Touch Detective

Though the initial reports I read of this game gave me some trepidation - many remarked on how short it is - I picked this up yesterday to give it the old college try. Though I haven't completed it yet, it's already looking brief. I got stuck in the first case (of four) for a while, due to an obfuscated clue, but I finished the second inside of two hours.

At first glance, you might think that Touch Detective looks more like some little girls playing detective than an actual mystery game, and to some degree you're right; they really don't know what they're getting themselves into. But the caliber of investigation and reasoning is just as solid as a classic Lucasarts point-and-click.

Then again, as I mentioned, there was a point in the first case where I got stuck with absolutely no idea of what to do next (yes, Virginia, I had to look it up on the InterWeb to proceed). This is definitely the worst thing that can happen to such a game; when the next step is unclear, and all the hints around you are either unhelpful or seem to point somewhere else entirely. Fortunately, this situation hasn't recurred so far.

Like I said, I haven't finished this game yet, but if I had to sum up my impressions thus far, I think "lackluster" might be a word I'd use. Stay tuned for more (at this rate, I'll probably be finished by next entry).

Progress: Finished Episode 2