Dragon and Jade
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| Dragon and Jade

Everyone likes a good murder mystery to solve. After watching countless episodes of Miss Marple and Poirot in our time (hey, it's easier than reading, right?), we're no exception. Nothing is quite as much fun as shouting, "It was them!", every time a character crops up, whether it's a bin man who's in shot for four seconds, or a decrepit old granny in a wheelchair. (Guess you might need to be drinking at the time.)

Anyway, as one of only a few detective games on mobile, we were looking forward to Dragon and Jade. Set in Old Shanghai of the 1930s, the game gives you control of the eponymous detective duo as they set about solving the mystery of murdered archaeologist Feng Ling.

It looks the part, with isometric visuals and various locations from backstreet slums to offices and Triad headquarters. It incorporates some neat ideas, too, which ensure the experience isn't simply a trek to find new characters to talk to and enemies to kill. For instance, the game's 'social puzzles' call for you to memorise certain facts about a character or guess how they feel about various conversational topics so as to make them open up to you.

Our first 20 minutes with this were really very enjoyable. It's a unique type of game, with simple controls and well thought out puzzle sequences. Unfortunately, with a bit more play it becomes clear Dragon and Jade is a very short game – the mystery is easily solved within an hour and there's little replay value – and that there isn't much diversity within each level.

The rules of the game are easy. Dragon, being a the strong male character, is more adept with his fists than his tongue. So he can pick up crates or tables and chuck them, either to clear a path or take down groups of enemies. He can also punch enemies down, and this is taken care of automatically – all you have to do is point him in the direction of a bad guy. It sounds a bit too simple, but it actually works well, and lining him up along with protecting Jade is still challenge enough, without the need for multiple attack buttons thrown into the mix.

Jade, on the other hand (you switch between the two at any time by pressing '3') is more of a sweet talker. She can converse with any character with a speech bubble over their heads to find out clues. She can also pick locks to get the duo through certain doors.

The meat of the game is made up of searching for clues – both items and hints from characters – and fighting enemies. Early on, for example, there's a puzzle to get past a group of Triads without them seeing you, and this is done by banging a gong in the room to make them think it's dinner time and so move from their positions. Unfortunately, there's no more where this comes from – it's the only truly unique puzzle in the game. Even just a handful more of this kind of thing would have really made the game special.

We should point out Dragon and Jade is also very linear. Really, aside from dying in a fight, there's not really any way you can go wrong. This makes it more of an onward advancement through an average story about a stolen statue than a crime game with puzzles able to provide lasting satisfaction.

With just six missions, plus unlockable Dojo and card-based mini-games, mean this ultimately doesn't really live up to its promising start. Just the odd additional layer to the levels (breaking up crates for instance never rewards you with any secrets, and there could have been more safes to bust open for clues) and a more generous selection of those clever puzzles, tied into a lengthier story, would have made it the epic mystery we initially thought we were getting.

Still, for a quick burst of crime-solving, it's worth checking out. Dragon and Jade is a promising beginning to what looks as though will develop into a series. If so, hopefully the next instalment will extend on what the game does do very well, and offer a bit more bulk to boot.

Dragon and Jade

A unique, crime-solving adventure with lots of neat touches. It's just over a bit quickly and should have included more of the clever puzzles it does so well
Score
Kath Brice
Kath Brice
Kath gave up a job working with animals five years ago to join the world of video game journalism, which now sees her running our DS section. With so many male work colleagues, many have asked if she notices any difference.