Private Eye is the adaptation of Raymond Chandler's hard boiled detective novel Little Sister. The game is presented as what can best be coined as an interactive movie providing a lot of atmosphere but very little interactivity. However, this is crucial in sustaining what Private Eye is in essence a multimedia presentation of Chandler's novel.
Private Eye places you at the narration of hard-boiled PI Philip Marlowe, probably best known for his portrayal by Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep. Confronted by the "neat and prissy" Orthamay Quest on the subject of her missing brother Orrin, the player will see Marlowe exploring the seedier side of Hollywood LA.
Players will see drug dealing operations and celebrity corruption, all veiled in the foul but unfamiliar scent of murder.
From little more than the introduction, it is evident that the game has been designed to follow the stylistic features of the novel to the very letter. The graphics, although by no means ground-breaking portray 1947 Los Angeles stylishly, and good characters make animation very smooth. The music is also excellent, a commendable compilation of 1940's jazz and blues. Perhaps the finest point of the Private Eye is its most prominent feature, dialogue. The voice talent for the characters is excellent, and as much of the conversation and narrative is from the book, the end result is authentic, and a joy to listen to.
While
the game has no shortage of atmosphere, the game is short on game play in fact it is almost absent. You will not find your sleuthing skills need a brush up upon hearing of Orthamay's dilemma you don't need to know what questions to ask or what places to visit as the game tells you outright locales of interest are placed on your map and dialogues play out independently, occasionally asking you and A or B question on what path to take, rarely having a large effect on the story. There's still sleuthing to do, and you can work out some parts of the story before Marlowe does, but your efforts do not go towards the end product, which is wonderful!
Private Eye is a great and fun game! If you don’t play it download it immediately! It’s too fun and addictive! You’ll be satisfied!
