Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles

by Aksys

Product Features

• Interactive digital novel focuses on fantastic storytelling and character development
• Hone detective skills by interviewing witnesses, uncovering clues, and following leads
• Explore fictional cities of Ceteri, Depono and Aspicio City
• Tests powers of deduction and reasoning
• 3 unique murder mysteries to experience

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00139WJPQ
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 5 x 0.8 inches ; 4.5 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: June 10, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,961 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com

Hone your detective skills by interviewing witnesses, uncovering clues, and following leads, all helping to bring you closer to the truth in this interactive digital novel. New from Aksys Games, Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles offers the latest technology in a growing genre of games that focus on fantastic storytelling and character development. Jake Hunter works more than your trigger finger -- it tests your powers of deduction and reasoning. As Detective Jake Hunter, you'll experience three unique murder mysteries:

Episode 1: The Petty Murder of a Fragile Heart
A murder has taken place in Aspicio City's peaceful Central Park. Jake's longtime friend, Detective Scott Kingsley, implores Jake to help solve the case. Can Jake uncover the killer's true motive?

Episode 2: Seaside City Conspiracy
On a quiet night, Jake gets a call out of the blue as a hysterical man pleads with Jake to find his girlfriend in the harbor city of Depono. What seemed to be a routine missing persons case, will lead him down a dark path of deception.

Episode 3: Crash and Burn
A story about love, betrayal and death in the fast lane. Jake Hunter's skills will be put to the test, as he attempts to solve a murder case at the top racing circuit in Ceteri, where rivals, ex-lovers and friends are all suspects.

To crack the cases and progress in the game, you'll need to search for clues, talk to witnesses, and find the right line of questioning.

Product Description

DS Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars No Detective Dream Here..., June 26, 2008

By 

Kim Wallace (Arlington Heights, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles (Video Game)

When I first heard about this game, I was excited for an interactive visual novel on the DS. I was even more pumped when I saw it involved a detective. I think everybody has had that secret fantasy of uncovering a case-- trench coat and all. Unfortunately, Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles doesn't provide you much satisfaction in living out the detective dream.

It's a shame, too, because the game seemed to have so much potential. After all, the gist of the game is pressing witnesses, finding clues, exploring leads, and solving crimes. And to top it off, it allows players to take on the role of Jake Hunter, a Marlboro smoking, strong willed, quick witted detective, who deep down has a soft side. Wait, did that sound familiar? That's probably because it's stereotypical detective traits. That should have been my first clue that there was nothing "novel" about this interactive visual novel.

Not just Hunter, but all of the characters are bland. Even Hunter's assistant, Yulia, who the game tries so hard to give a supporting role to, is dull and seems more like a puppet muttering generic responses to Hunter. After a while, the repetition becomes so tiresome, you may wish you didn't have to talk to the girl at all. And it's not just with Yulia; it's with the majority of the characters that you have to talk to move the plot forward.

It wouldn't be so bad if the plot was something that you were so fixated in that you just had to advance it at any cost. It's not even worth the expense of sitting through all the lackluster dialogue, typical jazzy detective music, and the uninspiring scenery. Wait a minute, isn't this an interactive visual novel? Isn't the narrative what should drive the entire game? Yes, and that is probably the biggest problem with Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles. The three cases you have to solve aren't intriguing enough to save the game. Actually, there really isn't even that much of a mystery to be solved with half of them because they are predictable. You'll pretty much have the case figured out before you get half way through it, and in this case, that's about 30 minutes in. In fact, you'll probably have the game beat within 5-6 hours with no replay value (I can't see why you'd want to put yourself through these unoriginal cases again).

To add to all this mess, the gameplay isn't fun either. The game is about as linear as it can get. You can't move around or explore the atmosphere; instead you tap a button that tells you what it looks like. You don't even have much of a choice in how you respond to the questions you're asked or what you can ask people. If you pick the wrong choice, Hunter tells you he doesn't think that's the correct statement and forces you to pick the right comment. To top off this big pile of boring, at the end of the day, you are quizzed on all of the facts about the case. The quizzes just state the obvious and are a big waste of time. I'm left to wonder, is this the best they could do to make the game interactive?

