Puzzle Agent
Available Platforms: PC, Mac, (soon on iPhone, iPad, WiiWare)
(Reviewed on PC)
Developer: Graham Annable and Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Release Date: June 30, 2010
Official website: www.telltalegames.com
Review Summary:
Puzzle games in the vein of Professor Layton have gained popularity in recent years. Puzzle Agent, from Graham Annable and Telltale Games, is a comedic, dark game in this genre. Being the first game in the new “Pilot” program at Telltale Games, Puzzle Agent is unique in tone, art style and its humor. At only ten dollars, with at the very least 2 hours of gameplay, it is worth its cost (and more). Enjoying this game is simple and has a lack of frustration, a good hint system and is laugh out loud funny. Puzzle Agent is easily recommended because it is just plain fun.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Puzzle Agent Review
The video game market presently is a cavalcade of games, coming out daily, on multiple platforms and it can be difficult to find an audience. This notion has me excited for the pilot program that Telltale Games has developed. Simply stated, they will put out a “first episode” of an episodic game and see if it is profitable and if so, they will continue to help create more. The first game to be released through this new business venture is Puzzle Agent, a cross between the adventure and puzzle game genres. You play as FBI agent, Nelson Tethers, who is sent to Scoggins, MN to find out why the town’s eraser factory has shut down. This is important to Agent Tethers and the FBI because this factory supplies the White House with its pink erasers. Nelson must find the truth by playing some wacky, fun puzzles and interact with some interesting locals. Puzzle Agent is filled with unique art and quirky comedy, but does that warrant the cost of downloading?
When I first heard of Puzzle Agent, I was skeptical because it was described to me as an episodic version of “Professor Layton.” This fact had me perplexed due to my frustration with logic puzzles. Puzzle Agent has a great way to get around this fact with a hint system that is powered by gum found throughout each scene. You have up to three hints per puzzle and I found myself using either none or all three during my play through.
The best part of my time with Puzzle Agent was the lack of frustration, even if I got stuck. The hints saved me because the third level hint basically gives you the answer to the puzzle. The consequence for using these hints and “submitting” the wrong answer to the FBI is a lower ranking and higher “cost to taxpayers.”
Humor is a big part of Puzzle Agent. The dialogue, puzzles and objectives all have comedy involved. I found myself laughing out loud a couple of times listening to the reactions of Nelson from the generic Minnesota, stereotyped characters. Along with comedy, there are some very dark, almost frightening, moments that I will not spoil which surprised me greatly. I could not tell if the developer, Graham Annable, wanted to make a mystery or comedy game and just decided to mash the two together. For me, I enjoyed it much better because of the dichotomy between the two themes.
Other than the comedy, the unique art style ready helped Puzzle Agent stand out. Mostly hand drawn animation, the art reminded me of older newspaper comics. The amount of emotion that the characters show is astounding and helped make every part of the story better. The game may have a ton of art, but it seems like making more episodes would be easier than one of the other franchises Telltale Games currently develops. I hope that the uniqueness that Puzzle Agent is filled with allows it to continue, because I could use more adventures of Nelson Tethers, FBI Agent.
What Graham Annable has created in Puzzle Agent is a funny, distinct mash up of genres. The unique art and animation seems like something that a one person team would create, but actually improves Puzzle Agent‘s charm. At ten dollars, the 2 to 3 hour experience seems priced correctly. If this “pilot” is successful, more episodes will be developed. I feel like Puzzle Agent would be a great addition to the Telltale Games family. With the right cost and fun puzzling, and lack of frustrating difficulty, Puzzle Agent is a must have for any PC game library.
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Puzzle Agent trailer:
