GC 2008: Hands on with Unsolved Crimes DS

Hidden away in the back of the Eidos booth, behind numerous monitors displaying a glistening Lara Croft frolicking suggestively in the sea (wearing what can only be described as a 'fitted' costume), were a couple of shady looking DSs bearing the forthcoming mystery game Unsolved Crimes.

It was like we had entered the seedy detective underworld before we had even reached the stand, with the DS taking on the apt role of an inconspicuous trenchcoat-wearing sleuth, sitting quietly in a gentleman's club amid a throng of parading floozies.

Upon booting up a fresh game, stylus in hand, it quickly became apparent that Unsolved Crimes revels in such well-worn cliches, but its style and snappy delivery make them feel more like a deferential nod than a lack of originality.

The opening scene has you acquainting yourself as a rookie detective in a New York homicide squad with your new partner, Marcy Blake, who wastes no time introducing you to her sister Betsy.

Before long, Marcy explains that her sister is a model, who came over to the investigations unit to return some lipstick because they 'share everything'. It sounds like a flimsy preamble to a low budget porn film, but it sets the quasi-noir tone perfectly and primes the stage for the inevitable blustered intervention of Captain Abbot, the identikit grumpy police chief.

Abbot soon sets about explaining the particulars of your desk and office, which is really a thinly veiled control tutorial. The world you must investigate is presented in glorious 3D, complete with a first person perspective. Metroid Prime: Hunters meets Hotel Dusk this ain't, however, and movement is plodding, with forwards, back, left and right taken care of with four corresponding buttons on the touchscreen.

Looking around simply requires you to drag the stylus around the touchscreen, so as to move your head. It means that you can't really move and look at the same time, but the lack of pace doesn't impede the gameplay and it suits the measured step of the detective theme.

So with the basics digested we forged bravely on with our first case, investigating some graffiti that had been daubed on the back of the police headquarters. After taking a look round the crime scene via the aforementioned control set up, we had amassed some decent evidence and were soon dealing with a rather elegant list of menus consisting of character profiles, physical evidence, photos, statements and background information.

Explaining how all of the facets specifically correlate with one another would probably necessitate a Columbo-esque ramble, but needless to say, it all works beautifully. Visually the game is not only polished, but accomplished.

The slow pace of the physical investigation part of the game may have made other developers nervous about how long players would be studying grainy textures and a constrained palette of colors. Unsolved Crimes however, achieves balance by punctuating the 3D sections with cut scenes and lovingly illustrated menu sections, just often enough to distract from the DS's lack of graphical grunt.

All in all the, atmosphere is thick and the gameplay is tight meaning that Unsolved Crimes could be the game to resurrect the DS's currently dormant point-and click-adventure genre. We're itching to get our hands on a full copy for review, click 'Track It!' to be sure it doesn't slip past you unnoticed.