Format: PC | Genre: Puzzler | Publisher: Telltale Games | Release Date: 30/06/2010

I seem to have acquired a nack for finding games that nobody has ever heard of. I think Puzzle Agent is going to be another one of these games. It's actually quite surprising what lesser known games companies can come up with. I didn't know that Telltale Games had the Monkey Island series and the Sam and Max games, even Kings Quest for people old enough to remember. Puzzle Agent is one of their newest releases and it's well worth a go if you like Puzzlers.

You play the role of Agent Nelson Tethers with the FBI's Puzzle Research Department. Having spent months sitting behind your desk, doing crosswords and sleeping a lot you're sent to the town of Scoggins to determine what has happened at their eraser factory. The FBI has sent you because all their work has produced is a long list of brain bending puzzles and riddles. The factory supplies all the erasers for the White House which obviously makes this a very important case ... apparently.

In many aspects this title screams "I'm a Professor Layton rip off," in that you follow a narrative plot completing puzzles as you go. If you don't mind a quick spot of Deja Vu you'll probably be able to forget this and just get into the game. Being a big believer in the rule that there isn't any such thing as a new idea, just very well done themes based on old ones this didn't spoil my enjoyment.

The great thing about this release is the graphics. The scenes and characters are beautifully drawn but not in the spangly, "We've spent millions and seem to have forgotten something in the process ... oh yeah ... gameplay," sort of way as in many other games. You feel like you're playing though a well drawn out comic strip. The characters are roughly drawn but in a very lovable way. You wouldn't expect to pick up the Beano and see a 3D rendering of Dennis the Menace but you still love the comic ... same applies here. The fact that it's rather basic adds to the enjoyment of the game.

The Sound is a similar point. I could have probably done a better voice over of some of the characters while drunk and asleep but it sort of makes you like roles more. This is the first time I'm actually going to rate something highly for being bad. I know this doesn't make sense but if you play Puzzle Detective you'll catch my drift.

The plot is funny and well written and you want to keep playing to see what's going to happen next. Professor Layton was good but I found it to be a bit too polished and it came to a point where I could almost see where the story was going. I'm still playing my way through this title and I'm clueless, which is probably a good thing. I'd tell you more about the story but I don't want to ruin it for you. One thing I will say is that you'll be smiling if not laughing at your monitor like a loon right from the beginning.

There is a big range of puzzles in this game from simple jigsaws to logic problems that make you wish you listened in Maths at school. This is a pro and a con. It's good in that you will find some puzzles that fit your way of thinking well and you can race through where as others will leave you stuck for hours. If you're prone to getting frustrated easily you're going to need to check your blood pressure because some of the teasers in this game will get you down right annoyed. This is obviously the con to the pro. As in Professor Layton you also have to find the puzzles, so you might not be doing them in any particular order. This throws any notion of a learning curve right out the window if you find a lot of hard puzzles early on in the game. The last point to make on this is that all puzzles are logged after you collect them and can be replayed as you wish. You're success is rated as are you as an Agent, if you're a perfectionist you'll find yourself replaying a lot of puzzles to get them aced. This is going to be great for some and really monotonous for others.

So to the ratings. I'm rating the graphics really high, in fact, I'm rating them a ten. I'm doing this and breaking one of my personal rules because I can see the amount of love and effort the cartoonist has put in. Same applies to the sound. I'm not going to rate this as highly but I can see the reasoning behind the basic approach they've used. As for gameplay I think this deserves a high rating as well, I think that for those who love puzzlers this is a real little gem, it might be a bit of a clone but it's a very well done one that is different in just the right ways.

So the question remains. Are you going to enjoy this game having bought it? If you have a lot of patience, love puzzles and are very open minded I think you'll really love this diamond. If any of the above don't apply wait for the next Professor Layton. If you don't like puzzlers ... well ... don't bother at all.

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The Good: Immersive Storyline, Gorgeous Graphics, Hours of Gameplay

The Bad: Very Challenging, ; Poor sound (this might also be a good thing ... read on.)

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Gameplay 9 Graphics 10 Sound 7 Overall 9 / 10 Bias Adjusted 8.2    The Bias adjusted score is worked out based on a gaming preferences questionnaire that reviewers have to fill out. Crymzons bias profile I like games that make me think. I love casual games!. I love games that let me kick ass and run around a lot! The idea is that it gives a score that better represents the game rather than the feelings of the reviewer to a particular genre. For instance a reviewer who hates RPG games, may mark an RPG down just because of his feelings towards that particular genre. The bias calculator would then elevate the score a certain amount. If the same reviewer loves FPS games and rates all of the high, the bias calculation would show a slightly lower score. It is in the early stages of testing right now, but we hope it will become a very helpful bit of information for you all!!

Silver Y Award The Y Award is given based on the average of the Gameplay score, Graphics, Sound and Overall. 9.75 or more gets the Diamond Y Award 9 or more gets the Gold Y Award 8 or more gets the Silver Y Award 7 or more gets the Bronze Y Award 3 or less gets the Stink-Y Award

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