PlayDetective: Heartbreakers Review
Posted on October 7, 2007 - Filed Under Detective Games, Match Three, Puzzles, Review |
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PlayDetective: Heartbreakers, by Kayo Games, is a casual detective game for the PC and soon for the Mac, Symbian, Linux, Windows Mobile and Palm OS. Players investigate fifteen infidelity cases with the goal being to collect as much evidence as possible to convict the cheating lover. Each investigation has a unique storyline to help define the case. 
The investigations require you to collect a certain amount of evidence before you confront the cheating person in the relationship. There are multiple ways to gather evidence: the camera, phone call and eavesdrop device. The camera takes pictures of the cheating person, the phone is used so the non-cheating person can call the suspected cheater to confront them directly and the eavesdrop device lets you listen to the conversation happening without you being present.
All three of the evidence gathering items cost money to utilize and the players gain money from playing mini-games while completing your case. The mini-games vary and seem to be randomly chosen, for example, one game type is your classic match three scenario where you must clear the entire board before the timer runs out. If you’re not doing good at the mini-games you can attempt to rely on money you sometimes find on the street (literally) but the match three and puzzle mini-games must be completed to move onto the next screen.
Unlike mini-games found in other casual game titles, PlayDetective: Heartbreakers contains a polygraph mini-game challenge! The player needs to decide if the cheating person is telling the truth or lying by listening to two ‘base line questions’ and watch the meter to get a handle on a lie and a truthful answer. After the base line questions have been answered, you need to decide if the cheater is telling the truth and hit the correct button either truth or lie when other questions are asked. You’ll receive money for every correct answer you get!
There is also a quiz mini-game which poses a series of quiz questions regarding the case. Since each case has a case file that gives you information on the two partners, you’re job is to get familiar with the case files ahead of time and then take the quiz. Like the polygraph mini-game, you’ll receive money for every right answer.
Evidence collecting is the primary objective in PlayDetective: Heartbreakers. If you’re not big into detective type games you’re going to find this to be an extreme challenge to the point of frustration. Collecting evidence is a little open ended and not always easy to know where to start. The difficulty lies in the result of leaving a screen without collecting all the evidence you need in the case. If you leave a screen without collecting everything you need the game is over, you’ll be starting the case over again.
The developers did their market testing well and realized that we’re not all going to think like a detective… so they implemented a hint button. The hint button tells you what you need to do next and will tell you when you have collected all of the information on a specific screen. Since you lose the case if you fail to collect all the given evidence you’ll find the hints may help you in a time of dire need. There is no penalty to using the hint button besides damaging your pride at cracking the case on your own.
You also need to complete all the mini-games before you leave the screen. The match three and a puzzle game are paired together and you choose one of them to complete before you move on. You’ll find it slightly easier if you choose the mini-game type you’re best at completing to get through the screen quicker. Beware, both the match three and the puzzle mini-games are very challenging.
The graphics in PlayDetective: Heartbreakers are similar to a game you’d play in the mid-1990’s - not exactly ground shattering but clear enough to understand the objectives. The surveillance is done from a far away view, which makes sense, but even when you zoom in and see the people they don’t look that detailed. You can definitely tell they are people, but they’re not too realistic. The photograph the camera takes when gathering evidence have a realistic quality to them unlike the surveillance video. The mini-game graphics are a bit less polished compared to a standard casual game you’d see from a company like PopCap or LargeAnimal Games.
PlayDetective: Heartbreakers can be really challenging at times, but it is still enjoyable to play casually. People that like detective games will love this game and find the challenges worth their time. There is a little bit of something for everyone in this title but the major focus is on detective work with a mixture of puzzles and quizzes. Detective gamers can’t go wrong with PlayDetective: Heartbreakers. If you are not use to playing detective games or have never played one, you may find PlayDetective: Heartbreakers too challenging as an introduction to this genre of gaming.
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