Criminal Archives: Alphabetic Murders > iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac & PC Game

Overall rating

5 / 5

good HO game

PostedOctober 24, 2024

denniann2

fromharrisonburg, virginia

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Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

some one was killing by the alphabrt. i played on the custom level. good hint system.

I recommend this game!

0points

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Overall rating

4 / 5

4 of 4 found this review helpful

Pleasantly surprised

PostedMay 12, 2023

robinlinn

fromMidwest

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Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

I decided to try Criminal Archives not knowing what to expect. I've become a bit jaded as there are so many games now that are cookie cutter copies and have unimaginative story lines. Most challenges these days are too easy and don't require much thought. But I felt that Alphabetic Murders was pretty good overall. The challenges were a little more difficult than the usual "use a penny to remove screws" formula. I liked that when moving from scene to scene it wasn't limited to just a few connected sites. It required thought to move through the whole layout and unlock the mysteries. The graphics are pretty good, although the characters are a little primitive. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good little game and worth taking a look at. Try the demo first to be sure you want to purchase. I recommend this game, and it's a good game to hone your skills as a beginner or intermediate. Show less

I recommend this game!

+4points

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Overall rating

3 / 5

40 of 68 found this review helpful

ABC ••• EASY AS 123

PostedApril 30, 2023

pennmom36

fromდ Loki

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Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

3 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

Completed Game in about 7.0 hours
22 Main Game Scene Locations +9 Bonus Chapter
Difficulty Range: Beginner

"Solving this case is as easy as ABC" couldn't be a more accurate statement! Put yourself on auto-pilot and start clicking to figure out why someone is murdering people in alphabetical order. You know what to do, Fix that leaky steam pipe, fix that wheelbarrow blocking your path so you can expose that freshly dug pile of dirt, look for a coin screwdriver, use that cork as a handle, find something to clean up the pile of glass shards, find matching motifs to open drawers, prop up that sofa that is missing a leg, (why would a sofa be missing one leg in the 1st place?) use something to rip out stitches because someone decided to sew something into the lining of a brand new coat. Of course, you will need that hairpin spoke the detective endowed you with! The murderer will be pretty easy to spot in a crowd; just look for someone wearing a cloaked hoodie! When you get finished with all these tasks....don't worry; chapter two will give you another chance to complete the same tasks, lather, rinse, repeat!?!

DIALOGUE CHOICES:
If the game isn't boring you out of your mind, you can opt for extended gameplay via Conversation Choices. The story itself will not be affected if you opt out, but if you opt in, you will get an extra quest with additional puzzles and HO scenes. This option would be fantastic if the tasks weren't so cliché and repetitive. Can you imagine this feature in a game like Lost Lands?!

COLLECTIBLES/MORPHING OBJECTS (CE version only)
Can't they come up with anything different to add or change? Okay, in all fairness, they did change one of the collectibles in the last game to 14 versus the usual 15 per game! Does that count as a change? There are 15 Miniature Invention items, 15 Morphing Evidence items, and 70 Zoom Zone Broaches that are used to purchase 15 uninteresting Boudoir items. I'm sorry, but purchasing 15 Boudoir items such as a hat or a dollhouse just screams, "we don't really care about this CE extra, but BF makes us add them" Is it because you don't care what the player thinks, or you just don't want to have to recode a game to make the collectibles more appealing?

HIDDEN OBJECT SCENES:
WOW! They have really lowered the standards on a lot of these HO scenes! Several of the HO scenes are identical to the scenes offered in their simple HOGs (Connected Worlds & The Intersection of Worlds) This is where they list 3 words at a time, some of which are x3 (multiple's of the same object) and as the player finds an item, another listed word takes its place. If you have played the HOGs mentioned above, you will realize that the objects aren't hidden, and the HO scene is over within seconds! There are also Interactive Listed Items, Silhouetted Shapes, Spot the Differences, Find & Replace, and Keywords in Sentence Finds. Many of the scenes are dark, which makes it difficult to recognize objects...I don't consider this to be "challenging" just because they have poor graphics! The HO scenes are located in uninteresting and very typical locations. They were so boring that I opted to play the Alternate Match 3 game which was slightly less boring.

