The Mulldoon Murders

5 star: (1) 4 star: (4) 3 star: (4) 2 star: (1) 1 star: (0)

Average Rating: Number of Ratings: 10 Write a review

- Denk, October 23, 2016

This game is a sequel to Mulldoon Legacy, and is smaller.

In an interesting take on the sequel concept, you arrive after the events of the first game, and the effects of your predecessor's actions are everywhere. Items they dropped, doors they opened, things they moved.

Everything is slightly different in the museum, though; a sort of darker version of things. This game expands on the mythology a bit, while still being confusing.

If you liked the first game, you should try this one for sure.

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I think Jon Ingold did a fantastic job writing this game, and filling it with puzzles--again following the puzzle-in-every-room formula, which kept me occupied. But what prompted me to give only 3 stars to this work was how the game seemed to repudiate or disavow the story in The Mulldoon Legacy, of which MM is a sequel or epilogue. If you have played TML, I would invite you to play this game, much of the territory is the same, and there is little here to surprise or confuse you--for example, you know what the sundial and mosaic were for in TML. Call me sentimental, but there is no teleportation, no time travel or any kind of magic in this game(until the end), which may disappoint TML vets. However, I do think that the author was clever about how he dealt with the differences between the two games, and those who have played TML will notice this as they play this game.
A beginner in IF may find this game hard to swallow, not having familiarity with TML, and there are some allusions to chemistry that might confuse the average player(I had to consult Wikipedia on a few things). Thus, I would feel awkward recommending it to a beginner. However, all of the puzzles are clever and engaging. Also, the game is comparatively short--if you are looking to immerse yourself in a long game over a couple of weeks' vacation from work, this game would not be it--it took me 4 days to complete(without a walkthrough)--I'd send you to The Mulldoon Legacy, though you'd probably still be on TML long after the vacation was over. This game is great as an epilogue, and I think it should be played as such, just don't expect much of a mystical or magical theme--remember, here, you are a cynical private eye, not an adventurer looking for magic, treasure and wonder. But then again, science and chemistry are full of wonders, and they are well represented here, even if implemented rather awkwardly.

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- kala (Finland), November 13, 2012

- troels, August 8, 2011

- googoogjoob, February 26, 2009

- Anders Hellerup Madsen (Copenhagen, Denmark), July 21, 2008

- LisariaUS, July 17, 2008

- jfpbookworm (Hamburg, New York), February 25, 2008

- zer, October 24, 2007

Baf's Guide

Puzzle-fest epilogue to the long and sprawling Mulldoon Legacy, set in some of the same locations. The puzzles in "Murders" are mostly quite ingenious, and several make good use of liquid simulations and heat and cold. A few seem a bit unfair, but there are not too many of those.

Mood is also strong: there's a sense of isolation and an ominous quality that tinge much of the game. It's not full-blown horror, exactly, but it is surreal and somewhat frightening, and grows more so as the plot progresses.

As story it's a little less successful. There was some newsgroup discussion about the meaning of the ending, but it doesn't seem to be universally obvious. (Some people speculated hopefully about a forthcoming Mulldoon III to tie off the ends.)

While it may be best as a follow-on to Legacy, Mulldoon Murders is playable even if you haven't played the first game. People who found Legacy dauntingly enormous may still enjoy this installment.

-- Emily Short