Touch Detective

"Touched the right spot"

A tremendous amount of quality games has befallen the humble DS as of late. Touch Detective is a point-and-click adventure game at heart, but its unique Tim Burton-esque art style, charming characters, and interesting episodic nature makes it stand up there with the best of them. There are few of these kind of games nowadays, but Atlus brings us yet another superb localisation effort that is definitely worth your DS' battery power. The miniature world created here is so captivating, it really feels like you are playing out an animated mystery.

Visuals - 9
Sound - 9
Gameplay - 7
Lasting Value - 7 (6-8 hours plus mini bonus cases too!)
Replay Value - 6
Difficulty - 7

Charm - 9
VERDICT - 7.5

Tim Burton's lovechild
Touch Detective has a uniquely, stylistic, dark and moody tone. The backgrounds you roam about are very detailed, and the characters you meet along the way are all very unique. It sort of looks like a Tim Burton cartoon, but on your DS! There is a subtle mix of 2D and 3D cel-shading and the overall look cannot be faulted.

The sweet sounds of a loving touch
The aural aspect really surprised me here. You don't typically find well-composed tunes in these 'low-budget' genre games, but I find myself proven dead wrong here. There is a wide variety of BGMs to accompany the various settings and scenarios that take place, each one highly appropriate. And as you let them play out, they will touch your heartstrings very warmly. There is also an in-game sound test available so that you can listen to them at your pleasure - the 3rd best DS score of 2006 by my books! The sound effects lend themselves to the the whole stylistic presentation just as well.

Whodunnit?
The aim of the game is to solve some mysteries that sprout out among the strange community you inhabit. There are 4 main cases, each one creatively put together with a bizarre, but wonderful sense of humour. The situations our young detective, Mack, finds herself in are straight out of a well written, witty cartoon. It's not funny-ridiculous, but more like a subtlely pleasant funny-cute-charming.

As you move about the various locations set around this one quaint town, you will need to "touch" to interact with objects around you as well as converse with the assortment of characters who can help you on your plight for discovery. Speaking of which, the weird & wacky ensemble cast are highly memorable. There's Cromwell, your inventive butler, Chloe, with all her crazy conspiracy theories, the health freak with his dry, but always "healthy" humour, and your pet companion Funghi whose small physique can aid you in more ways than one. The rest of the cast fit in extremely well with the whole town aspect, and they have a lot of potential for more crazy shenanigans in future instalments should they come (can you say Wii!)

Touch here, touch there
The progression is your typical point-and-click fare, collecting items and presenting them in appropriate situations in order to move the story along. It feels a lot like Carmen Sandiego to me. The touch screen interface works very well and the puzzle solving involved with combining and manipulating items is very satisfying. However, it is not clear at all times where exactly you have to touch, and it is all too easy to overlook something small or randomly placed, which may lead you a stand-still. But the funny plot developments that occur will ease an irritated mind easily; you will witness some of the quirkiest events ever to take place in any visual medium!

The bottom screen is where all the action take place, while the top screen shows the "thoughts" of our lil' Mack. As the entertaining exchange of dialogue takes place on the bottom, we can read what detective Mack really thinks of the characters and situations at hand. It's not a strain on the screen by any means, but it does add to the subtle humour and presentation of the miniature mysteries involved. The game may be played with the traditional d-pad and buttons, but stylus use is far and above superior. Its nice that you can save anywhere too.

Each episode lasts as long as a typical "episode"
While the cases themselves are individually distinctive and intriguing, they do conclude rather quickly. Each one lasts from 1.5-2 hours depending on how often you get stuck for clues. The pace is quick, but everything that occurs plotwise is relevant and straight to the point. The endings of each case may seem abrupt, but there really isn't any buildup to them anyway; each episode is a novel idea which is plain and simply fun to run through.

As you progress, more locations open up. It is unfortunate that some previous ones become redundant in the the last 2 episodes as much more variety, and hence detective work, could have been incorporated to give them more substance. As is, each case is about equal in terms of length, difficulty, and depth. Once you are done with the main game, there are still bonus mini-minicases to complete as you explore the town some more. The whole package will not last very long, but the experiences you have will definitely keep with you for much longer.

Overall Touch Detective shows amazing presentation and visual flair. Everything, right from the start where you wake up and select your cases by phone, is done with stylish flair and impeccable delivery. The cases are weird and wonderful as they occur in a vividly, imaginative little town, and the locals are to each their own. It is a shame then that more quantity was not provided given that the base quality is already so high. The world of Touch Detective really lends itself well to future episodes, perhaps even a cartoon. The concepts are solid, the art and music are top-notch, and the mini-adventure is fun while it lasts.

7.5/10 - Weird and wonderful, short and sweet.

10/11/06

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/10/06