Readers and players who are familiar with the Discworld series of books and the two previous computer games may be interested in why it was so easy to make a connection between the film noir movies of the 1940s and early 1950s and the new Discworld Noir adventure game.

Film noir had its roots in the German expressionism literature of the 1920s and 1930s, which resulted in the making of black-and-white movies that were made using odd camera angles, deep shadows and bad weather. The movie plots were mostly based on themes of tough morality and featured hard-boiled characters that often functioned in a corrupt world. The main character was a lonely, poor, honest, common man, usually a detective, who woke up each day to a world that had turned bad, full of betrayal, deceit, dishonesty, crime and vice. Yet he continued to search for the hidden truths and moral values, keeping his code of honor. It was the only thing that he had to hold onto in what otherwise was a world of disillusionment.

In the words of Terry Pratchett, "Film Noir is what you get when you stir together The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Casablanca, To Have and Have Not and several dozen other movies made in the 40s and 50s." Those of us who remember or have seen these movies will know that "the weather is bad, the lighting is low, the streets are mean, life is cheap and the women are tougher than nails." "People tend to lie a lot and double-cross one another." "It's the monochrome world of cynical detectives with their names spelled backwards on the glass doors of seedy offices and a bottle of rye in their desk drawer."

Discworld Noir attempts to be a parody of these film noir movies, and it succeeds. The action centers in and around the ancient, thriving and cheerfully corrupt city of Ankh Morpork, which becomes the game's version of Casablanca, et al. In a story that could have been written by Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler, the characters of Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Lauren Bacall, Sidney Greenstreet, etc. come alive and are played against a wonderful background of authentic film noir graphics and sounds.

The Story's the Thing

Although I have already established that the story of Discworld Noir is a parody of the film noir movies, particularly Casablanca, it also has woven in interesting story elements from other adventure games, most notably Tex Murphy: Overseer and Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within. Since these are two of my favorite games from the recent past, I was thrilled to watch this game start and develop its story using such familiar and enjoyable plot lines.

This is a story about missing persons, murder and intrigue. At the beginning we learn that our "hero" is a private investigator, named Lewton, who was formerly a member of the Ankh-Morpork Watch (police agency). Expelled from the Watch for taking a bribe, he has only just started to pull his life together after years lost in a drunken haze, when into his office strides the sexy Carlotta (reminded me of Sylvia Lansky and Tex Murphy) and so Lewton gets his first case and the story begins. As Lewton muses, "trouble is, wherever there are sexy broads there's trouble, and the dame I'm working for wrote the book on trouble, and the sequel too." Also, very early in the story, Lewton is followed by a psychotic dwarf (what could that be all about?) and is "persuaded" by a huge troll named Malachite to find his missing friend Therma.

As Lewton applies his investigative skills to the increasingly complex events that unfold around him, the elements of film noir parody are seamlessly woven into the story at just the right times. For instance, when Lewton goes to the Café Ankh, the piano player/owner, Sameul, is playing a familiar tune, which causes Lewton to complain that he doesn't want to hear that song because it is associated with bad memories (don't play it again, Sam). Then, of course, his past love appears in the form of Ilsa, bringing back all of the memories and disappointments of a relationship that ended when Ilsa left without saying goodbye. This is only the beginning ... it gets better as the story progresses, so you have a lot more to look forward to and enjoy.

Well ... just when you think that you may have become comfortable with the direction in which the story is taking you and recovered a key item that you have been searching for, here comes the big surprise. Recalling the opening movie sequence, you are again drawn into that movie and scenes in which Lewton is chased through the alleys and over the rooftops until he is caught and killed. Now what ... our hero is dead. What follows is a unique twist in the plot that is reminiscent of GK2: The Beast Within and introduces an expanded story line about the occult and relics of a forgotten era. Although you may at first think that any twist in the story line might be confusing, it actually works quite well in allowing the plot to evolve and expands the possibilities for the second half of the game, leading to many more "surprises" and an interesting Casablanca-like conclusion.

Since for me, "the story is the thing," and Discworld Noir tells a fascinating tale with many exciting moments while evoking fond memories of film noir classics and doing so in a very humorous way, the story receives an A+.

The Gameplay

This is a typical "point and click" adventure, where you are only required to seek out tags that identify the items that you really should be interested in. The mouse will allow the usual actions to occur: walk, look, interact, including conversations. Lewton conveniently keeps a notebook that automatically records anything that he sees or hears that will be of interest. Inventory objects are collected in Lewton's bag, and he is always free to comment on, examine, combine and use any of the items that he collects.

The game provides a map, which serves as a convenience in moving from one location to another, especially since Lewton is required to travel around quite a bit.

