Still Life – XB – Review

Sorting through a garage sale
one weekend, I discovered a fully functional Amiga 500 with a collection of
point-and-click graphical adventure games that ranged from Police Quest
to King’s Quest. Too young to have experienced these games when they came
out, I was drawn in by their simplistic design and cerebral puzzles that require
more thought than just locating key cards or placing the squared shape object
into a square shaped lock. So it’s a rare treat to find such a game on the Xbox
and even more so if it’s a police procedural mystery like Still Life.


You play the role of FBI
Special Agent Victoria McPherson who happens to be investigating a series of
gruesome murders in the Chicago area. Having already claimed five female
victims, the killer leaves a trail of clues most disturbing for you to follow
yet remains elusive despite all the evidence. To make matter worse, Agent
McPherson’s boss is putting pressure on her to close the case before the FBI
starts looking bad. It isn’t until McPherson sorts through her grandfather’s
belongings that she discovers a connection between these recent killings with a
string of murders in Prague during the 1920s. Why did her grandfather, a private
detective at the time, take an interest in these killings? Why are the killings
so similar in almost every aspect? These are questions McPherson must find and
answer to before the killer strikes again. 

Discovering the identity of
the killer isn’t going to be easy, though. Much like the recent CSI game
available on the Xbox, McPherson must enter crime scenes, evaluate and collect
evidence to be analyzed at labs. Armed only with your wits, easy access to case
files and a forensic kit filled with all the usual evidence collecting
essentials – a camera, backlight filters, tweezers, swabs and Luminol (a
chemical used to detect blood stains). At the start of the game you will be put
at the scene of a crime and thankfully fellow field agent Claire tells you
exactly how to correctly collect evidence.

Unlike most point-and-click
adventures, there is no moveable icon or pointer. Instead you move McPherson
around much like Silent Hill characters. It isn’t until you’re close to
an object you can pick up or examine that an icon pops up.  A dialogue icon pops
up when there’s somebody you can talk to while an Examination icon comes up when
there’s something that deserves your attention. It isn’t until you’re at a crime
scene that the actual forensic evidence collecting comes into play. There’s a
correct procedure you must follow too. Mostly you photograph the evidence before
you get it the “hands-on” treatment.


Collecting is the easy part,
though, because analyzing is where you really put your brain to good use.
Whether its comparing fingerprints you lifted off an object or analyzing hair
fibers, you are forced to think like a special agent. You will attend an autopsy
and you will ask questions. In short, Still Life does a great job of
making you feel like a FBI agent caught up in a serious murder investigation. It
is this ability to make us experience true crime investigating that keeps this
game interesting for gamers interested in problem solving.

Here’s the bad news,
sleuthing fans. The game is not only short but it can also offer puzzles that
will frustrate you to the point that you’ll be looking for a walk-through pretty
quickly. Okay, I’ll admit that I was stumped early in the game when McPherson’s
old access code to the morgue didn’t work and all she has for a clue is card
with lots of numbers printed on it. You can examine your inventory’s items but
trust me when I say that the solution to these puzzles won’t pop into your head
instantly. Some of the easier puzzles are obvious but the ones that aren’t will
not fail to make you look dumb.

Graphically speaking,
Still Life
isn’t a bad looking game at all. In fact, it shows off a
surprising amount of detailed environments that make it pretty easy to spot
items of interest before the Examine icon pops up on screen. The environments,
particularly the crime scenes, look grim and oftentimes pretty gruesome
(autopsies anyone?) but these things just serve to perfectly set the dark mood.
The characters are just about the only thing in the game that doesn’t look as
good as the surroundings and this is even more noticeable when it comes to
facial expressions. They don’t even move naturally. Still, with great lighting
and creepy cutscenes, there very little to complain about.


The sound, on the other hand,
is what doesn’t work. The voice acting, for instance, is just plain horrible.
We’re talking awkwardly read by voice actors that seem to just be content with
reading the lines without injecting some much needed emotion. McPherson is quick
with a joke but it just sounds incredibly cheesy coming from her, and the other
characters aren’t any better. At least the music, filled with dramatic tones
when you’re looking at dead bodies or making any grim discovery, fits perfectly
with the game’s somber theme. Unlike the dialogue, it’s emotional and done just
right.

Still Life
is a return to the classic
sleuthing adventure games of yesteryear and it’s one fans of the genre will
certainly enjoy despite its shortcomings. While its can be on the short side and
there are some puzzles that will surely boggle the mind, the good story and the
crime scene investigating make this a worthwhile adventure for those gamers
willing to give it a try.


Review Scoring
Details for Still Life

Gameplay: 7.9
Collecting
evidence, speaking to witnesses and immersing yourself into a case that takes
you back into time will not fail to keep you hooked. There’s much to see and
loads of puzzles to solve in order to piece together this mystery. Some puzzles
will have you yanking hair out at its roots.

Graphics: 8.0
Still Life
actually
sports some decent visuals with detailed environments and great lighting
effects. The cutscenes are intentionally grainy and give the game a cinematic
thriller vibe that works. It’s just too bad that the characters don’t look or
move as good as they should.

Sound: 7.0
The game’s
soundtrack is dramatic, creepy and sets the mood just as good as the visuals.
There are even some good sound effects. Why does everyone talk like they’re cast
members from the movie Fargo, though?

Difficulty: Hard
Some puzzles
have you put two and two together pretty darn quickly but it’s those pesky
puzzles with no visible clues that will have you wondering if you need a Harvard
degree to solve on your own. If you’re looking for a cerebral challenge, this is
the game for you.

Concept: 7.5
While not big
on length, Still Life is true to the genre and it even has a good story
with decent characters. You might not want to come back to it once you’re
finished, though.

Overall: 7.5
Still Life
might not be
perfect or innovative but it does justice to the classic crime-solving adventure
genre and will keep you hooked to the very end. Even with the extremely
difficult puzzles, I wish the game were a bit longer and the voice acting a lot
better than what’s presented here, but it’s still a game worth checking out when
you’re in the mood for game that will make you think.