Customer Reviews
I agree with wrldruler 
2008-03-21
Not that I ever thought I'd completely agree with someone called "wrldruler," but not only did my spouse lose interest, and not only did I have to resort to "cheats" (put the books back on the shelf in *what* order*?!?), but my game froze at the raft scene, too, causing me to abandon 2 hours worth of "progress." I may or may not go back to this game. SHEESH.
At least they're *trying* to appeal to adults... 
2008-03-19
I'm not an avid gamer. I just got the Wii for myself a couple of months ago, and have found most games frustrating, and not particularly interesting. This appealed to me, because I love puzzles, and I don't have to be a pro-gamer to manage the controls (just the remote, it doesn't require the nunchuk).
But, considering the state of the art of gaming, I was amazed at how primitive the graphics are. Rather reminds me of the old days of "King's Quest"! And, as the previous reviewer has said, there seems to be no rhyme or reason for solving puzzles - the main thing is to talk to each "suspect" so you can move on to the next chapter. And for heaven's sake, listen closely, because if you miss something in one of the little video clips, there's no way to replay it!
But, I'm playing with it, so it still has my attention. (a lame excuse...)
The Real Mystery -- Why Did I Waste my $$ on This ?? 2008-03-10
My suggestion: borrow it, play it, return it.
Let me first admit that I have never read the Agatha book, or played the PC game. So I started with a blank slate. I will also admit that I am an ADHD gamer, and wasn't interested in this game. But my wife wanted a low action, easy-to-play, 7th Guest puzzle game.
She did not get what she wanted. My wife lasted only about an hour in the game, and then she was done. I lasted 2 more hours, and then I was done. I decided I wanted to see the ending, so I turned to a strategy walk-through cheat guide on the Internet. With the guide's help, the game was over in a few more hours.
I used a walkthrough guide based on the PC version, and found it 99% identical to the Wii game. So if you played this on the PC, there is really no need to buy the Wii version. Yes, there are a few puzzles that you can use the Wii motion-controls, but I found these very few controls to be awkward and unresponsive. Opening doors drove me crazy throughout the game (and I opened a ton of doors in The Godfather).
The game has a few puzzles that require you to assemble various inventory items together. But these puzzles are NOT required in order to complete the game - they are just sidebars that provide superficial entertainment. And if it wasn't for the cheat guide, I don't know how anyone would have ever figured out some of these puzzles, or where to pick up the inventory items. For instance, the location of the antidote appears to be completely random (and only makes sense AFTER you know the ending).
The puzzles did not drive the plot along, and the plot did not move you to and through the puzzles. This is what separates this game from some of the other historic success stories in this genre.
The only requirement to moving the plot along was talking to the other characters. The main challenge was to find where the characters have walked off to. So it was really just several hours of wandering around, checking the same rooms over and over and over again, hoping to bump into a character.
And save your game often, because there are some bugs. My game froze at the raft scene and I had to restart from an earlier save - which only prolonged my misery.
Not great, but I'm enjoying it. 2008-04-24
First of all, it's important to explain what type of game this is. This games is a traditional, 2D, point-and-click adventure game. You walk around and explore, talk to people, collect objects and clues, and solve puzzles. I'm a big fan of these types of games, but if you're not as a rule, I would skip this.
As a long-time adventure gamer, I was waiting for the Wii release to play this game. If you've already played it on PC, don't bother. It's exactly the same. The Wii controls are barely used, and when they are it's kinda annoying.
This game definitely has its flaws. It's not a great game. The action is pretty slow and sometimes repetitive. It's not exciting or unpredictable (especially if you've read the book, which I have.) The game is actually not very linear, in that you can do a lot of optional actions and you can do things at different times. That gets confusing sometimes because I felt that I had not done things I wanted to do and was afraid I wouldn't get a chance. But I did.
I have resorted to a walkthrough for a few parts of the game, but I have a low frustration tolerance, so that's not strange. In all, I've been really enjoying my time playing this game. I can't quite put my finger on what I like, but it's soothing and relaxing. I have been monopolizing the TV for several days playing it.
So, if you have liked this type of game in the past, I would recommend it. I understand the later PC games in the series are improvements on this game. I hope they do Wii ports of them as well. Otherwise I'm going to have to get them for PC.
stuck 
2008-04-21
everything is fine and dandy and collecting objects is easy as well as moving around the house, but i seem to get stuck when the first night comes around. i've done it twice now and can't seem to find somehting to put the flour in to get the batteries? unless of course there is a lil glitch with mine. anyway, over all great game but i'm just a bit stuck.
las
Like the "Titanic", a Real Sinker! 
2008-04-15
What a disappointment! This game is not worth any price you may want to pay. Do Not Buy! It suffers from primitive graphics that are reminiscent of the old PC platform "Titanic" game. Like that game, the player has no instructions, no tutorial, and an unclear objective. Also like that game, interaction with the game environment is minimal, character movement is stilted. Want something that takes advantage of the Wii capabilities? Forget this game!
Once stuck, game over 2008-04-11
The sound and the cartoon animation during the introduction sets a great tone for the game. It was fun to complete Chapter 1, which I finally did through a stroke of luck. now, I begin Chapter 2 and I'm stuck because I don't have a light. My point is - once you are stuck, the game is over. You can think & think & think...then, ok, now what. So much for that money. Game over.
Also, if you resume a game that you saved, there is no play back feature, so, you better remember what you were doing.
befuddled 2008-03-23
I love Agatha Christie's work, especially when Poirot is the featured sleuth. While I didn't expect this game to be as rich as Christie's works, I was expecting a more entertaining experience. In a word, this game is boring. This is true because the game is befuddled with notes and objects and an endless searching of rooms. The Wii aspect of this game could be so much better, as well. You don't get to do much more than click and twist your wrist to open doors, which you must do so many times you begin to wonder about whether you might aggravate a bad case of carpel tunnel. This could have been great. Someone ran out of money or creativity in its making and needed to cash in early, it would seem.