Conversations with other characters in the game usually take the perspective that Lewton is a hard-boiled PI, so you are always aware of what is going on in his head. Lewton can talk about clues that are listed as notes in his notebook, or he can talk about items in his inventory bag, or he can talk about specific subjects that "pop up" with a conversation window that often will appear on the screen and help direct the conversation around certain subjects that are key to the development of the story and will open up new locations for Lewton to travel to.

You won't have to get very far into the game before you realize that "conversation" is a key element in gameplay. Those familiar with the film noir movies will remember that "conversation" was also a key element of those movies. Although the "conversation" in Discworld Noir is true to the film noir genre and very often humorous, as well as informative, it may for some game players be viewed as excessive in terms of being overly verbose. Even I must admit that since I was often required to hold conversations with characters who had nothing new to offer, I made frequent use of the "right-clicking" feature during these lengthy repetitive conversations in order get through them. This can be considered to be annoying.

Next problem ... although my computer exceeded the system requirements of the game, as listed on the box, I found that the "loading times" between scenes were longer than I had experienced with other games.

Now ... the greatest annoyance. The game would "crash" often, usually immediately after "loading" to a new location, kicking me completely out and back to my desktop. An error message would appear that indicated that my hard drive was full (which it wasn't) and off I would go.

Because of the lengthy and often repetitive conversations that must be endured, the longish load times between scenes and mostly the "crashes," I have adjusted my rating of the otherwise excellent gameplay features to a grade of C.

The Graphics

The fact is that it always rains in Ankh Morpork, but again that is consistent with the dark and shadowy atmosphere that properly represents the graphical feeling of film noir movies, except that in this game over 70 different locations are presented in 3D. The rain, lightning, flickering candles and other sights of Ankh Morpork are just part of the features that collectively make up the beautifully rendered scenes and locations that Lewton exists and functions in. While the outdoor locations are properly presented in dark and dank moods and colors, the interior scenes often provide a welcome splurge of brighter colors that liven things up, such as colorful stained glass windows. The stunning 3D graphics are to be enjoyed as they are finely crafted and presented with excellence, such that you will always feel the right mood for the scene being depicted. The graphics deserve an A+.

The Sounds and Smells of Ankh Morpork

Let's talk about the sounds first. The background music uses a mellow, almost haunting, combination of piano, strings and horns that will remind you of the "gin joints" from the old film noir movies. Along with the superb graphics, the background music always helps to set the right mood.

The acting is very British (which is fine by me) and allows for the delivery of repartee that has a Monty Python-type quality. The exchanges that often occur between Lewton and the other characters are sometimes confrontational (by the plan of the game's writers), but more often there is a comical quality with dry humor that is very enjoyable and will make you chuckle if not laugh out loud. For example, Lewton at one point asks a gargoyle, "How do gargoyles mate?" The response: "Very slowly."

While the smells of Ankh Morpork are very evident all through the game, they become more important after the big surprise. It is an interesting feature for the second half of the game that will inspire your nasal senses to perform at their utmost level of sensory excellence in order to progress through the game. That's all I will say about the smells, so as to make sure that I haven't spoiled this important part of the game for you. The sounds and smells of Ankh Morpork receive an A.

The Puzzles

Generally, it takes longer for me to finish an adventure game, because I don't usually use a "walkthrough," so the puzzle category is the one that will determine how long the game will take to complete and how frustrated I am likely to become. The puzzles in Discworld Noir are logic-based and integral to the development of the story, thus determining one's progress in the game. Therefore, since you are frequently required to gain clues and direction through the art of conversation, the process of logical puzzle solving can often be tedious in this game. I would rate the puzzles as being of moderate to difficult complexity, as far as putting a strain on one's brain. I got "stuck" at least a half dozen times where my mind had to take the puzzle to bed with me, which in my case only makes me fall asleep more quickly. Eventually, logical thinking will win out, and you can enjoy the reward of progressing to the next location in the game or to the next problem. In the end, I found that the puzzles were well-conceived and only a few were so obscure that I needed to apply some slightly illogical thinking to the process of solving a problem, so I am giving the puzzles a rating of A-.

Final Grade

My overall rating for Discworld Noir is an A-. For gamers who have been starved for a good detective adventure game that will remind you of the film noir movies, Tex Murphy and Gabriel Knight, with plenty of humor thrown in, I would recommend Discworld Noir. Of course, remember that you will have to endure the long conversations, the extended loading times between scenes and the all-too-frequent "crashes," but you will also get to enjoy an excellent story, wonderful graphics, sounds and smells, and allow your brain to experience the strain of logical puzzle-solving.

PC System Requirements (minimum):
P166 or greater IBM-compatible computer
32 MB of RAM
Windows 95 or 98
8-speed CD-ROM drive
Sound card
Single hemisphere electro-colloidal brain with cognitive functions