Clue Chronicles: Fatal Illusion

Inspiration

At this point, two other computer games had been released based on the Clue franchise (in 1992 and 1998). In 2000, The Boston Herald wrote about how at the point in time "Cluedo ha[d] been riding a new wave of popularity, and ha[d] been transformed into a dizzying number of new mystery-themed experiences", one of which being Clue Chronicles: Fatal Illusion. The game was intended to be Episode 1 of the Clue Chronicles Mystery Series, consisting of three episodes in total. The Boston Herald hypothesised that the "Episode 1" in the game's title hinted at a planned series Clue Chronicles titles, noting that "If so, mystery buffs have a whole slew of happy computer hours to look forward to". However, this ended up being the only one produced after the series cancellation as "Hasbro folded and EAI quit the gaming business". Cluedofan.com explained in an FAQ that "Clue(do) Chronicles was intended to be a three part series; but unfortunately the combination of Hasbro Interactive shutting down and EAI deciding that games were 'not part of their core business;' meant that parts 2 and 3 weren't created and probably will never be." This series of adventure games was meant to have the same look as the look as the Cluedo games, and each title was supposed to have a new case for the player to solve.

Development

This is the first Cluedo game that "leaves the board game 'feel' behind and transforms into a murder mystery adventure game". The Boston Herald saw this as a "grown-up" twist on the familiar theme of the franchise. Considerable care was taken in the rendering of the location backgrounds, "even down to the moving reflections in the shiny hallway floor of the mansion". While the game's voice over is only available in English the game's text was also translated into Castilian (Spanish); in all versions it was packaged with three game discs. There was a patch released to fix up many of the game's bugs.

Designer Matthew J. Costello explained that he "didn't really become a game designer...as much as a writer", and utilised this philosophy when putting together the Clue Chronicles series. Meanwhile, the music was composed by George Alistair Sanger.

The game had a notable amount of buzz leading up to its release. For instance, Multimedia Publisher spoke with anticipation of the "new and soon-to-be-memorable characters" to be featured in the upcoming title.

A discussion board for the game was featured on MysteryNet.com, providing access to clues and hints "if you get stuck with the computer game". Boston Herald deemed the game "difficult" and "frustrating", though noted that "Fortunately for cheaters like me, help is available on the Web" via the thousands of backlogged messages at the Clue Chronicles page on MysteryNet.com. Daily Herald also noted that the game "has an online hint system".

Voice cast

Gameplay

"Clue Chronicles: Fatal Illusion" is a first-person 3D perspective point-and-click adventure game, so features gameplay typical of the genre, totaling up to around 20 hours of gameplay. It "plays like a traditional CD- ROM adventure game with a mystery theme". The game is controlled entirely with the mouse, and the mouse pointer changes when you can perform an action, grab an object, or walk around. Selecting a character calls up notebook where there is a list of questions to ask. They are checked off and new topics appear as the conversation progresses. The main menu provides access to suspect biographies as well as game options and saving and loading. Inventory appears at the bottom of the screen where inventory objects can be manipulated or inspected, A 'clue' option is also provided for novice players to give hints if one is stuck. Puzzles include riddles and abstract challenges to get gems, a maze, and some limited inventory-based puzzles. The game essentially requires the player to interview suspects to gain insight into how to solve puzzles, which in turn reveals vital objects or clues.

The game uses the game graphics engine as Clue: Murder at Boddy Mansion, a board game adaption that was released the year before.

Plot

The game takes place on New Years Eve 1938, where the player has been invited onto the Rhine Maiden yacht to head to the Mountaintop Retreat of an eccentric and mysterious German millionaire named Ian Masque to view his collection of Egyptian artifacts. You have been tasked to use your private detective skills as you embark on a journey with him and your fellow guests. Masque meets his fate from a poisoned puzzle box, and the player is tasked with finding out whodunnit. The game contains plot threads of an Egyptian curse and Nazi spy rings.

