detective agency, who is sent to the quintessential English village of Little Riddle for a well-deserved holiday. However, the relaxing break is almost immediately cut short after the village mayor is shot dead right in front of his office. Over the next six episodes, players will have to unpick the mystery of who committed the murder, along with other dastardly crimes, by solving puzzles and piecing together clues.

The game supports up to four people playing locally, with the same number of characters available to choose from - public schoolboy Dick Dickens, old school detective Lambert Vanderbosh, Miss Marple-type Margery Maple and resilient filly Hannah Dakota. Similarities in gameplay are immediately apparent with Level 5's Professor Layton series, as each episode contains a variety of puzzles which must be solved to advance the overall story. At the end of the episodes, players must piece together all the clues to accuse one of the four identified suspects of a certain crime.

Navigation around Little Riddle is handled by an animated overhead map with a linear path between different set points of interest. After the mayor's murder, each player takes a turn to visit a location and kick off a cutscene with an NPC. A related puzzle is then triggered for players to solve, ranging from logic teasers to sequence challenges and mini-games. All the challenges are pretty well designed and enjoyable to tackle, although the lack of a hint system does seem a glaring omission as players simply have to give up if a puzzle proves too complicated.

Each puzzle section is timed with a target to beat. After taking into account the number of wrong answers given, the game then grades performance by awarding a gold, silver, or bronze rosette (along with snarky comments from the narrator). At periodic intervals, there are also quizzes to judge whether players have been paying attention to what has been going on. The game's art style is fairly basic and cutesy yet it works in the grand scheme of things. Characters are deliberately stereotypical, such as the endlessly chattering old lady and Basil Fawlty-style rude hotel manager. Animations are pretty good and the voice acting is decent, although it is a little overplayed at times.

However, the biggest sticking point about the Blue Toad Murder Files is its value for money. Each episode costs £6.99, which is a lot considering that they can be beaten in about an hour and there is very little replayability. There are deals available, such as episode one and two being available for the combined priced of £9.99, but it's still likely to cost close to £40 for the whole series. As all the episodes are also linked into an overall narrative, anyone buying one will really need to invest in the whole series to see the process through. After all, what's the point in a murder mystery if you never get to find out whodunnit?

Overall, Blue Toad Murder Files is a good idea which has ultimately proved far too expensive for serious recommendation. Relentless Software has got all the ingredients right for a good digital game, but got it terribly wrong with the pricing. Despite the quality of the production values and genuine fun tackling the puzzles, the high price tag in relation to the actual content being received just seems unreasonable. Should the episodes have been around half the actual cost then this would seem a pretty good deal, but instead it's just an expensive diversion.



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