Murder in a Wheel

The Good
A lot of positive comments can be made about this game.

I'll start with the graphics, which are entirely reminiscent of "days of the tentacle" (a favorite classic Lucasarts title). "Murder in a wheel" features the same kind of super-deformed house design and expressive cartoon characters. The result is colorful, lively and brings you back to the "golden age" of adventure games.

The sound is basic but decent and the music is nice (there is a big BUT, though, see below)

The gameplay is just what you would expect from your typical Lucasarts game : point-and-click, in which you first select a verb (use, open, look at, talk to, ...) and then select an element to interact with. There also are some multiple-choice dialogs.

But in the end, what really makes the whole experience worth your time is just how well thought of the story and the puzzles are. The story is just great. You and another man have been invited by a couple and during the evening, the hamster is murdered. It is your mission to discover the murderer. Is it your host ? his wife ? the other guest ? the housemaid ? the cat ? someone from outside ? Wat is so brilliant with the story is that although short, it will still make you suspect just about everyone before reaching a satisfying conclusion.

As for the puzzles, most of them make perfect sense and the few zanier ones are not difficult to figure out eventually. The frustration, a factor inherent to the adventure genre, is therefore kept to a minimum.

I also thought the game was pretty funny, in a subtle way. I mean, that the humor comes more from the setting and overall story than from heavy jokes (even though there are a couple of heavy jokes)

The Bad
Well, the game is really short. It should take about an hour to finish and there are only six rooms to explore. Of course, that can hardly be called a flaw, given that the game is totally free.

Also, the music is ripped from classic Lucasarts title, which is nice but also kind of illegal... (even though the plundered games are credited in the end)

Finally, the animation is not up to the standard that is otherwise set by the graphics... it feels quite artificial.

The Bottom Line
Murder in a Wheel, although short, is a perfect example of an adventure game done right! The great storytelling, the good puzzles and the nice humor blend together particularly well with the quality graphics.

Although not perfect, the few flaws are minor ones and easily forgiven because the game is free.

If you are old enough to have played "Day of the Tentacle", "Murder in a Wheel" will strike right at your nostalgia chord.