ALTERNATE MATCH 3 GAME:
There is an alternate Match 3 Game available if you don't want to play a Hidden Object Scene. NOTHING has changed in this Match 3 game for decades! Not only are the icons & features exactly the same in every match 3 game, but you cannot make consecutive matches quickly because you have to wait for all tiles to stop falling before you can make the next match.

MINI-GAMES:
They did try to add a few new games, one of which I just couldn't figure out why my solution wasn't correct when sliding icons to the correct spot according to the clue shown. I finally referred to the SG where they were showing the placement of one of the icons, which was nowhere near the location of the clue shown. All the other icons were correct and did match the clue shown, so the only thing I can figure out is that it was a glitch of some sort. I really enjoyed the Key puzzle; although there have been several variations of this game in the past, it was still fun to swap key sections on the left & right to align 2 sections because the sections that matched were hidden behind a panel.

BONUS CHAPTER (CE Version Only)
In the Bonus Chapter, you play as Fred Jones, a character from the main chapter who is being sued by a famous actress who claims Mr. Jones used inferior materials that caused an allergic reaction. There are 10 additional Mini-Games and 6 Hidden Object Scenes taking place over 9 additional scene locations. You will continue searching for the final 5 Morphing Evidence items, 4 Miniature Inventions, and 9 Zoom Zone Broaches that are used to purchase the final items in the Boudoir.

COLLECTOR'S EDITION EXTRAS: (CE version only)
15 Wallpapers, 15 Concept Art Pictures, 5 Music Soundtracks, 21 Movie Video Cutscenes, 38 Achievements, 21 Replayable Mini-Games, 23 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 15 Miniature Invention items, 15 Morphing Evidence items, and 70 Zoom Zone Broaches that are used to purchase 15 uninteresting Boudoir items, 4 Main Chapters, +Bonus Chapter, and a Built-In Strategy Guide.

Hot Potato, you're it... come join the fun! thewoodsforum.boards.net Show less

I don't recommend this game.

+12points

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Overall rating

3 / 5

15 of 29 found this review helpful

The Storyline Didn't Go Anywhere

PostedApril 30, 2023

HeavenBound7729

fromOcala, Florida

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Skill Level:Expert

Current Favorite:

Dark Canvas: Blood and Stone

(25)

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

3 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

Too many ridiculous tasks made progress slow, putting the story on hold but that is usually the case with Domini games and that takes away the fun. If there's a crime to be solved let's just get to it instead of messing with a load of "roadblocks" in the way of the action.

Maybe it was just me but everything felt disconnected and unclear with the crime, mystery, characters. I lost sight of the ...Show more

Maybe it was just me but everything felt disconnected and unclear with the crime, mystery, characters. I lost sight of the story as I muddled through the tasks. The puzzles were aplenty and more fun than the HOPs. Items in the HOPs were small, many were hard to spot in the dark scenes which added even more tedium to the game.

The game was downright boring. The only challenge was created by the below standard quality of the HOP scenes, making the items hard to recognize. A lengthy game is just a waste of time if it's filled with what this one has to offer.

I felt 3 stars was generous considering that the negatives outweighed the positives. We all love crime and mystery, the CE has the usual format and 15/15/15/70 collectibles. Domini fans will likely enjoy the game and maybe it gets better later. If it is 7 hrs long you have plenty of fun ahead (or not). Show less

+1point

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Overall rating

2 / 5

6 of 7 found this review helpful

I Shouldn't Have Wasted My Money

PostedMay 2, 2023

Aruuuu04

fromNew England

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This "Key Contributor" plays, rates, and reviews a lot of games. We think you'll trust their thoughts and opinions about games.
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Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

3 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

I liked the demo, but had trouble downloading it when I bought it. Finally succeeded and continued playing, but now -- the game has just stopped. The awl won't work on the cue stick, I can't get the ring, and there's nothing else to do! I liked BF much better in the "old days", before the big changes, when things worked!!!!!

+5points

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Overall rating

1 / 5

14 of 16 found this review helpful

Confusing story line

PostedApril 30, 2023

paulalively

fromArkansas

Fun Factor

1 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

2 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Puzzles not only didn't make sense but they weren't even easy to 'figure out'. Too taxing. Sorry. Not for me. :(

I don't recommend this game.

+12points

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