Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express

Agatha Christie's crime novels are renowned around the world, thanks to the clever plot twists and well-crafted characters that are part of the story. Spanning across a few decades, the series featured more than its fair share of bestsellers, some of which were bound to be turned into movies, or, in this case, an interactive video game.

In Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express, the spotlight shines on Antoinette Marceau, who takes on the case of the strange crime that took place aboard the famous train. The legendary detective Hercule Poirot is also part of the story and you can get valuable advice from him, as well as lend him a helping hand in solving the crime.

The actual game uses point-and-click gameplay mechanics, although you also get to move around the environment a bit and enjoy the beautifully modeled characters in full 3D. Most of your time, though, is spent examining objects and talking with other people, in order to find clues and form an overall picture of the events that took place before the murder. Moreover, despite the fact that the story follows the one from the novel, the ending is actually different from the original, which offers you a completely new experience to enjoy.

Another factor that greatly contributes to the overall atmosphere of the game is the surrounding environment. Since the train is basically into the middle of nowhere and a blizzard is raging outside, you catch glimpses of the landscape whenever you happen to look out the window, which in turn makes you immerse even deeper into the game's universe and really put effort into trying to bring the case to its conclusion.

As previously mentioned, the graphical and artistic presentation of the game is top-notch, thanks to the carefully rendered environments and the very detailed characters you meet throughout the story. The voice acting and the soundtrack playing in the background maintain the same quality standards, with convincing dialog and spine-chilling music.

Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express provides you with a very close depiction of the actual novel, except of course for the different ending. Other than that, the feeling is as close to the book as it can be, with the added benefit of being able to figure out the mystery by yourself.