Deceit, lies, betrayal and deception run deep in this game for lovers of the murder mystery executed in style.
ATTWN starts with a young man ferrying a group of hosts to the desolate 'Shipwreck Island' in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Once there, you attempt to leave the island but find your boat to be scuttled and destroyed. Following this initial incident, the game unfolds into a melodramatic series of horrible murders which follow one after the other, the ten guests at the house each dying in turn because of sins they commited in their past life. The characters are beautifully depicted and so is the house in which they stay. The game also has many outdoor locations such as an apiary, which are all stylishly shown as well.
The game is a standard point-and-click game played from a third-person perspective, allowing for interesting camera angles. Movement is easy, and exploration is also a simply task of clicking in the direction you want to move in. The game's protaganist Naracott begins to sleuth around the mansion. Picking up, putting together and breaking apart objects is made easy by the inventory screen which is displayed as a small icon in the top left corner of the screen. A notebook is provided on the top right corner for copying letters and other important documents into.
Another point about the game to be mentioned is the system used to determine the ending of the game. There is the option of multiple different endings, all spurred by different events. Many side-quests are also available that deviate from the plot and offer players a chance to delve further into the game.
Sound in ATTWN is absolutely appropriate for a murder mystery, with a slow, subtle track complimenting the dirty deeds being performed under the noses of the guests. Sound effects are also good, but unfortunately character dialogue is not performed to the same level of satisfaction, instead leaving something to be desired.
Agatha Christe: And then there were None is a masterpiece of point-and-click adveture. An intricate web of lies and deception crawl across Shipwreck Island as the guests begin to die, and solving the mysteries posed is both satisfying and suprising.