So, does the Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles even give you back the investment of your time and effort? No. My advice is that there are far better games on the DS worth your time. A story driven game that is not more innovative than something a high school student could write (and also edit, there are some obvious spelling and grammatical mistakes) just doesn't cut it.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Just not very good, June 22, 2008

By 

Frater J (IL United States) - See all my reviews

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles (Video Game)

I waited a good while for this game to come out, as I love the "point-and-click adventure" genre of games. And I figured that this is what I'd be getting. A good adventure with a private detective character.

Unfortunately, this is a visual novel. The amount of though you need to put into figuring out these cases is minimal. There are no puzzles to complete, as the game is so entirely linear that you must do exactly what is required next, and the game refuses to allow you to travel to other locations until you do it. This makes completeing the three different cases that are in the game more of a chore, rather than a game.

Its more or less just tapping with the stylus and reading texts, and more tapping, and finally a case ends, without any real effort on your part, other than doing exactly what the character tells you to.

One feature I liked, is the ability of the character to smoke, by clicking on the lighter icon. This pauses the game for a second, and allows you to see what the main character is thinking (essentially a hint system), but the game is so easy that you never really need to use it. But it was still a cool idea for a private eye game.

This game would be good for kids. Like maybe 11 or 12 at the oldest, simply due to the fact that its simply too easy. This game was a real let down.

---

On a side note, this game was either rushed, or edited by idiots. The number of spelling mistakes is absolutely comical. I realize that I probably spelled a few words wrong in this review, but I'm not selling my review for 20 bucks.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Collection of Snazzy Detective Stories..., December 15, 2009

By 

Feelah the tigress - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles (Video Game)

Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles is another game from the point n' click adventure game genre. However, it doesn't feature very many puzzles, and there is technically no way to get a game over screen, so many people refer to it as a "visual novel" instead of a point n' click game. Either way, this game is a pretty enjoyable experience.

Graphics (score 8/10): The graphics look pretty good for the DS. Most of the graphics are simply stills of environments and character portraits, although there are short cutscenes interspersed. These too look pretty good. So, no complaints here.

Music (score 7/10): This game features stereotypical jazzy detective-style music, with other instrumental pieces interspersed. Overall, there's nothing too special or memorable, but the music suites the environments well, so it works fine. There are some sound effects, but nothing really memorable.

Characters (score 7/10): Jake Hunter is your stereotypical detective: he's a quiet, intense loner who smokes and wears a trenchcoat. He has a single secretary named Yulia, who honestly is a pretty bland character. The game also has a whole cast of side characters, most of whom are pretty interesting. There's not much to say about the characters; they really take a back seat to the plot.

Story (score 8/10): The game consists of three cases, that's three different stories. They're all pretty interesting, with plenty of twists to keep you guessing. That being said, case 1 is really the worst out of all of them. It's pretty simple, predictable and bland. I have no idea why they chose to make that the first case, since its blandness doesn't make a good first impression on the gamer. The stories are fairly entertaining; the only problem is that there are only three, which only lasted me about two days. I've heard that the original Japanese version had six cases. Perhaps the extra three cases that's missing from this version has been released in the sequel, Jake Hunter: Memories from the Past.

Gameplay (score 9/10): This is a bit of a catch-all category for me. Gameplay is pretty simple. You just select from various actions, such as talk, inspect, and move. You just move through the story by performing various actions. You can save at any time, so that's pretty cool. The game actually doesn't allow you to get a game over screen; if you choose the wrong action, Jake just says something like "sorry, I got that wrong" and let's you try again. Some people think this is bad because it ruins the challenge, but I liked it. It saves you time since if you got a game over, you'd only be forced to sit through a bunch of dialogue again and now, you don't have to. For this genre of game, this kind of system is just fine.

Overall (score 8/10): NOTE this score is not an average; it's my subjective overall score. I really liked this game. I found it really relaxing to play; it's a nice break from more difficult games. I only wish it had been longer. Oh well, whether or not you would like this game depends entirely on what kind of game you're looking for. If you like point n' click games or visual novels and care more about the story than puzzles, then you should pick up Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles.