Murder, She Wrote

The Good
Despite yet another Murder, She Wrote game without Angela Lansbury, this hidden object title from Legacy Interactive mostly succeeds where its jigsaw puzzle predecessor did not. Yes, this game was released a full 13 years after its source material went off the air, but from what I'm told, it ably replicates the tone and structure of the show, featuring five whodunit murder mysteries in Vermont, London, and of course, Cabot Cove, Maine.

Featuring a strong voice cast, the game primarily features the typical hidden object pixel-hunting, though spices things up fairly nicely with a mix of logic, memory, and visual puzzles mixed in. The cast of characters and writing is much stronger than I would have expected for a HOG, as well.

The Bad
Where the game falls a little short for me is that the gameplay doesn't really affect the investigation in any material way. There's no active analysis of clues or deductive reasoning the player must perform. Rather, Jessica Fletcher handles that herself exclusively in dialogue and cut scenes in between the hidden object searches, so it's easy to become emotionally detached from the narrative should you let your mind wander. Worth noting as well that the same locations are reused a little too often, and the game is extremely linear.

The Bottom Line
All that said, this is a well produced title with good music, sound effects and art. That helps revive a lapsed IP and led to the game receiving a 2012 sequel, ably titled Murder, She Wrote 2: Return to Cabot Cove.