It’s time to put
on your detective hats, grab a new notepad, and hit the streets
for clues. Gumshoe Online is back with an exciting
new case and the gaming
experience is better than ever!
 When it was originally
reviewed several months ago, Gumshoe Online was a Web-based adventure
game with some gameplay problems and a
lot of potential. The game offered players a chance to work as a
private investigator in a corrupt city in the 1930’s. Two mysteries
were available for purchase along with the free tutorial mystery.
The gameplay consisted of investigating various locations and interviewing
suspects for clues to unlock the mystery. Solutions became available
as players continued the investigation. Players were challenged to
identify the correct solution, choose the right suspects, and provide
supporting evidence to prove the case. While the core concept was
sound, the game was plagued by a set of problems like a pesky time
limit on each case and repetitive puzzles. Fortunately, the release
of the latest case, Something in the Water, marks an overall improvement
in Gumshoe Online. Something in the Water is a significantly longer
and more engaging mystery than the previous two cases. In addition,
changes made to the core game mechanics should improve the gameplay
experience in the older cases.
 The basic gameplay in
Something in the Water is not different than the older Gumshoe
mysteries. The investigation consists of visiting
various locations, interrogating characters, and looking for clues.
As players delve deeper into the mystery and solve the various puzzles,
more locations will become available. This time around, players will
be trying to discover who is threatening Wheaton City’s primary
supply of water. The case begins shortly after the owner of the city’s
main water plant receives a letter threatening that the water supply
will be poisoned unless a large sum of money is provided. In order
to avoid creating panic among the citizens, the owner decides to
hire a private investigator to look into the matter. It will be up
to the players to discover who wrote the letter and stop them before
the entire city is poisoned.
 The plot development in Something in the Water seems to be better-handled
than the previous cases. As players go through different locations
and talk to the various characters, additional information is slowly
revealed, taking the investigation in different directions. Occasional
scripted events will offer plot twists deepening the mystery and
causing the players to question their initial analyses. Clues found
throughout the case will seem to incriminate a number of suspects.
Only a careful analysis of all locations and available clues will
reveal the truth. While the facts at the end of the case should fairly
clearly point to a specific solution, Something in the Water should
keep players guessing until late in the case.
 What fundamentally sets Something in the Water apart from the other
Gumshoe mysteries is the length of the case and the diversity of
its challenges. According to Iwan Roberts from Gumshoe Online, the
case features 23 new characters, over 140 rooms throughout 11 different
locations, and over 180 clues. The case also features a diverse set
of puzzles. The abundance of lock-picking puzzles in the previous
cases and the three safecracking puzzles in the Moonshine case created
a feeling of repetitiveness. Something in the Water seems to do a
much better job of offering a unique puzzles. The fundamental mechanics
behind every single puzzle is not completely unique; however, by
simply providing a different setting and look and feel for each puzzle,
Something in the Water takes away the repetitiveness and makes the
puzzle-solving process much more entertaining. The large number of
locations, the abundance of clues, and a solid number of distinct
puzzles not only provide a bigger challenge, but also help Something in the Water feel like a complete game. With an estimated 7 to 9
hour completion time, Something in the Water could easily stand on
its own as a complete Web-based adventure game.
 The general changes made
to Gumshoe Online also contribute to improve the gameplay experience.
Players can now save their games at any
time. Previously, when players left the game, their progress was
automatically saved, but they had to restart from the detective’s
office every time the logged into the community. Now the game allows
players to resume play from the last location they visited. Gumshoe Online also offers three save game slots to each player. Having the
save-game functionality allows players to work on multiple cases
at once, which was not an option in the earlier version. The game
now also allows players to combine inventory items to make new objects.
Something in the Water requires players to use this functionality
in several places, adding to the depth of the game. Other new features
include the addition of background music, the inclusion of PayPal
as a method to pay for cases, and new puzzle types.
 Perhaps the biggest technical improvement in Gumshoe Online since
the original review is the removal of a feature. The game no longer
imposes a time limit on the cases. The previous version forced players
to complete the case within a certain amount of in-game time. In
Gumshoe Online, time does not pass while players are at a specific
location. However, actions like changing rooms within a location,
or going from one location to another causes time to move forward.
Initially, Gumshoe Online required players to complete the case before
a predetermined amount of in-game time expired. This restriction
meant that players could visit locations only a certain number of
times and forced them to discover as many relevant clues as possible
on the first visit. Players faced the frustration of restarting the
case from scratch if they allowed the time limit to expire. The removal
of the limit allows players to enjoy the game at a more relaxed pace
and lets them revisit locations as many times as needed.
 The Web community of Gumshoe Online has also evolved dramatically
since the original review. The game Web site continues to feature
a forum for players to discuss available cases. The forum now has
a significant number of users who make regular posts. Many players
ask for help about various portions of the available mysteries. The
players who have already made it past those stages always seem to
be willing to help, providing hints on the forum itself or sending
solutions through private messages. (Special thanks goes to Suz who
helped me when I was stuck at one point in Something in the Water.)
Especially the more veteran members of the forum seem to try very
hard to assist other players. If you are stuck at any point in a
case, there is a good chance there is already a thread with hints
available. Arguably, this is better than the walkthroughs you can
find for most other adventure games since the forum can provide hints
to help players discover what to do instead of just giving away the
solution. As more cases are added to the site, the Gumshoe Online
community will undoubtedly grow, adding a social aspect to the gaming
experience as well as serving as an excellent source for help.
 Gumshoe Online most certainly seems to be headed in the right direction,
however all of the problems with the game have not been resolved.
The event scripting in the game could be better. For instance, solving
puzzles in one location seems to occasionally trigger the appearance
or disappearance of characters in a completely unrelated location.
By controlling the behavior of the characters in this manner, the
game forces players to discover major clues in a specific order.
The main problem with this structure is that players will have to
revisit locations several times after solving puzzles just to make
sure nothing important has changed. The game would perhaps be better-paced
and players would not have to do any unnecessary backtracking if
such arbitrary restrictions could be avoided.
 A less significant, but
nevertheless noticeable problem is the detective’s
inconsistent behavior. For instance, right after breaking into an
office, the detective refuses to look at a letter since it is not
addressed to him. After picking the lock at a different office, the
detective refuses to look through the pockets of a coat, because
he’s apparently not that sort of guy. Yet in a different room,
he does examine a different coat and announces the pockets are empty.
It is hard to explain why someone who has no problems with picking
locks to enter private offices or taking personal items as evidence
will not thoroughly examine other objects that could be equally relevant.
The game also continues to feature pieces of torn items randomly
distributed around the city. It seems like the suspects in Wheaton
City have a curious habit of distributing pieces of important clues
across various different locations for no apparent reason.
Despite a few problems, Gumshoe Online is shaping up to be a good
Web-based adventure game. The development team certainly seems to
be focused on improving the player experience with each update. The
latest case is a testament to their efforts to make the mysteries
longer and more engaging, providing better value to the players.
The overall improvements to the game interface, especially the removal
of the time limit, have served to make Gumshoe Online more entertaining.
The staff seems to be interested in hearing player feedback and willing
to make changes. Finally, an excellent user community adds a level
of depth to Gumshoe Online that is hard to find in many other games.
The final grade is a B-, raised from a C on the previous review.
Final Grade: B-
(find out more about our
grading system)
System Requirements:
- Internet Connection
- Game supports Internet
Explorer, Netscape, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera
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