One of the most prominent franchises in the adventure PC games genre is Mystery Case Files by Big Fish. It started in the past as purely hidden object but soon evolved into a more dynamic and more interactive style of play. And their most recent release would be Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull, which may prove to be Master Detective's greatest adventure yet.
You play as a hero detective, someone who has cracked numerous weird and unsolved cases in the past and now hired by Sara Lawson to investigate her husband's sudden disappearance. Many believed that the culprit is a pirate ghost that haunts the manor where they live, especially Magnolia Lawson, who witnessed firsthand how her father was abducted. Still, it's up to you to find the truth because some of the resident's accounts may contradict the theory, not to mention all the craziness you'll soon discover as you scour through the house and its surroundings.
The game is still true to its original hidden object game play but minimal compared to the first few Mystery Case Files games. Most of the game time on this game is composed of talking to all the people you meet, accomplishing tasks for them and for yourself, and sleuthing your way into uncovering new areas - mostly new eerie places that may make your hairs stand out. Of course, this also includes backtracking on previous areas you've already checked out as you'll may again find another clue or a tool once re-explored.
Puzzles and other contraptions abound in this game, and I must say that some of them are really hard to crack. For all of you lazy bums out there, you can pass the time solving puzzles through a simple press of the hint button. Or if you still want to try, the game can give you up to three hints on how to solve the puzzles, afterward it's up to you to understand and implement the whole strategy.
What I liked best aside from the story is that real life actors and actresses played the part of the characters you meet in-game. Good acting, dialogue and their rendering into the game space makes you feel like you're actually a detective, minus all the mud on your boots. Sometimes, the real life characters are also interactive, handing you some tools for your adventure, and just watch how the items disappear from their hands into your inventory after a click.
Graphics and music are superb. Just check out the dripping water and rain effects as well as flying bugs and other stuff that is happening in the background of the whole adventure. Aside from being beautifully done, it doesn't give you a feeling that you're in another drawn up computer-generated cartoon world. And the sounds are just typical Mystery Case Files fashion, still can send chills running down your spine especially when an important and particularly weird event comes up.
I guess it's just a matter of taste but I loved every bit of Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull. It's just so cool that the franchise evolved greatly and from the way it looks, I believe I will remain a large fan.
