I am not a big fan of adventure games. Usually they have you pixel-hunting all over the various screens, solving obscure puzzles within the game’s own “twisted” logic — sometimes intriguing but often clichéd plots — and they have you acting like a kleptomaniac. You know: the stuff that might land you in the Betty Ford Clinic for drunken misconduct. However, I do admit that I loved playing Syberia because the game is grounded purely in logic. If you couldn’t figure the puzzle out, either you hadn’t explored the area well enough or the solution hasn’t clicked in yet. And then there’s everyone’s favorite dog and rabbit Sam and Max. Sure, the game can be a pain to play at times — especially during the first season. But the dialogue is so well-written, it was worth the effort. So, how does a murder mystery weekend in an abbey sound to you? Enter the Adventure Company’s game Murder in the Abbey. So, is it worth the energy to explore? Read on to find out.
Since this is a PC game, installation was painless. Once it started. When I initially inserted the CD, I could hear it whirling in my computer’s DVD slot, but nothing occurred. I cleaned the CD, reinserted it and eventually had to open the D drive’s folder and open the installation application manually. As previously stated, once that occurred, it was smooth sailing. It could be a fluke; that is, my computer is prejudice to the game. Or something else. On the bright side, no disc is needed to be placed inside the computer to be played.
The game has you following brother Leonardo, a well-known scholar and mystery-solver extraordinaire. Thus, the Abbot of the abbey requests his help in solving a certain “situation.” That situation is the death of brother Anselmo, and his death has the monks in quite an uproar. Tagging along with Leonardo is his novice Bruno. Thick-headed to the extreme but nice, Bruno provides a decent foil to Leonardo. However, neither is truly likable. Leo is sort of a know-it-all jerk and can grate on one’s nerves if taken in large enough doses. And Bruno is so dense that I found myself alternating between liking him and wishing he was somewhere else for different reasons. The bright side is that the plot does get more interesting as the game ventures on. If there is a problem with the story overall, it is that it often tells you what has occurred instead of showing you.
Oddly enough, there is no title screen that lets you choose options, start a new game or even load a saved game. It also is important to note that while this takes place during the Dark Ages, it never truly takes advantage of the Roman Catholic historicity that it is using. For example, Leonardo never explains who some of the saints are that are mentioned (I was raised in the Lutheran tradition, so they don‘t really educate people on the “important“ saints) or the reason why the statue of Moses has horns. (This one I know: It is a translation error. The word for “halo” and “horns” are rather close so the translator at that time chose “horns.” Seriously, you can find the original statue using Google.)
However, getting to the interesting chewy game center is not exactly easy. While the game is simple enough to play since it is a point-and-click adventure, it is difficult to tell what can be picked up. This is because the game never tells you at a glance what can and cannot be picked up. Furthermore, it is a constant struggle to tell which way to go without even a hint of where to go or what to do, especially since it takes five minutes to go from one end of the screen to the next. Thankfully, double-clicking on part of the screen that takes Leonardo to the next area instantly takes you there.
Furthermore, the puzzles are not exactly intuitive. How would I know that a crock is sealed shut with wax and that I needed a pan and some water and then to bring it to a boil? Would it not be easier (and simpler) just to bring the crock close to a fire since it is surrounded by wax? Ironic, is it not, that games that leave one completely to one’s own devices get heavily praised while others, like this game, get panned because it does not guide one enough. Yet even “free will” games give people an idea of where to go and what to do. And that is what really bothers me about this game; it is a constant struggle to know what to do. What’s worse is that since Bruno follows Leonardo around virtually everywhere. It is easy to forget that he is there. This is because you cannot truly interact with him. Most of the time, he is just THERE. I cannot help but think of the Sam and Max episodes and how Max is used: Max is a member of your party, even though he does not have his own inventory and you don’t have to tell him what to do. It is a shame that Bruno feels under utilized.
Graphically, the game is gorgeous. Yes, it channels the old-school cartoon presentation, but it is a high-quality cartoon — those cartoons that were used in the movies of lore. It is when it starts moving that it gets into trouble. Bruno has path-finding issues and will 95 percent of the time walk INTO Leonardo. (Insert “old Catholic monk with a young monk” joke here. I am not going to do that. This is a family show.) Furthermore, the characters’ faces do not match their inflections. Thus, you’ll be listening to a character speak of horrid or unusual things and he will look perfectly happy or content. Or the time you wake up a monk by opening a wine casket and the wine looks more like purple blobs than an actual liquid. But by far, the worst part is when you use a certain item in your inventory, and every time after, it disappears from view whenever you attempt to use it.
Sound wise, the game is pretty solid. There is the usual adventure game sound effects, thus nothing stands out. The background music is the same few tunes playing over and over again. It is rather pleasant to hear. But by far, the strongest part is the well-acted voice acting. Each voice actor does a really good job bringing each character to life. However, there are parts of the script that just does not flow as well. Leonardo gets to ask the monks questions, but often the dialogue does not flow from one section to another. While it would be easy to fault the voice actors, it is perhaps more realistic to blame the writers.
In conclusion, this game feels unfinished. There are these little things that just drag the game downward. It is nerve racking that there is a lack of knowing what to do and where to go. As hard as I tried, I really wanted to like this game. But a few hours in, I just gave up out of frustration and boredom. Since I did not enjoy my time in The Abbey, I imagine that our expert adventurer AA0 would dislike this game as well. Overall, one or two patches is not going to fix this. It can make it playable, but it will aspire to higher plateaus in its current form. Thus, I cannot help but believe that this game would have been better as a miniseries released thru PBS’s MYSTERY! series. I can only imagine hardcore adventure gamers enjoying this game. And even then only with a walkthrough in front of them.
If Syberia can be considered the cream of the crop of adventure games, then this game would be close to the opposite end. I cannot recommend people spending more time than completely necessary playing this game. As interesting as the plot can get, it is not worth the frustration to get there. For $20, you can do a lot better in the realm of PC gaming.
