Buy Now...

The Domini Games'  developed Criminal Archives as a Hidden Object Adventure title.  With the latest offering in the series, the Blade of Deceit casts you in the role of an elite police consultant hired to solve a shocking murder involving a body found washed up on a riverbank.  The body turned out to be a judge which certainly increases the number of suspects for this crime.

For the normal pattern with Domini Games' titles, you can make certain adjustments to aspect of the gaming environment and select to play the game in Casual, Advanced, Hardcore or Custom difficulty.  Various tools are provided to supplement the mouse cursor which changes shape when in the vicinity of active areas.  These tools are arranged across the bottom of the screen.  Running from left to right are a Journal with sections for Notes and Task, a Map showing available locations plus where to find actions and extras, an Inventory holding items collected, plus short cuts to a Strategy Guide and Hint features. 

See also: Games

more

Occasionally this arrangement will be increased by the appearance of an option to step back to the previous scene.  You will also have access to a pair of pop-out icons located on either side of the screen.  The icon on the left will provide details of the status of Barber tools, Fashion clippings and Haircut coupons found.  The pop-out on the right will hold details regarding various decisions made during the game.  These pop-outs can be accessed at any time although they can open automatically at vital times. 

As you move around various scenes in search of evidence, you will encounter numerous tasks that will need to be completed to reveal clues and possible point you in the right direction.  While concentrating on full screen viewing, overlaid windows and an occasional split screen will make appearances to help focus attention on certain items.

When searching for evidence, including being confronted by an armed and masked intruder, you will need to tackle various Hidden Object sessions and mini game puzzles.  In the case of Hidden Object game play, its appearance will be indicated by an outbreak of sparkles.  You will be given the choice of completing the puzzles involving finding lists made up of text, silhouettes or patterns with an option to switch to a Match 3 puzzle format.

The game also features over 40 mini game puzzles.  You will have  the option to tackling an Easy or Hard version of the puzzle.  Among the possible puzzles they could involve rotating circles, swapping tiles, directing token to slots governed by colour, catching fish, firing balls into holes and arranging hexagons to create paths.

Once you have completed the main game, you will be granted access to a bonus chapter involving solving a cold case and the opportunity to replay Hidden Object sessions and mini game puzzles.  This title can be downloaded from Gamehouse.com where it is priced at $19.99 or from Big Fish Games priced at £15.89.  The game requires a 1.7 GHz processor with 1024MB of RAM and984MV of hard disk space running Windows 7 and later.

Criminal Archives - Blade of Deceit Collector's Edition | Big Fish Games

Criminal Archives - Blade of Deceit Collector's Edition | GameHouse