Her Story - A Different Type of Video Game

I don't play video games very often. Sometimes there are stories that I need to play through to see where it goes. Her Story is that type of game.

Her Story isn't your typical video game. There are no monsters or bad guys to kill. There are no princesses to save. There are no treasure chests to be opened. Instead, you are given a computer with access to a police database. You have to search the database for video clips of woman taking part in a number of police interviews. These clips do not contain the officer's side of the conversation. Only hers. And you can only access the clips by searching for keywords. Some of these keywords are contained in previously viewed clips (you are given one keyword to start off - "murder") but some of them you have to figure out on your own. When you have watched enough of the main storyline videos, an instant message will pop up asking if you have figured it out. The answer is up to you.

I bought this game from Steam because (1) it was $6.00 and (2) the gameplay sounded interesting. I'm not good at shoot-em-up games or difficult puzzle games but I am good at hidden picture or games that require you to figure out the answer. Since the gameplay is so much different from every other game out there, I was intrigued. There are no real controls. You just have to search a database. How difficult can that be?

The game, itself, is not difficult. There are a few instances where I ran out of obvious keywords so I had to broaden my searches a bit. The difficulty in the game lies in the fact that there is no real solution. As you watch the videos, it is obvious that the case is about the murder of a man. The woman in the video is his wife. She tells a variety of stories - a lot of them based on fairy tales. You have to decide which stories to believe. And the goal of the game is not to decide whether or not this woman committed the murder. No. You have to decide if the videos depict twin sisters or one woman with multiple personalities. At no point are you given a definitive answer. And, from what I can tell, the answer is different for everyone. Some people see traits that prove the twin theory and some people see traits that prove this is only one woman.

While I did enjoy the game, the lack of an ending is frustrating. I wanted there to be some sort of definitive answer and there is not. Sam Barlow, the creator, wanted it that way. To be honest, I have more fun scouring the (real) internet for other people's opinions. Maybe that is what Barlow was aiming for. Not so much the experience of the game itself but the interaction of the players after the game was over. There have been a ton of online discussions debating what was real versus what was a lie. I think that alone makes Her Story one of the most interesting video games of the year.

JDorama review: Mop Girl

Title: Mop Girl Broadcast dates: 10/12/07 - 12/14/07 Number of episodes: 10 Genre: Mystery Comedy Cast: Kitagawa Keiko, Tanihara Shosuke Plot: Momoko (Kitagawa) starts her new job at a small funeral services company. She soon finds that she has the ability to go back in time when she touches a precious object of someone who was wrongly killed. What is good: The interaction between the characters was pretty cute. What is bad: The ending felt unfinished. Letter rating: C+ Overall: I started watching this because Kitagawa played my favorite senshi, Sailor Mars, in the live action Sailor Moon series, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. She's not a fabulous actress but she is definitely getting better as time goes on. Unfortunately, the role of Momoko is dull. She's klutzy and beyond dumb. There are many times when she could have solved a problem on her own. Instead, she ran to Otomo (Tanihara). Then, at the end, when they show the surprise relationship between Momoko and Otomo, the story doesn't go anywhere with it. It actually gets ignored completely. On one hand, I'd like to have a special episode to tie everything up. On other hand, the story isn't really worthy of an extra episode.

TV Review: The Fringe

I've been trying to hold off on talking about J.J. Abrams' new show Fringe. Partially because I don't really know what to say about it and partially because I don't want to jinx it. The show stars Joshua Jackson as Peter Bishop, the genius son of the scientific genius Walter Bishop, played by John Noble. Anna Torv plays Agent Olivia Dunham, an FBI agent scouted by Homeland Security to help deal with these new scientific phenomenon that are occurring all over the place. Unfortunately, Walter had been locked in a mental institution for 17 years and, while he is still brilliant, he's not quite all there. There's a lot that is going on in the show. Relationships between people change just about every episode (and there's only been 2 so far!); science is seen from new perspectives; the impossible is possible if you think hard enough. I really do enjoy the show a lot but I am nervous. After all, it is on Fox and they don't have the best track record of keeping good shows on the air. I hope that it will at least make it through the season.

Game review: Sherlock Holmes: Mystery of the Persian Carpet

Like many new hidden object games today, Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Persian Carpet tries to make the genre harder than it should be. While there are some hidden object properties to the game, it tries to add more puzzles to make the player think harder. This is something that should be expected of a game with the Sherlock Holmes name on it but it should be filed under a different genre. For the most part, the game was fun. However, some of the puzzles are extremely difficult. In fact, they may require you to read a walkthrough for the game. If you are looking for something harder, this would be the game to try. If you are looking for a traditional hidden object game, look somewhere else.

Game review: Miss Teri Tale

You are Miss Teri Tale, a famous mystery writer. Your neighbor's prized pooch, Jason, has been dognapped and it is up to you to find him. Sneak into each of your neighbor's houses and rifle through their things in order to find which one of them has it out for the prize-winning show dog. This hidden object game, not-very-cleverly named after the heroine, is vaguely interesting. You start out in your office when a video message comes across your laptop with instructions on how to play the game and where to go. For the most part, this is a typical hidden object game. However, since you are breaking into your neighbor's houses, there are a few puzzles where you need to solve the alarm code in order to enter. In my opinion, the best part of this game is the way you can 'refill' your number of hints. When you run out, simply head back to your office to collect more four leaf clovers. There is usually two or three each time you go back.

While there is nothing new offered in the gameplay, it is still pretty fun. I didn't care much for the constant interruptions from the mystery person in the laptop videos, which is how the game advances the story, but luckily those don't last long. If you like hidden object games, give it a try.