The evolving storyline plays out in 4 acts in 3 unique settings (inside a dark and foreboding castle, on board the yacht Rhine Maiden, and in a thrilling cable car ride). New characters join the classic cast of six characters in a game that has 20 hours of gameplay, and is full of red herrings, mysteries and puzzles. The game featured a cliffhanger ending, which presumed that a sequel would be made.

Critical reception

PC Player (Germany) gave the game 62 out of 100, praising the reproduction of the "enjoyable short conversations" in this "excellent" German language edition. It commented the puzzles were "varied", and noted their relative ease by stating that if one is not an "amateur detective" they may "reject this case". The site also spoke negatively of "the imprecise mouse control, the lengthy walks, as well as the homespun presentation". Computer Games Magazine gave the game 60/100, deeming it "average" and "[not] particularly enjoyable", yet at the same time "not painful to play". MetzoMagic gave the game 2.5 stars out of 5, describing the game as "quite an enjoyable little mystery" with entertaining puzzles, through the site disliked the game's graphical glitches and bugs, as well as its shortness and "failure to capitalise on all the potential". Meanwhile, Tap-Repeatedly (Four Fat Chicks) found Fatal Illusion’s backgrounds and locations to be "richly detailed", and puzzles "logical and fun", yet the interface "cumbersome", the music "repetitive", and the voice acting sounding like it was being read "from a script into a microphone in the conference room". Giving the game a score of 80/100, the site concluded "Overall, despite its many flaws, Clue Chronicles: Fatal Illusion was a fun game to play, if too short". Game Power gave the game a rating of 2/4, commenting that the game played as if the creators used an "Adventure Games For Dummies" book as a template. Russian site NQuest gave the game 74 out of 100, commenting "with good graphics and a good detective story the game has the best traditions of the genre: the murder, collecting evidence, and questioning suspects." Blogger Do. Lloret de Mar was ambivalent to the 3D graphics, animations, music, and special effects, and further commented on the game's "interesting puzzles" and its shortness. The Cluedo fansite Cluedofan said the game was "packed with puzzles", a "beautifully designed adventure game", with "animated 3D characters" and with "fantastic cut scenes". French site 01Net wrote that this adaption of the Cluedo board game was "much more successful" than Hasbro's "first failed attempt". French site Pabbajita deemed it a "very conventional game". GameFreaks liked the concept of the game, but disliked its execution. Adventure Point gave the gave a rating of 3.5 stars, deeming it "a surprisingly enjoyable, if short, detective game with some decent puzzles". The Boston Herald wrote the "visually rewarding" game had "glossy animation" and "detailed, sepia-toned interiors", and despite finding the characters compelling the reviewer said they "move...rather like puppets". The Boston Herald would later recommend the game in its Games fit everyone's gift list, describing it as "convoluted" and perfect for "mystery lovers".

Bob Mandel of The Adrenaline Vault described the game as a "mystery novel with tons of unexpected twists and turns", further praising the title as "a noble and clever expansion" that "involves much more penetrating, complex, and, ultimately, riveting detective work". Jenny Guenther of Just Adventure was impressed by how the board game adaption succeeded its expectations, writing that the story was "surprisingly tightly plotted". It game the "logical", "fun", and "short" game a final C grade. Hungarian review site PlayDome praised the game for its beautiful surroundings, lack of simple solutions, and general excitement. Meanwhile Dutch review site Adventure Island felt the fun and aesthetically-pleasing game was let down by drifting from the Cluedo whodunnit brand. Quandary gave it a mixed review, praising its playability while listing many of its shortcomings, concluding that it was a "short diversionary trip for mystery fans". GameSpot was disappointed by the wasted opportunity for the board game to be adapted into a "fun, engaging computer adventure", describing the title as having "low production values and unimaginative design". GameSpot UK game the game a rating of 4.3 out of 10. Computer Gaming Magazine gave the game a rating of 3 / 5. Daily Herald described the game as a "clunky mystery", although noted that its stands out from other mystery titles aimed at younger demographics by including dead bodies. Gateway deemed it a " charming diversion". The author of Conference Record introduced the game to their students along with Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Science as "sources of inspiration for the science murder mystery game", after having independently reviewed both. Pelit deemed the game a mediocre example of the adventure video game genre, though gave it a score of 76/100. Daily herald wrote of the game: "[it] has a fine opening, the music is first rate...and it keeps you interested in spite of its copious limitations", such as loading at a "geologic" pace, having many sloppy bugs, and a flawed instruction manual. Suggesting that the game should have been kept underwraps for a few more months of developmental fine-tuning, the reviewer concluded (in vain) that "mystery fans may be able to forgive its stilted clunkiness, but let's hope that Episode II is a lot better".

