Nick Chase: A Detective Story [App Store]

There are plenty of mystery games emerging lately on the iPhone and while some are well written with a deep narrative, others do not have any story whatsoever. Fortunately, Nick Chase: A Detective Story falls in to the former camp. This puzzler plays like its namesake and stays true to the film noir genre. You are Nick Chase, a private investigator – down on his luck and out of a job. That is of course, until HE arrives. The man known as The Collector (cliched I know). You work through various hidden clues and puzzles to uncover the mystery behind a lost manuscript by Leonardo Di Vinci. Think Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego mixed with Dan Brown’s best seller.

The game runs you through your paces as you play mini games and search for clues. The gritty film noir comic book style sets the darkened mood and the narrative style to the game is pleasing on the palate. Realistic and believable voiceovers [HOORAY! - kunzie] add to the mystery and atmosphere. Touch gestures control the detective work of hide and seek, and while some of the puzzles are a fairly bog standard “common sense” affair, some take a bit of lateral thinking to master. The game itself is relatively short, only giving you one case file to solve, but I’m hoping that Big Fish Games Inc. will be updating this soon to bring us more. It’s too good a story to end it where it does! If you’re a fan of this emerging genre on the iPhone, or a fan of film noir, this is a must have. Overall, the mystery of Nick Chase is engaging, graphically stunning, and with a great story that you could easily see Tom Hanks starring in… and not upset all religious believers.

Compelling. 3.5 stars.