Dull. Disjointed. A collectible-based game with permanently missable collectibles.

The investigation mechanic should be great, but its implementation is usually just okay. Other times, the game is weirdly picky about which facts contribute toward a conclusion, and on more than one occasion the expected answer to "what do I know about [thing]?" is just "[thing]." In grainy, prerendered cutscenes, the main character will react with astonishment at details he's already stared at and committed to memory. The investigation into his murderer starts at square one, despite the opening scene showing he knew enough to track down and confront the killer. At no point does this police detective seem to understand how, why, or even that he did.

Since the game has only about eight level maps, the transition between well-developed, fully funded zones and "we're out of money, just make a maze with some combat arenas" is stark. One level (toward the middle, surprisingly enough) is unique in having items that can be examined and generate a little popup description like clues do, but aren't clues and contribute toward nothing. The stealth combat is slow and frustrating; the only way to win is to walk up behind enemies one by one, hiding as necessary if spotted. And you will get spotted, because your movement speed is low, the enemies can turn around instantly at the end of their patrols, and the kill move requires you to hold a button and complete a simple QTE, leading to a surprising number of failures (though maybe that has something to do with using mouse & keyboard to play what is a painfully obvious console port). If you're killed, you get to attempt to sneak-walk behind the whole group again, one at a time. Fortunately, the enemies come in small groups, but even a small group is too large when each kill is so laborious, and the stealth options so minimal.

ALSO:

• You can't use the mouse to confirm in menus, but you can (must) use Q, E, 1, and 3 to navigate them.
• The villain's identity, motives, and MO don't make sense when taken together, but the main character has no trouble reaching the right conclusion after you point out [thing] three times.
• Extras are the same six character models repeated over and over. There is one (1) enemy type.
• You can walk through walls, but not ghost walls, which apparently have unfinished business.
• I don't know if it's even possible to fail the escort puzzles; the hardest part was remembering to talk to the character being escorted after every step.
• You defeat the villain using abilities that are unexplained and have been established exactly once prior to the final showdown.
• I don't like this game.
• Ghosts are a bummer.

[b]Dull. Disjointed. A collectible-based game with permanently missable collectibles.[/b] The investigation mechanic should be great, but its implementation is usually just okay. Other times, the game is weirdly picky about which facts contribute toward a conclusion, and on more than one occasion the expected answer to "what do I know about [thing]?" is just "[thing]." In grainy, prerendered cutscenes, the main character will react with astonishment at details he's already stared at and committed to memory. The investigation into his murderer starts at square one, despite the opening scene showing he knew enough to track down and confront the killer. At no point does this police detective seem to understand how, why, or even [i]that[/i] he did. Since the game has only about eight level maps, the transition between well-developed, fully funded zones and "we're out of money, just make a maze with some combat arenas" is stark. One level (toward the middle, surprisingly enough) is unique in having items that can be examined and generate a little popup description like clues do, but aren't clues and contribute toward nothing. The stealth combat is slow and frustrating; the only way to win is to walk up behind enemies one by one, hiding as necessary if spotted. And you will get spotted, because your movement speed is low, the enemies can turn around instantly at the end of their patrols, and the kill move requires you to hold a button and complete a simple QTE, leading to a surprising number of failures (though maybe that has something to do with using mouse & keyboard to play what is a painfully obvious console port). If you're killed, you get to attempt to sneak-walk behind the whole group again, one at a time. Fortunately, the enemies come in small groups, but even a small group is too large when each kill is so laborious, and the stealth options so minimal. ALSO: [list][*]You can't use the mouse to confirm in menus, but you can (must) use Q, E, 1, and 3 to navigate them. [*]The villain's identity, motives, and MO don't make sense when taken together, but the main character has no trouble reaching the right conclusion after you point out [thing] three times. [*]Extras are the same six character models repeated over and over. There is one (1) enemy type. [*]You can walk through walls, but not ghost walls, which apparently have unfinished business. [*]I don't know if it's even possible to fail the escort puzzles; the hardest part was remembering to talk to the character being escorted after every step. [*]You defeat the villain using abilities that are unexplained and have been established exactly once prior to the final showdown. [*]I don't like this game. [*]Ghosts are a bummer.[/list]