- Concept
- Graphics
- Sound
- Playability
- Entertainment
Puzzle Agent 2 takes the player back to the small town of Scoggins, where FBI Detective, Nelson Tethers is was searching for clues to solve the mystery of the Hidden People. The detective hopes that upon solving this mystery he will learn the whereabouts of one Isaac Davner.
If you watched the television show Twin Peaks, then you will see the familiarity in the way the plot reveals itself, and in the quirky characters that are residing in Scoggins, Minnesota. You will definitely want to know the truth about what happened in this town, and why.
There is also some great news we have to share for all those would be players that never played the first edition of Puzzle Agent, and that is this game stands on its own merits. If you never played number 1 you will still be able to play this version, and you will still enjoy the story line. They have included several playbacks of tapes that Agent Tethers made during the first game, so they do a wonderful job of filling the player in on what happened during number one, and why the characters are doing certain things.
Even better than the fact that you do not have to play one to enjoy playing two, is the fact that the first version is being offered for free when you buy the second version. You may not have to play one to like two, but we recommend that you play one first so you can get the full measure of enjoyment from the game.
Concept
The concept of the game is simple but very enjoyable. A mystery in a small town in the USA has one FBI agent looking into the happenings, and attempting to locate a person of interest who seems to have disappeared. Scoggins, Minnesota is no ordinary little town, there are strange and unsettling things happening there, and it is up to the agent(you) to work through the puzzles, and the mystery in order to find out what is going on there.
Our instincts tell us that the happenings in this Minnesota neighborhood are more than likely mythological in nature, but our obsessed FBI agent character must turn over every rock in order to ascertain the exact nature of the secrets this place holds. The story line in this series is very intriguing and we had to rate the concept with a 4.5 because of the wonderful story, and the manner in which the story is told.
Graphics
The best way to describe the visual effects of this game are to say that the games are definitely true to Graham Annable’s usual style. The drawings, and the sometimes distorted looking characters that are created from jagged lines, and appear to be a part of an absurdist cartoon, fit well into the storyline of the game, and the images may appear to be strange during very close shots, the overall visual affect is good.
Sound
The soundtrack is not the most endearing part of the game, and at times is more distracting than electrifying. You can overlook the not so great musical scores when you remember that you are playing an inexpensive game that even gave you a free version. There is no sense splitting hairs over this, we have heard worse soundtracks on games we paid a lot more to play.
Playability
You will find the game to be enjoyable to almost everyone. Some of the included puzzles in the first game were so easy you thought the designers meant them for small children, but the puzzles included in number 2 are thought provoking examples of what a puzzle should be. We wished there had been a lot more of these brain teasers included, but once again we are not about to split hairs after we have been given a game at a reasonable price, that is both fun, and somewhat challenging.
Entertainment
The story line is quite good, and anyone who is playing will be interested in getting to the end to discover the truth of the puzzling mystery. The story being told, along with the challenge of the puzzles will keep you playing until you find all the things out you want to know. You will not be disappointed in either of the aspects. The biggest drawback is the number of puzzles makes this only about a five hour long game, and you will more than likely wish you had more game play experience provided from this one.
Replay Value
Unfortunately once you know the secrets the townspeople of Scoggins were hiding you really are not that inclined to play the game over. While the puzzles were fun, there were not that many of them, and you have already mastered them once, so the mystery is dulled for you.
The great thing is you more than got your money’s worth out of this game, and you will be looking for more puzzle-adventure games from Telltale.
