Agatha Christie - Evil Under the Sun
This is the second Agatha Christie game by AWE in which Poirot is the main character.
In Murder on the Orient Express, he was laid up with an injured ankle and so his surrogate
detective Antoinette Marceau did the detecting under his guidance.
Here we have the body and mind of Poirot, only it is inhabited by Hastings.
Yes, I know – but it's simpler that it sounds, and actually works well, giving the opportunity for a
lively exchange of jibes between the two unmatched personalities.
The game starts at the time of the Nazi bombing of London, and sets a somber mood.
Hastings and Poirot are sitting together in a blackout darkened room when, to pass the time,
Poirot challenges Hasting to solve one of his cases.
Two strangulations have already taken place that may or may not be related to the case of murder on the island of Seadrift.
Hastings, in Poirot's body, searches through the elegant deco hotel,
speaks with the dozen or so potential murders, picks up miscellaneous items here and there,
does friendly favors to guests and locals on the island and crosses between the island and the mainland
on a spectacular contraption, the sea tractor, an elevated platform moving through the water on the bar.
There is plenty to explore, a deserted monastery, an abandoned pub, miscellaneous beaches, the town on Leathercome Bay,
and eventually Hastings will have to clock the time between each place and the scene of the crime.
The crime – the strangulation of actress Adrienne Marshal doesn't take place until way past the midpoint of the
adventure which makes much of the searching and questioning feel unfocused and random before the murder happens.
The deco interiors evoke the period splendidly.
The voice acting is superior and helps to develop each characters individuality, the music is good,
the story – well it is Agatha Christie.
The characters have that glazed look and full frontal plasticity that one gets with adventure stories.
Most characters look better in side or three-quarters view.
Poirot looks like Poirot. He even has that shuffling walk, the sound of which sometimes gets unbearable.
While you expect characters in adventure stories to pick up everything in sight – it does feel
uncharacteristic for Poirot to pick up large rocks and miscellaneous wooden posts.
However, true to form, he does not wade in the ocean, play the tennis or climb down ladders.
The game, on our equipment, slowed down while playing and needed numerous saves to get through.
As far as I know, there is no patch for this defect and the game was compelling enough that we did play it through.
Since Agatha was so prolific – one can only hope that AWE will continue to create more of these adventures.
By The Way - for those of you who have read the book, AWE came up with a different ending to
keep you guessing 'till the end.
Reviewed by: Editor - 11/07
Ages: Teen
Fun Factor: Most engaging.
Female Factor: Realistic characterization.
Player Friendly: Game slows down making frequent saves necessary.