I-play announced today the exclusive launch of Women's Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey, the second interactive gaming title based on James Patterson's Women's Murder Club book series. Women's Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey is a suspenseful casual adventure game with new features including dialogue with characters, a point system and greater adventures. The retail version of the game (PC and Mac) is set to be available in stores in March 2009.
All in all, Women's Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey is a pleasing casual adventure, ideal for a rainy afternoon and a nice diversion for mystery buffs and fans of Patterson's work. Most importantly, it shows how successful the blend between casual mechanics and traditional adventure game features can be with some clever integration and a strong storyline to pull it all together. While the implementation is not as seamless as the one seen in the recent 3 Cards to Midnight, it does offer far more diversity of gameplay, and shows the series is definitely moving in the right direction.
If the third game further develops the light adventure elements introduced here, and maybe even adds a little more exploration, Women's Murder Club may just have what it takes to become an interesting thriller series that appeals to both casual game fans and full-time adventurers alike.
GamersInfo writes: "Women's Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey is the latest game from the James Patterson Women's Murder Club series. As with the first offering, Death in Scarlet, you'll be playing three of the characters from the book series: Lindsay, the homicide detective; Claire, the forensic examiner; and Cindy, the newspaper reporter."
JIG:
"Despite its few writing flaws and less-than-stellar mini-games, the story and progression of events in Women's Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey make it worth a visit. Murder and mystery drench every scene, and playing as three different characters, each with her own unique gameplay mode, livens things up to make this hidden object adventure a tier above the rest."
