Cosmos Gaming -(:)- The Gaming Vector at a Higher Level

PC: The Butler Did It!

Ratings

Graphics:	8.25
Sound:	8.50
Gameplay:	9.25
Replays:	9.50

Our Take

Adventure games have not typically been known as the type of games that one can play in a span of only 10 minutes. But Finnish based Draconus Entertainment has set out to change that with their shareware title The Butler Did It! Inspired by the classic murder mystery game Clue and with old fashioned style graphics, TBDI will be a sleeper hit with any adventure gamer looking for a fun game to play on their break time.

The basic background story for the game is that the player is put into the role of the famous French detective Jacques-Louis Barajean. While he is on vacation at a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps a murder is committed and he is convinced to take the case. What's great about this concept is that every game you play will be different in story, as a different person will have been murdered and there will be different suspects to question. Draconus obviously put a lot of effort into making TBDI extremely replayable, and it shows. Combine this with the fact that each game only lasts 10 minutes, and you have a game that people will really get value from.

Graphically the game goes for a completely sprite based world that will remind players of some of the older, classic adventure games. While this type of style won't appeal to everyone (people who have been spoiled by this current generation of graphics need not apply), it should invoke nostalgia in many people. However, just because they are sprite based and reminiscent of older games doesn't mean that the visuals of The Butler Did It! don't have some style of their own. The developers were clearly influenced by older murder mystery style movies from the period of time that the game Clue is set in, so all of the architecture and little visual quirks will remind the player of that. If there is one issue I have with the graphics, it would be that sometimes the text can be a bit hard to read (especially when darker gray text is used, it isn't as easily readable as it could be). But I'm sure with a few color changes here and there that this issue could be easily remedied. And finally, I think the music score is quite well done. It fits the atmosphere of the hotel and will change based on where you are in the building, which is great. The music is at a higher level than most shareware games, and I was particularly impressed by this.

For the adventure game illiterate, Draconus has included an informative and somewhat entertaining tutorial that will introduce you to every nuance of the game. After that, players can start the game and choose from three difficulty levels. The only real difference between these difficulty levels are that you get more guests to deal with in the harder ones, increasing the number of suspects you will have to investigate. Everything in the game is easy to distinguish and make use of. Using the mouse button players can move the detective around, look at objects and people, and interact with the hotel guests. Definitely take some time and investigate as much as you can, not only to find clues, but also to see what the main character will say, as he can sometimes be quite witty. Players will have access to a notepad where key elements have been written down as you discover them, an abstract map of the hotel, and a clock in the lower right corner that will remind you of how much time in the game is left. Another great element is how you can question suspects. It is possible to use certain tones (such as Aggressive or Friendly) when questioning people, and which you use will determine what type of information you get (or if you even get information at all). A lot of effort was clearly put into all of this gameplay, and it pays off very nicely.

Thanks to the graphical style the system requirements for TBDI are relatively low, so just about anyone should be able to play it. Although it isn't anything genre defining (nor was it meant to be), The Butler Did It! is a very satisfying and replayable experience that will be enjoyed by adventure fans everywhere.

http://www.draconus.com/games/butler/

Overall Rating: 8.75

Chris Dahlberg
February 13, 2006