The Inn at Death's Door

The Inn at Death's Door was an 4-part free solvable online mystery prequel to Fatal Illusion. The text-based detective mystery mini-series included the chapters "Episode One: The Magic Box", "Episode Two: Chasing the Fox", "Episode Three: One Death Less, One Death More", and "Episode Four: Race for the Truth". The premise involves "an assortment of eccentric guests gather[ing] at a Swiss inn", wherein a series of mysteries take place. The online mystery network Mysterynet.com held a contest from November 22, 1999 entitled The Clue Chronicles Mystery Weekend Contest, which was sponsored by its owner Newfront Productions. The contest asking participants to read through the 4-part story, then correctly solve the four questions related to the mystery listed on the online entry form. In addition, they were instructed to include an explanation of 500 words or less of how they reached their conclusion and solved the case, with the deadline being December 3, 1999. Entrants were instructed to "incorporate the characters and themes of the mystery story, The Inn at Death's Door" into their explanations. Alternatively entrants could choose to hand-write their entries and postmark them by December 3, 1999. The contest was open to legal residents of the United States and Canada (excluding Quebec) who were over 18 at the time of entry. Anyone associated with Newfront Productions Inc. or MysteryNet.com in a professional or personal context was ineligable to participate in the Contest or win the prize. Only one entry/explanation was allowed per person. The judges consisted of Newfront and MysteryNet staff, and they select the winner by January 15, 2000 by sifting through the pool of the eligible entries (those who answered the 4 questions correctly and included a 500 word or less explanation). Further criteria used to choose a winner were:

The winning explanation was to be published on MysteryNet web site, subject to revisions to create a suitable version for publication. In addition, the winner would not receive any compensation in addition to their prize after the story was published. All judges decisions were deemed final. The winner had 10 days to claim the prize after receiving the notification to fill out the Affidavit of Eligibility, Release of Liability, Assignment of Rights, and Publicity Release forms, and their travel companion was also required to fill out various forms. If ineligible for the prize, or unable to complete the forms in time, the winner would be disqualified and the runner-up would take their place. If there was a dispute regarding who wrote the entry, it would be attributed to the owner of the email account that sent the entry. The winner of the contest won a Murder Mystery Weekend for Two prize pack at Austin Hill Inn, in West Dover, Vermont, valued at around $2000. The entry of the winner - Elizabeth Dupke of Kent, Washington - was listed on the MysteryNet.com website.

A Note From The Judge was provided alongside the entry:

Nearly 1,000 viewers submitted their own solutions to "The Inn at Death's Door." Reading through them was a treat. One of my favorites, from a viewpoint of pure imagination, was Janis Ebrecht's solution involving Hitler and the Duke of Windsor. William Drennan also provided a highly rated entry, the only correct solution to conclude with the patented "Clue" ending (killer, room, weapon). The winner was finally chosen on the basis of accuracy, sticking to the clues as provided, composition and style. Bonus points were given for staying within the 500-word limit. Congratulations to Elizabeth Dupke of Kent, Washington. Her final chapter, reprinted below, has been edited slightly.