| Fedora Spade Episodes 1-4 | Radical Poesis Games & Creations | 2007 | |
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Episode#1 Prologue is the first game in the freeware Fedora Spade episodic detective adventure series. Released simultaneously with the second episode, it is quite short with about half an hour of gameplay and generally acts as an introduction to the series to familiarize the player with the gameplay mechanics. The game has menu-driven gameplay, inspired by the NES 8-bit classics Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom and Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken, but also with elements and humour from the more recent Gyakuten Saiban series or Snatcher. The player takes control of the hard-boiled homicide detective Fedora Spade who, between bourbons and cigarettes, tries to lead the department, as it was the only viable alternative next to flipping burgers. Armed with cynicism and brilliant insight during the few lucid moments, he has to solve cases to avoid having all funding withdrawn from the unit. The interface is divided into a graphical area where locations, characters and items are shown, a list of commands (move, look, talk, take, use and syst) and a dialogue screen at the bottom. In Prologue, Spade needs to investigate the death of doctor Sandy Fabulous. The game uses the Tomato engine, developed by Paul Eres in Game Maker. Episode#2 The Red Ring introduces a larger cast of characters to converse with and interrogate, as you attempt to solve the latest crime mystery with your sleuthing skills and persuasive charms. You're not alone in this adventure though, as a partner will tag along to provide even more humor if not some assistance. Unlike the first game, which was more of a short introduction to the series, this has longer gameplay. The game has a menu-driven interface, and now there are many more puzzles, characters, locations and clues. Progress is achieved by examining evidence and clues and then using them appropriately in conversations to lean on suspects. A small amount of the art, which consists entirely of still images, has been reused and most of it is entirely new. Spade can move between different locations using his car. The game also introduces a computer to search the police database for clues and covers two days in game time. Despite the serious theme, the characters have cheesy names and stereotypic personalities and behaviour, along with funny sound effects during the conversations. Episode#3 Death Wears A Fedora, is a new chapter in the continuing adventures of our favorite sleuth, and as usual the returning cast of Baldie, Daphne, Theo and Jules provides much humor to this investigative series. This release features a new fast forward option. Players can now skip portions of a conversation by holding down the C key. Compared to the previous games, the puzzles have become harder. Rather than allowing the player to try and use all clues until an answer comes up, many puzzles now require manual input and a thorough knowledge of the story with the paths to explore. Episode#4 The Last Job is the fourth and final game in the series and ties up some loose ends by revisiting a case mentioned in the earlier games: the Crimson April case about how Spade shot his partner Tex. Unlike the other games, this one cannot be completed through trial and error. Certain clues are shown in the environment and cannot be found otherwise. Also, players need to dissect the case and motives and are often prompted to directly type in an answer, rather than using items in the inventory. It has been split up into two parts, as separate game files. In the first part the player is Daphne Marshall, Spade's former partner who has left the force to become an assistant at Hunter Investments. She is soon suspected of killing her boss Rachel Hunter while she retraces the Crimson April case. The second part is played as Spade. Players cannot access it right away but need to answer a passcode in order to start the game. Spade mostly needs to prove Daphne's innocence and get the real culprit behind bars. There are many returning characters such as Baldie, Theo, Bong and Charlie, but also a lot of new ones such as ninja-masked flamenco dancer, the detectives Gianni and Versace, and the chief of police who is fascinated by playing the violin. Also, Daphne can access the computer in the office to do research, while Spade will need to do all the research in the field. | ||
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