Normally when I think of hidden object games, I think of family friendly fun that everyone can enjoy. As you can imagine, when a copy of Eastville Chronicles: the Drama Queen Murder arrived on my doorstep with a ESRB rating of “T for Teen”, my curiosity was peeked. Blood, violence, and suggestive themes in a hidden object game? After my initial shock, I loaded the game into my disk drive and set out on a quest for clues.
To Kill a Drama Queen
As the title and cover art suggest, someone has been murdered in at the Eastville Opera House. Actress Dolores Molinero’s body was found on a stage and no one knows who did it. Taking the role of Detective Alex Hunt, it is up to you to find clues, solve puzzles, and connect the dots from the body to the killer.
You start your investigation with Emilio; the theatre’s janitor and maintenance man. He seems innocent enough, except for the fact that his bloody finger prints are everywhere. From there you move on his mother, the manager, and more. Each person seems to have shaky stories, weak alibis, and some sort of motive, making The Drama Queen Murder an exciting case of “Whodunit?”
As you question each suspect, you get little clues for your case. Typically, the suspect points you to a place where they think that you will find some helpful evidence. These destinations include hidden object rooms, decoding tasks, and puzzles that must be solved to move on with the story. At this point, I refuse to go into further detail about the story, because it was so engaging that played through the whole game in one sitting; to find out more, you will have to play the game yourself.
Gameplay
As you explore the opera house, you will find hidden object rooms. This is about half of the game’s tasks. In each room, you will search for the objects on the list at the bottom. The list contains various pointless objects, (such as a mouse, pineapple, bowling ball, etc) and some that are essential to progress the story (keys, gears, decoders, and more). You must look for the objects, because random clicking will make the cursor spin in a circle. Each object found is identified by a shrill note on a violin. If you can’t seem you find one, the Hint button in the lower right hand cornier will highlight one for you.
