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James Hunt gets his sleuthing hat on

Since there hasn't been a new episode of Murder, She Wrote since 2003, you could be forgiven for wondering why anyone would release a game based on it. But given that this game is aimed squarely at the casual market, tying it into a familiar and previously unrepresented property is almost a stroke of genius, offering a familiar narrative and characters to an audience who aren't usually catered for in such a way.

The Murder, She Wrote game follows the structure of the familiar TV series - a murder has been committed and retired novelist Jessica Fletcher sets out to solve it.

There are five cases in all, each representing a full 'episode', in which Fletcher conducts an investigation through the medium of a hidden-object adventure.

In case you haven't had the pleasure, this means players are presented with a single-screen 2D environment, and a list of items to locate within it. Trust me, it's more fun than it sounds! Between each scene, you also experience a variety of story-related action and logic-based minigames, which help break up the action.

Visually, the environments and items are a real treat, rendered in impressive and interesting detail. On the flip side, the characters in the cut-scenes look a bit rushed, and the voice acting, while not terrible, doesn't use Lansbury in Fletcher's role - an understandable, but disappointing situation. These elements aren’t too distracting, however, and once you're focused on the rather engaging stories, such slight inadequacies quickly fade away.

It's worth noting that the game itself is very well priced. There's around an hour’s worth of fun to be had pursuing each case, and each can be enjoyed in timed or casual mode. Since the game is aimed at casual players, it's eager to ensure that you're never stuck for too long, with a built-in hint system, and even the ability to skip minigames that are taking too long.

Murder, She Wrote is ultimately enjoyable regardless of how much of a fan you were of the TV show. Hidden-object adventures can entertain gamers of all abilities, and this one, to its credit, is a particularly good example of the genre.

Fun for gamers of all ages and ability levels.

Price: £9.99
Manufacturer: Focus Multimedia
Tel: 01889 570156
Website: www.focusmm.com
Required Spec: Pentium IV 1.2 GHz or equivalent processor, 350MB HDD space, 512MB RAM, Microsoft Windows XP or later