THE MYSTERY TEAM (PSP)
While many games fall into obscurity over time, The Mystery Team has to be one of the most obscure first-party releases we’ve ever encountered. With no reviews from mainstream critics and little promotion despite being published by Sony and releasing only in Europe, Tonika Games’ second (and final) game would grace the PSP towards the end of the handheld’s life, with the launch of the Vita looming. Sadly, from the opening case of this adventure title, it’s no mystery as to why it made so little impact. Simplistic mechanics, lacklustre mini-games, barebones presentation and a stark lack of replay value leave this one better left to anonymity.
The Mystery Team concerns the titular trio of investigators. Colonel Green uses his camera to spot clues, Sparks serves as the hacker and lockpick, while Anabel Vamp, for some reason, is a vampire and can access hidden areas and decipher hieroglyphics as well as interrogate suspects. Each of the eight cases revolves around a conundrum, causing tension across the globe. These range from a thieving spree to famous band the Pop Love seeing ghostly apparitions. The problem is its dry presentation, which lacks both animations during cut-scenes and voice acting. Briefings labour under slow dialogue, cut-scenes intended to be dramatic look crude and the stories themselves would seem cheesy even next to a daytime soap. The only solace is the occasional pop culture joke, which can be amusing, though these are few and far between.
The Mystery Team concerns the titular trio of investigators. Colonel Green uses his camera to spot clues, Sparks serves as the hacker and lockpick, while Anabel Vamp, for some reason, is a vampire and can access hidden areas and decipher hieroglyphics as well as interrogate suspects. Each of the eight cases revolves around a conundrum, causing tension across the globe. These range from a thieving spree to famous band the Pop Love seeing ghostly apparitions. The problem is its dry presentation, which lacks both animations during cut-scenes and voice acting. Briefings labour under slow dialogue, cut-scenes intended to be dramatic look crude and the stories themselves would seem cheesy even next to a daytime soap. The only solace is the occasional pop culture joke, which can be amusing, though these are few and far between.
Investigation scenes consist of some simple cursor pointing and sadly little else
Sadly, the gameplay is as vapid as the presentation. Each case sees you exploring a handful of areas, mostly using Green’s camera to snap clues across static backgrounds. On rare occasions, you can interact with the environment outside of your camera, but these instances prove fleeting. As you find clues, they can then be put to use in Interrogations with key persons involved in the case. You can simply press individuals on each piece of evidence, with no penalty for using the wrong items, and these often open more places to explore. Eventually, you can draw your conclusions to pinpoint a suspect, their motive and an accomplice. Interestingly, you can get this wrong and the newspaper crawl at the end will reflect this, but the gameplay is very simple here – the adventure mechanics border on edutainment, only even more simplified. This loop loses lustre well before you reach the midpoint.
The other key aspect of The Mystery Team is mini-games. To overcome certain problems, each character can use their strengths which translates into a unique mini-game. Sparks’ hacking and lockpicking sees you performing button press sequences and guiding a ball across spinning gears, respectively. Colonel Green can re-arrange pieces of a picture to create the complete image. Anabel deciphers codes by, oddly, playing a Tetris rip-off. She can also transform into a bat which sees you guiding her around obstacles. Some tasks are inoffensive, such as the Tetris derivative and the hacking games, while more involved tasks like obstacle dodging and guiding the lockpick suffer from clunky controls. However, much like the investigations themselves, the mini-games lose their lustre with repeated plays and have you pining for something more involved, which never occurs.
The other key aspect of The Mystery Team is mini-games. To overcome certain problems, each character can use their strengths which translates into a unique mini-game. Sparks’ hacking and lockpicking sees you performing button press sequences and guiding a ball across spinning gears, respectively. Colonel Green can re-arrange pieces of a picture to create the complete image. Anabel deciphers codes by, oddly, playing a Tetris rip-off. She can also transform into a bat which sees you guiding her around obstacles. Some tasks are inoffensive, such as the Tetris derivative and the hacking games, while more involved tasks like obstacle dodging and guiding the lockpick suffer from clunky controls. However, much like the investigations themselves, the mini-games lose their lustre with repeated plays and have you pining for something more involved, which never occurs.
A Qix clone and a Columns clone: when it comes to injections of variety, simple mini-games are the order of the day
Perhaps due to its basic set of gameplay types, The Mystery Team is rather short. Players will struggle to accumulate six hours and the severe lack of challenge might see some players drifting off to sleep before they finish the final case. Worse still is a noticeable lack of replay value. While players earn a score depending on clues found and accurate Conclusions, there is no way to replay individual cases if you lose percentage. Instead, you’re forced to replay the entire game. There’s nothing in the way of special features, extra content or unlockable bonuses, limiting this short game to a one-run experience.
The presentation is also very dry, even for a handheld system. Static models look lifeless, the soundtrack is a bore and there’s little in the way of visual charm, bearing more resemblance to a cheap flash game, such as how some of the suspects you speak to border on unsettling. The only highlight is the backdrops, which see you travelling across the globe and these are better constructed than the characters. Otherwise, this game looks very flat next to the myriad of superior visual treats on the PSP.
The presentation is also very dry, even for a handheld system. Static models look lifeless, the soundtrack is a bore and there’s little in the way of visual charm, bearing more resemblance to a cheap flash game, such as how some of the suspects you speak to border on unsettling. The only highlight is the backdrops, which see you travelling across the globe and these are better constructed than the characters. Otherwise, this game looks very flat next to the myriad of superior visual treats on the PSP.
The Mystery Team ends up a lifeless adventure with little in the way of depth, replay value or charm. The simplistic point-and-click gameplay grows wearisome quickly, mini-games range wildly in quality and the presentation is cheap to the point of dreariness. If you factor in that this was aimed at a younger audience, the lack of challenge will likely bore even children. With a great many better options available on the system, this one is best left in obscurity.
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VERDICT
"...the gameplay is as vapid as the presentation. The Mystery Team is a lifeless adventure with little in the way of depth, replay value or charm." OVERALL: 4/10 |
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