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A satisfying whodunnit, February 29, 2008AN ACT OF MURDER
An Act of Murder is like a minature, music-box version of a classic Infocom mysteries like Deadline or Witness. If (like me) you found the originals ponderous and unforgiving, this game might be just the thing. It offers enough detective work to get you scratching your head, but confines itself to a small set of locations and a few key NPCs. The game world is excellently fleshed out. Objects are given just enough examinable detail to make them seem real, but at the same time its easy to tell which objects are likely to be important and which are window dressing. The characters have some interesting dialog, but they are a bit static and lifeless for a game (and a genre) that is heavily driven by NPC interactions.
The author has also gone to some effort to make the game easy to play, for which I'm always grateful. Simple touches (like listing where the exits of each room go) free up brainpower for use on solving the mystery rather than fighting with the game. A nice many-layered hint system ensures that you won't be stuck for long.
AAOM is not an epic or elaborate game by any means, but as a quick, engrossing whodunnit with no obvious bugs or holes, it does a fine job.