Previewed: October 2, 2007
Previewed by: Jason Flick

Publisher
The Adventure Company

Developer
AWE Games

Release Date: November, 2007
Genre: Adventure
Players: 1

Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
Agatha Christie: Evil Under The Sun is the third installment in The Adventure Company’s Agatha Christie series. In Evil Under The Sun you play as the famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, once again, who shows up on Seadrift Island for a bit of relaxation. But alas it does not last long. You are thrown in the fray of yet another murder and must put your little grey cells to work to solve the crime.

Features:

  • Play as world-renowned Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot
  • Over 20 unique characters to interact with, each with their own motives
  • Cinematic camera perspectives emphasizing character facial emotions
  • “Shadowing” ability allows Poirot to stealthily follow suspects from a discreet distance
  • Advanced in-game hint system, including automatic journal recording
  • Additional storyline appended to that of the original novel providing a new ending
The gameplay in Agatha Christie: Evil Under The Sun is of your standard third person point and click adventure fare. I haven’t played any of the other Agatha Christie games, but I can only assume that they operate in much of the same manner as this game. I have however read the book that this game is based on and so far I like what I see.

In Evil Under The Sun, there are over 20 unique individuals that all have their share of problems and issues. At times I was asked by characters to aid in these matters such as a missing typewriter or building a blind. Evil Under the Sun does have a different way of presenting its story, and I like it. The game takes place after the mystery has been solved and Hercule and his friend Hastings are visiting one another in Hercule’s residence. Hercule challenges Hastings to solve the crime as if he was Hercule himself. As stated in the preview of Evil Under the Sun by Hercule, you are given access to only the important information that is needed to solve the case.

There are several features in the games that I thought were nice touches to Evil Under The Sun. Among them are the Stopwatch feature and the Fast Travel feature. First off, I will explain why I like the Stopwatch feature. Now when I first read this game used a stopwatch I was like “oh great now I have to walk from one location to another like thirty times to get the times right”. But that is not the case at all. All I had to do was go to the starter location and click on the drop down Stopwatch icon at the top of the screen and Hercule went there. Apparently there is supposed to be some sort of movie showing when this is happening but I was unable to see it in this preview copy.

The other feature that I liked is what I like to call Fast Travel. Since this game is a point and click adventure you obviously point and click to move your character about the screen. The Fast travel feature is used by double clicking on the edges of your current screen to move quickly to the next one. This sure beats moving your character a little bit at a time. Evil Under the Sun also feature an automatic journal recording that logs every important clue you will ever need to complete this mystery.

Visually, Evil Under the Sun is quite beautiful. It’s not as gorgeous as some adventure games I’ve played but it is still very well done. The hotel in which you are staying is done in Art Deco, which captures the essence of the Poirot universe. Actually everything in Evil Under the Sun captures Monsieur Poirot’s world to a tee.

The scenery outside is beautiful and peaceful and if you are near the water which is to say most of the time, you can enjoy watching the moving ocean water. The only thing that really bothers me a little bit are the characters. Don’t get me wrong, they captured them perfectly, but I think the graphics are lacking a little on the models at this point.

The sounds and background music of Evil Under the Sun is well done. Since you are on a nearly deserted island, due to the war, there is little noise other than birds, and insects. This is fine by me; I wouldn’t expect it to be noisy. When inside the hotel, when you walk across a hardwood floor footstep can be heard, but when you transition to carpet little or no footsteps can be heard.

One of the greatest assets to the game is the voice acting. I don’t know who they got to do Hercule’s voice but he sound exactly like the guy in the Agatha Christie movies. The entire cast in Evil Under the Sun is fantastic and I can’t express enough how much a good voice cast makes or breaks a game.

From what I’ve played in this preview of Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun, I found it highly enjoyable. I can’t wait to play the finished game when it comes out. If you have played the other two Agatha Christie games by The Adventure Company, and liked them, then this game is for you. If you have never played an Agatha Christie game, then now is the time. Evil Under the Sun should appeal to the little detective in everyone.