06/30/2014
Murdered: Soul Suspect
is a brand new game from Square Enid that puts you in the shoes of a detective who gets killed and then has to try and solve his own murder as a ghost. He will remain a ghost until his unfinished business on earth is finalized. In all honesty, I couldn’t help but think of the movie “Ghost” throughout this game and I was waiting for my human partner in crime to say “Ditto” just once. Another thing I couldn’t help but think about is the game Alan Wake and how much Murdered felt like it with the environment, odd storyline and just overall feel. In my book, that makes this a pretty decent game.
I was pleasantly surprised with this game. The game really is more about solving puzzles and exploring than anything else and I really enjoyed it. There are not a whole lot of action moments in the game and when there is it pretty much either QuickTime events or single button actions. Again though, that was okay with me because I really got into the story and how it progressed. While the game isn’t unique in regards to detective work it was a unique perspective playing the role of a ghost learning to become a ghost. Yeah, there’s that Patrick Swayze thing again. The game takes place in good old Salem and really focuses on the history of the witches and the trials that took place. Everything ties really well into what the writers were trying to accomplish and you’ll even learn a little history while you are playing the game. As I mentioned, you play the role of Ronan O’Connor who has a pretty turbulent past before becoming a cop. The beginning intro to the game really is fantastic and I love how the character and his story is set into motion through the use of tattoos on his body.Now I’ll talk about a few of the mechanics in the game and I’ll avoid spoilers for sure. The story is just too good to have it ruined by a stupid spoiler. As Ronan accepts that he is a ghost he learns how to be a ghost by talking to other ghosts that are nearby. Ronan learns the ins and outs of being a ghost and what he can and cannot pass through and why. He also learn special abilities which are real life traits that carry over into ghostly abilities and special powers. A little further into the story, Ronan will meet a human counterpart that can actually see and hear him and she helps him on his quest to solve his murder as well as other that have occurred at the hands of the serial killer at large. Hmmm, sound like a part perfectly made for Whoopi Goldberg.Anyway, you’ll investigate crime scenes looking for clues and then piecing together the evidence to come to a final conclusion and advance the case closer to being solved. Some of the deductions can be a little tricky so be sure to pay attention to your evidence and what exactly you are looking for. You’ll receive 1, 2 or 3 shields depending on your performance. Why a grading system is there I am not sure because it really plays no part in the game or leaderboards that I saw. There are also other ghosts you can help come to terms with the death and help them move into the light. Once again you have to find clues and piece the puzzle together.In each area you explore, there are certain collectibles that you will find that unlock a ghost story once they are all found. These items you will have to hold the right trigger and reveal and then collect them. Be sure to listen to the ghost stories as I found them to be pretty good tales. You never know, maybe you could use one around the campfire.
Visually I thought the game looked decent. There were some areas where the camera could get a little wonk or perhaps you would see through terrain. I will say there are a few ugly moments though like looking at weeds on the side of a lake that looked like just brown straws sticking out of the water. I did enjoy the visuals when it came to the combination of old Salem and modern day Salem. It took me a bit to figure out exactly what was going on and I actually thought people were walking through walls until I realized those walls were only visible to me in the ghostly world. The cut scenes were pretty solid and I liked how the game would create flashback sequences.
The audio in the game is right on par with most games. I thought the voice acting was pretty good throughout and it made the characters and story believable which is something very important to a game so heavily based on its storyline. Some of the dialogue from the NPCs around Salem could get repetitive and some of it was plain stupid. But Square Enid nail’d it where it counted and that was with the main characters.
(Over All: 76/100)
Game Play: 75/100
Graphics: 80/100
Replay Value: 75/100
