Agatha Christie : Murder on the Orient Express

by DreamCatcher Games

Product Features

• Murder on the Orient Express builds upon the success of the first Agatha Christie adaptation And Then There Were None.
• The game introduces new twist-and-turns to an already popular and successful storyline.
• Moderate system requirements.
• Visually impressive graphics that exceed those of And Then There Were None.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000GCGQ6Y
• Item Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: November 16, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,411 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

The world-famous mystery novel Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, comes alive in this all-new exciting video game adaptation. Murder on the Orient Express is filled with spectacular twists-and-turns and also includes a surprise ending that is different from the original novel. Aboard the historic train, as Antoinette, a new character introduced in the game, you must help the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot solve the puzzling murder of Mr. Ratchett. Is the victim really who he claimed to be? What motive would any of the passengers have that would bring them to commit this heinous crime? It’s up to YOU to find out!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another good one, November 16, 2006

By 

Michail Chourdakis (Greece) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Agatha Christie : Murder on the Orient Express (CD-ROM)

Good. Better than the first one 'And then there are none' . David Suchet narrates text for Poirot. Recommended for both Adventure gamers and Agatha Christie fans.

The riddles are generally more logic (ATTWN had some flows in game plot as well as very short acts). Well , hmpf, there is an annoying thing as I 've found: You are supposed to eavesdrop conversations with a glass , but u do that while the conductor is watching you :)

The game offers an alternative solution so players that have read the book don't expect the famous poirot solution exposed in the book to come in.

Minor flaws: The game wants the CD even after the full installation. And I don't like the way that the inventory allows you to combine items: Most games will simply permit you to grab something and to put it on something else, allowing you to combine it. In MOTOE, you need to place all items to be combined on a specific slot (which is in a different screen than the inventory) and press the 'combine' button. And, if someone needs something and you already have it in your inventory, he will get it automatically. Yes, it saves you time, but it is a bit far of reality. Also, you have to search all the shoes in order to find out a footprint match, in order to complete the "poirot advice" . Even If you find the footprint match at once, you still have to search all other shoes only to get a comment like 'this shoe is much too small for that footprint' . Oh, and I don't like the fact that many shoes are indentical ;)

And something weird: You can search other's luggage even if they are in the same room. Weird eh?

The sound? Good. Better than in ATTWN. What I don't like in the sound is that it is much in the background and doesn't scare you to make you get off your chair. Note: That doesn't mean that the sound is bad; It is just my personal opinion.

Other good things: Saves include a snapshot, game installs completely, you can configure screen effects, subtitles included. TAC keeps the good work up.

Oh and also: Remember you are not playing as Poirot. Tricky? Even off-line, David Suchet narration rocks.

Thumbs down: A bit short. I finished it within 2 days. Yeah, perhaps I 've been playing too long ;)

Thumbs up: Book is included.
Thumbs up: You can configure screen effects, VERY useful for low cpus.
Thumbs up: 3rd finale. Exciting.

For these, I give a 5/5.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable romp true to Dame Agatha's Poirot, January 17, 2007

By 

Sarah - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Agatha Christie : Murder on the Orient Express (CD-ROM)

Murder on the Orient Express is the second Agatha Christie novel to be made into a PC game by AWE Productions, with several notable improvements from their first AC outing And Then There Were None (Ten Little Indians). The story centers on a murder aboard the famous Orient Express. Set in 1934 (when the novel was originally published), twelve passengers (including Belgian detective Hercule Poirot) are trapped in the snowbound train during a winter avalanche. When one of the passengers is murdered, all are suspect. Instead of playing as Poirot, a new character, Antoinette Marceau, was invented, combining two characters from the original novel: a French lieutenant and M. Bouc, director of the rail company. Antoinette does Poirot's sleuthing for him after he is injured, and does so with grace and wit.

The book deviates from the novel's original ending, adding a new dimension to the mix. The majority of the in-game dialogue is taken directly from the novel, and new dialogue fits in well with Dame Agatha's original spirit. Graphics are excellent: characters are appropriately dressed and styled for the mid-1930s, and the background details are exquisite. The in-game camera lends itself to very cinematic moments, including exterior shots of the train as Antoinette briefs Poirot. Although not perfect, I greatly enjoyed Murder on the Orient Expressn and am greatly impressed at how much thought and care was taken to make the game true to the book.

The good:
+ Graphics
+ Music
+ Plot (including "new" ending)
+ Inclusion of paperback copy of Murder on the Orient Express
+ Rating system (you earn more points for deducing solutions without Poirot's assistance)
+ Ability to jump between rail cars to cut down on backtracking
+ Superb voice acting, particularly from David Suchet, the original BBC Poirot

The bad:
- One or two extremely far-fetched puzzles that required a walkthrough (you'll never look at cake batter and orange juice the same way!)
- Certain features are not intuitive / user-friendly. The most serious of these are the inventory and fingerprinting functions.
- If you've already read the book / seen the movie, you know how this ends.
- If Antoinette is French (educated in England), why is her spoken French so horribly British???

Note: a patch is available that corrects several minor gameplay issues related to dialogue, inventory, and crashes.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars caveat emptor, December 4, 2006

By 

D. C. Petty "deepori" (Stockport, Cheshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Agatha Christie : Murder on the Orient Express (CD-ROM)

The game held my interest all through, however, be warned, it is conversation-heavy. There are few puzzles, all of which are reasonably easy and integrated within the play. You play as a lady helper of Poirot who is confined to his compartment. His voice "advises" you throughout the game. Once the inconsistency of this is passed over, then the game works well. Overall the game lasted approximately 15 hours. This was without any help either from within (Poirot) or outside (walkthrough), so it is short but not ridiculously so. There is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing which is helped by a short cut system built-in to the game. Eventually Poirot gives the denouement with you providing the evidence (you need a good memory and to pay attention to conversations throughout the game). There is no way of recording conversations within the game. Check also your documents - there are fingerprint and passport listings (I only discovered this later in the game, after it was too late to be of use!). Poirot presents all 3 solutions and the choice is made automatically.

Plus points:
Sound (David Suchet's voice makes the game), graphics (natural effects are available but can be removed for lower specification computers), storey line (I guessed solutions 1 & 2 about halfway through, but solution 3 was novel), bonus book included.


Minus points:
clumsy inventory item combination, opening the safe is tricky (even when knowing the combination), you have to check all remaining shoes even after you find a match to the footprint.

Overall:
Worth playing but nothing ground-breaking.