NinDS - Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles

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NinDS - Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles

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who the game tries so hard to give a supporting role to, is dull and seems more like a puppet muttering generic responses to Hunter. After a while, the repetition becomes so tiresome, you may wish you didn't have to talk to the girl at all. And it's not just with Yulia; it's with the majority of the characters that you have to talk to move the plot forward.

It wouldn't be so bad if the plot was something that you were so fixated in that you just had to advance it at any cost. It's not even worth the expense of sitting through all the lackluster dialogue, typical jazzy detective music, and the uninspiring scenery. Wait a minute, isn't this an interactive visual novel? Isn't the narrative what should drive the entire game? Yes, and that is probably the biggest problem with Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles. The three cases you have to solve aren't intriguing enough to save the game. Actually, there really isn't even that much of a mystery to be solved with half of them because they are predictable. You'll pretty much have the case figured out before you get half way through it, and in this case, that's about 30 minutes in. In fact, you'll probably have the game beat within 5-6 hours with no replay value (I can't see why you'd want to put yourself through these unoriginal cases again).

To add to all this mess, the gameplay isn't fun either. The game is about as linear as it can get. You can't move around or explore the atmosphere; instead you tap a button that tells you what it looks like. You don't even have much of a choice in how you respond to the questions you're asked or what you can ask people. If you pick the wrong choice, Hunter tells you he doesn't think that's the correct statement and forces you to pick the right comment. To top off this big pile of boring, at the end of the day, you are quizzed on all of the facts about the case. The quizzes just state the obvious and are a big waste of time. I'm left to wonder, is this the best they could do to make the game interactive?

So, does the Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles even give you back the investment of your time and effort? No. My advice is that there are far better games on the DS worth your time. A story driven game that is not more innovative than something a high school student could write (and also edit, there are some obvious spelling and grammatical mistakes) just doesn't cut it.

NinDS - Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles

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main character is thinking (essentially a hint system), but the game is so easy that you never really need to use it. But it was still a cool idea for a private eye game.

This game would be good for kids. Like maybe 11 or 12 at the oldest, simply due to the fact that its simply too easy. This game was a real let down.

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On a side note, this game was either rushed, or edited by idiots. The number of spelling mistakes is absolutely comical. I realize that I probably spelled a few words wrong in this review, but I'm not selling my review for 20 bucks.