Publisher: City Interactive
Developer: City Interactive
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Windows 98/Me/XP(sp2); Pentium 3 or AMD Athlon 1Ghz; DirectX 8.1 compatible video card; 256 MB RAM; 1 GB hard drive space
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: Andrew Clark

The golden age of the point-and-click adventure game as we knew it is behind us, replaced with dynamics and immersion unknown in the cursor-driven hits of yesterday. Aside from a few recent palpitations in the form of the Sam & Max and Dreamfall series, nothing overtly unique has come out of the gates and floored us the way the old LucasArts and Sierra gems could. Is this because back then we could see ourselves dragging our mice across the screen in search of that final clue, since it was the height of what PCs could do at the time? Or is it because modern gamers have become jaded and expect full, vibrant 3-D worlds to explore? Perhaps mouse-driven adventure is dead in the streets, still waiting for some upstart developer to come along and put a defibrillator to the cold heart of the genre.

Well, one thing is definite: Art of Murder: FBI Confidential is not the doctor, and its wonky mechanics and the stiffness it brings to the operating table are not the cure. I’m taking a different approach to this review because I know all of you are much too savvy to drop $20 on a game that could just as well be a promotion for a TV show coming this fall. It’s not a very good offering, defiling the already squared grave that companies such as Telltale and Funcom have been trying to save the genre from entering.

Agent Nicole Bonnet is the star of this tale of ritualistic killings and self pity. Her partner, James, was killed recently while on assignment. She feels partially responsible because she was getting him a cup of coffee when it happened, but more pressing matters quickly come to light that derail any chance of Nicole finding James’ killer. It seems that there’s some lunatic roaming around the city, targeting wealthy males and cutting their hearts out with an oddly shaped implement. Agent Bonnet must stow her pain, swallow her guilt and go to the museum a half-dozen times if she hopes to locate and stop the responsible party.

Where is this guy, and why would he be using such an odd weapon to do away with his victims? Why sacrifice rich, middle-aged men? Wouldn’t a virgin, a goat, or at the very least a virgin chicken be more fitting? To discover this, Nicole must traipse around New York City, visiting dark alleys, abandoned apartment buildings, occupied apartment buildings and the aforementioned museum (enough times to be considered one of the exhibits). She also explores the relatively deserted FBI headquarters (explained as empty due to remodeling), the subway and, at the end of it all, balmy South America.