Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None

The game follows the script of the novel as closely as possible to retain as much authenticity for dedicated Christie fans, meaning the storyline mirrors the book version of And Then There Were None in that ten people have been invited by the Owens family to stay at a large residence on Shipwreck Island, just off the south coast of Devon, England. However, it is quickly revealed that the guests have been lured there under false pretences, since the intention is to actually expose their murderous pasts and then one-by-one rid the world of them and their monstrous deeds. For the game version, an eleventh character was smoothly slotted in

 

So you are Patrick Narracott, initially eager to find out the real reason behind the loss of his brother, Frank, before getting involved in the main mystery, and thus your aim is to delve into and dig around in the belongings of the guests, whilst quizzing them at every opportunity all in an effort to find the dastardly culprit. Of course, when things take a turn for the worse and people starting being picked off one-by-one, the plot thickens and everything becomes more complicated than he could ever imagine. Conversations with others take place in the standard question-and-answer fashion found in most point-and-click adventure titles from the PC world, with players working through the available list until all have been sufficiently responded to, with new topics opening up depending on what question you ask. Wandering around (all done via a gentle movement of the motion controlled cursor and click of the A button), breaking into people's rooms, rummaging through their possessions, collecting as much evidence as possible and piecing together various odds and ends from around the mansion and outdoor locations to make useful items for later in the game, will all prove to be vital aspects of Narracott's journey.

 

Whilst the majority of the enjoyment of And Then There Were None stems from the gripping story, a large chunk of the fun also comes from playing around with the items in your inventory, trying to figure out what can be broken down into smaller pieces (such as a lamp and its bulb can be separated for use later) and what can indeed be put together (a turkey baster and flour, for part of a homemade fingerprint kit, for example). The game involves a lot of extra reading as well, since moving your context-sensitive cursor (walk, grab, use, look, and so on

 

Overall, And Then There Were None proves to be a fine first entry into the adventure genre on Wii. Whilst some will definitely prefer the clever use of the Wii controller for puzzles in Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure, that particular game was lacking in any real storyline and thus is discounted by many as not really being a true PC-style point-and-click adventure, no matter how much Nintendo insists otherwise. In the PC realm And Then There Were None is certainly not the best in its respective genre due to the saturated market, yet on Wii it is a great entry point for those interested in trying out such a game. With another Agatha Christie PC game already out at retail and a third one on the cusp of release, there is potential for more to come Wii's way, but obviously a lot rides on how well this one sells. Give it a shot if you have not already played it on your home computer...