This is going to be one
boring review. We already know that the Carol Reed series is a very
high quality independent one. What more can be said? The answer is,
not much, really. In a nutshell, the people that have enjoyed the
previous Carol Reed adventures will love this one too. The game is
relatively unchanged from previous entries so anyone who didn’t
like the previous games isn’t going to be swayed by this one.

From
the outset, there’s a lot to like. That’s not a surprise
at all. After three games in the series, creators Mikael and Eleen
Nyqvist set about ensuring that future episodes would be as near perfect
as they could make them. They set about recruiting adventure-gamer
extraordinaire, Len Green, as creative consultant. It’s evident
that this was a great move. As an experienced adventure gamer, I can
almost hear some of the things he must have suggested. For in this
game, all the puzzles make sense! I’m sure to get some
hate mail for this, but having attempted to play Sentinel:
Descendants in Time just prior to this game, I was thrilled
that I didn’t feel like I was wasting my life playing this game.
In Sentinel, each puzzle seemed merely a roadblock on my
journey to a seemingly endless sequence of irrelevant puzzles. And
all this shrouded in psychobabble that didn’t make a lot of
sense. Contrary to this, The Colour of Murder
is a meat-and-potatoes kind of adventure. It doesn’t seek to
be a philosophical dissertation; it just tells an entertaining story.
If anything, it’s more like the story-driven adventures of yesteryear
such as Dragonsphere, a title I played prior to Sentinel.
Anyone new to adventure gaming, try adventures from 1996 and earlier
to see what I’m talking about. Then play some of the recent
dross. The Colour of Murder is seeking to
redress the balance.

Have
a look at the screenshots. This is one great looking game. Mikael
Nyqvist has a keen eye for interesting framing in the static photos
used in the game. I note that he seems to have water colored the pictures
less in this game: a lot less. I really liked the Golden
Gate effects from earlier games but it’s obvious that
water coloring them really does a disservice to the inherent beauty
of his photographic work. Incidentally, the Wintermute engine used
in this game is a near perfect fit for the structure. Chalk up another
fantastically well-designed game to designers using this fantastic
free (!) adventure game designing software. The hotspots are well-illustrated-there
is no “needle in a haystack” searching here! This is a
game that your grandmother would love-the images are crisp and clear
and a player need not squint to make out tiny spots where needed items
are hidden away.

It
may sound strange but, despite this being a murder mystery, this is
a game for anyone. It follows in the tradition of Nancy Drew, Jessica
Fletcher, and Jane Marple, in that there is never a sense that the
sleuth is in any kind of danger. It is inherent in the Carol Reed
mysteries that when the murderer is confronted, they will turn themselves
in, giving Carol an opportunity to illustrate how she figured it all
out. For me, this has always been the weakest part of the Carol Reed
series, for the same reason that I don’t like James Bond movies-a
suspension of disbelief such that I am at no time engaged to the point
that I feel genuine concern. Despite my bias, this is part of the
reason that this is so successful. Almost anyone could play this game-a
contemplative eight-year old or a serene tea-drinking octogenarian
will find mild thrills in the absence of profanity, sexuality, or
other “questionable” adult themes.

The game installs completely
to the hard drive and is very stable. I didn’t experience any
crashes or slowdowns at all. Saving is labored, taking up to 30-40
seconds on occasion. It is not a stretch of the truth to say that
I was literally able to fold a few items of laundry while I waited
for this painful process. If there were any way that this could be
improved for Carol Reed 6, this’d be a terrific enhancement.
I found a few glitches in the game-for example, despite not having
an item required to open a particular object, I was able to do it!
I later acquired the prerequisite item but it made no difference to
interaction with the object. Another glitch occurred with the lid
of a jar…

Further
to my previous comment, this game has a superb introductory “training
level”. We all know that every Half-Life
clone has a dull-as-dishwater level dedicated to educating players
in the basic moves of jumping, ducking, and shooting etc. Experienced
adventurers may wonder why a training level would be needed. I say
to you, get Aunt Sarah to try the latest Sherlock Holmes
adventure-observe her floundering not having a clue how these new-fangled
games work! Anyone who has balked at the idea of playing adventure
games because they are not computer-literate enough need only acquire
The Colour of Murder to make their first
foray into the world that you and I, dear reader, know and love. All
the basics are covered from inventory management and navigation. Instructions
are clear. Five stars for a feature rarely found in adventure games!
Hurrah!

Also, for all of us that
need to resort to walkthrough, good news! In this adventure, we probably
won’t have to for Carol has a notebook that can be consulted
for advice or direction for where to go next. Because the game is
so logical, 99% of players will solve a brainteaser with one brief
notebook access. The advice gleaned from the notebook is clever, too.
Rather than stating the obvious, it alludes to what Carol might need
to achieve. Further detail is available by clicking on the target
goal. I know there are those that claim a built-in system is a no-no
for adventure games, but there are an equal number of people clamoring
for it. Kudos to MDNA! There’s also a very user-friendly manual
on the disk.

Anyhow,
enough raving from me. Voice acting is pretty good all round, except
that accents are a mixed bag. It’s obvious that our heroine
is not English-just listen to the incorrect emphasis on certain words
and agrammatical production of her first line. Further to my review
of the previous Carol Reed mystery, Time
Stand Still, I’d welcome the game to be in Swedish-it’s
set in Sweden, after all! But, in the creators’ defense, there
are a multitude of miscreants out there that will not consider playing
a game in a language other than their native English so it’s
in the designers’ monetary interests. In my opinion, it would
enhance the sense of immersion of adventuring in another country if
characters spoke in Swedish with English subtitles. To me, it’s
a little akin to watching a samurai movie with English voiceover-it
just feels out of place. To the voice actors’ credit, though,
although it is apparent that English is their second language, even
in this instance, voice acting is MILES AHEAD of most native English
speakers in both independent and professional adventure games. There
are a couple of questionable statements that are a little unusual
sounding, bordering on the agrammatical such as “I’ve
completely forgotten about it”, which I’m surprised that
Len Green didn’t comment on but these are minor. Sound effects
are clear and professional sounding. Sound effects and music never
muffle dialog. The music is moody and conveys a sense of loneliness.
It reminded me a lot of the music from Phantasmagoria:
A Puzzle of Flesh, a sense of foreboding and uncertainty
in almost every scene, alternatively bleak and uplifting. Wandering
around similar lonely environs, the music is highly suited to the
game.

One
last thing: if you see this on the shelf in your local software emporium,
don’t turn your nose up at it. Unfortunately, the artwork on
the front and back covers honestly does not do justice to the game
at all. As far as I’m aware, this is the first time that MDNA
has pressed a Carol Reed game professionally. It’s a shame that
the printing looks dark and dull-the complete antithesis of the images
that await the player in the game.

Anyhow, at the end of the
day, this is a very well produced game. Thumbs up, Nyqvists! It’s
probably the best one in the series yet, and certainly much better
than the anticlimactic ending of Time Stand Still.

One last thing, savor the
inadvertently hilarious last line in the game!!

This game does so many
things right. It deserves an A.

The developers invite
comments and offer support: [email protected].

There’s an 87MB demo
for download here: http://files.filefront.com/The+Colour+of+Murder+demoexe/;12129024;/fileinfo.html.

The game can be purchased
on CD from Just
Adventure

System Requirements:

• Windows® XP/Vista
• Pentium® 1000 or equivalent
• 128MB
  RAM
• 16MB videocard
• 800MB hard drive space