And Then There Were None: A Review of the Dreamcatcher Computer Game

Become part of the action on secluded Shipwreck Island as Mr. U N Owen's ten guests start dying off one by one.

The interactive computer game is based on one of Agatha Christie's most popular mystery novels, And Then There Were None. The novel follows the increasingly desperate attempts of ten guests, stranded on a remote island, to save themselves from whatever is killing their fellow housemates one by one.

The game closely follows the book until the ending, which the game changes to put a more pleasant spin on it. The game package even includes a paperback of Christie's work. The player takes the role of Patrick Narracott, the boatman who brought the group to the island. Narracott's boat is scuttled in the first scene and he is left to help solve the mystery. The other guests include a former judge, a private investigator, a retired military man, a wealthy young gad-about, and a former governess.

As Narracott, the player picks up objects, talks to the other guests, and finds clues. There are tasks to perform using the found objects, some of which affect the outcome of the game and others that do not. Talking to the right people and finding the right things triggers the game to go to the next chapter (there are ten of them).

The graphics are a little basic -- more like the graphics I remember from 1980s computer games, but the fun of being able to talk to the book's characters and explore the scene of the book more than makes up for the poor graphics. I found the game to be a little repetitive (you follow the same paths over and over again) and a couple of the tasks made little sense to me. The game, however, is enjoyable, especially for Agatha Christie fans.

Shop for your own copy of the Dreamcatcher game, And Then There Were None from Amazon.com.