Blues and Bullets

This episodic adventure starts with a surprising, film-worthy intro that gives way to a gorgeous noir-style setting just right for a thrilling detective story. Now, to get that story rolling, you have to sit through a long, pointless sequence full of uninteresting action. But the good news is that if you can hang in 'til it's over (a half hour or so), things do take a turn for the better.

The drama begins when Ness' old nemesis, Al Capone, convinces Ness to find his missing granddaughter. The retired Ness immediately goes back into detective mode, which is where the game really starts. Examining a crime scene, you collect and arrange clues on an evidence board to recreate the crime. The process is both grisly and engrossing -- it's easily the best part of the episode. The same could be said about talking to people. During conversations, you're given multiple response options that affect Ness' tone, and presumably (it's hard to tell this early in the story) those choices affect later events. Slightly less successful are the game's exploration sequences. While exploring, your attention is frequently drawn to meaningless events or you interact with red herrings that aren't significant to the case you're on. This, coupled with Ness' plodding movement, can seem like a waste of time. Fortunately, the game's investigative aspect, (mostly) good voice acting, stylish, high-contrast graphics, and sultry piano soundtrack are enough reason to finish the episode and tune in for Episode Two.