Department 42: The Mystery of the Nine comments and reviews

I have just downloaded Department 42: The Mystery of the Nine and I am having a problem with there being white spaces where dialogue or directions should be and black spaces where there should be items to find. Is there a way to fix this? I know that BigFish had a fire to the main server recently so I can be patient if that's the reason. Please help! I really like this game.

Finding the game puzzles interesting; not too difficult, not too easy.

Main drawback for me is the hidden objects. Very hard to see even when you raise or lower the gamma in the options menu.

margie134 wrote:

scotcat wrote:

and must also be played in full screen.

Not that it's a huge problem, but the game does not cover my whole screen. I still have a black column on either side of the screen. Just like in Flower Paradise. I never play a game in windowed option. Too small for me.

Hi Scotcat,

Go to the main menu, under options and change the resolution. There are several to choose from. One of them will cover your whole screen.

Good Luck,

Margie B

hehehe... yeah, I went back into options and noticed that. When I start any new game, the first thing I do is check out the options. I have never seen a "change resolution" option, so I guess I missed it. This is an excellent idea! I think a game's options should also include a "3-D graphic / accelleration off or on mode" also for games that have a lot of sparkly stuff. Peggle Nights has one.

I've been trying since this morning to get the game to download, but it keeps starting over. This is the first time this has happened to me with BFG, but I'll be patient and keep trying. This looks like my kind of game.

I started the demo and less then 1/2 hour into it decided to purchase it. I LIKE IT!!!!

Storyline: A little dark and violent, but at least it has one. It can be skipped.
Graphics: Crisp and clear...no blurry spots. Hidden objects are proportionate in size (in other words...no humongous hammers or miniscule buckets).
Sounds: About what you would expect. I wasn't really paying attention to the background music, but it wasn't annoying me so it couldn't have been too bad.
Hidden Object portion: About average. Not too hard and most items were pretty easy to find with the odd exception of a well hidden one. Blind clicking will result in your cursor spazzing out for a few seconds. The pointer is pretty specific on certain items; there were a few where I had to click a few times to get it to "take" but, all in all, clicks work the first time. It appears hidden object areas have to be done more than once, but the lists change.
Hint system: Unlmited, although they do take 2 minutes to recharge (yes, I timed it). Hints will show you the exact location of an item and make it glow (versus drawing a circle around it) I prefer a hint "circle" versus exact location...sometimes I just need a nudge in the right direction...but I can live with it.
Inventory areas: I like the interactive puzzles. You get a "to-do" list on the bottom portion of your screen and puzzles are of average difficulty. If you move your cursor over the screen the pointing hand will become a "grasping hand" when there is something to do or something to pick up for your inventory. As with the hidden object portions, some scenes will be visited more than once with new things to do.
Length: Good, I would assume, based on the demo. I finished the first case and did two scenes of the second in my hour demo, and that was with using hints so I imagine I could get 3-4 hours out of this game. About average for me with this genre.
Extras: You can replay the mini-games and the hidden object areas for each scene off the main menu. I imagine they open up once you have completed them the first time, or completed a case. I'm not really sure how this works, as I only did the demo, but I always like extras.
Replayability: I don't know *shrug*. I only played the demo so I don't know if the HOG lists change the second time around, but the inventory puzzles are sure to stay the same. So I would say average replayability, if you wait a while to "forget".

I couldn't fit this in my other post so I will say...I hope my review helps. For me, this is probably a "must buy" but for everyone else I think it's at least a "must try" on the demo.

ETA: Forgot to put in my review...this game is untimed.

soooo do u know the comb. to the safe on puzzle #12?

Nope. And this thread is strictly for reviews...no game questions and no spoilers so we don't ruin it for the people who are just looking for reviews. You might want to check out the rest of the forum for this game for your answer. If you don't find it, post it in the forum. Good luck to you.

When doing the game for the second time, I found the the hidden objects were mostly different from the first time through. I would guess that there were two or three repeat objects, although I did not keep count and there are the obligatory objects, those necessary to further game play such as the matches in the first scenario. I enjoyed the second time through as much as the first. And no, I am not completely finished one time through. I played the demo hour without reading any of the story and then went back and redid the game to read the story and pay greater attention to the details. I wanted my money's worth with the demo!

Great game! I'm having a little trouble with the colored lights in the car on the Stopwatch level - but it will come.

What I really like is that found items stay found when you go back in a scene!

I have finished this game and I enjoyed it! The objects were well hidden and the puzzles challenging. The scenes are good. My only complaint is it was far too short.........I finished it in 3 hours.

i really like the game has everything i like in one game, hidden objects, puzzles, using inventory items. really like the story i like the concept of it.

fluffymuchkin i think 3 hours is great for this type of game because it is not a large file game i have been playing on and off all day but i will say i know i have been playing longer than 3 hours and i am now starting on level 5

i also bought this game as soon as it came out last night without demoing it.

My comments (aka: a lazy review) I have only finished 2 cases out of 9 and it took me a tad less then 2 hours. So, for me, it could be an 8 hour game! Not because it's too hard, but I am taking my time and enjoying it. I'm not sure how anyone can finish this game in 3 hours. I couldn't and I am a seasoned H-O / Puzzle / Adventure player.

Well, well, well. What is the very first thing I have to pick up as soon as the game starts? A CROWBAR!

The detective reminds me of Marlee Matlin.
I love the graphics & all the artistry in the scenes.
Some of those H-O's can be quite hidden! Not really a bad thing since they are not too tiny & it adds to the challenge.
Some items took a few clicks to take. I even had to use a hint which showed me an item I had already tried to click on 3 times.
The mini games are just about right. Not too hard, not overly easy. Also, a nice new assortment for a change.
The story is Ok. I'm not much of a reader, so it's no biggy for me. I have seen way more violence on TV so I thought it was tame.
There doesn't seem to be much music, but lots of sound affects. Until I hit the Voodoo Street - then it was dead quiet. Was it a glitch or part of the ambience? Anyway, it was creepy.
I started the game under a new name after the demo and some of the H-O's were different. So, there is some replay value here.
I like the fact that the options include a screen resolution guage.

Anyway, so far it's a big from me. Well, worth the $6.99 and I have only completed 2 cases so far.

20TN40 wrote:Dragon and Vicki.........take a deep breath. Your issues could be related to several things. One being the recent fire at the main BF servers. I know there are still some glitches and they are working feverishly to get them all corrected. Another could be your antivirus software or your firewall. There's also a chance that you have to have cookies enabled.

My first suggestion would be to delete the game, clear out your cookies, browser history, temp files etc. reboot your computer and try again. If all else fails, I can promise that you will get TOP NOTCH help by clicking on the green envelope over on the right side of the page and talking with customer service.

You know what! Forget it! If I have to go through a mess of crap to get a game to run, it is not worth my time.

Used to be where almost every game would work for me. Since December of 2008 most of the games have either sucked or not worked even after upgrading my computer. I don't know what is going on but if this is going to continue, then I will just have to find someplace else.

There have been *very* few games I have purchased within 5 minutes of trying them, and Department 42 is one of those games. I love the story behind the game, however, the graphics alone are what won it for me - beautiful crisp highly detailed items make this a joy to play. So many HOG's lately have been awfully blurry. This is just wonderful - a keeper IMO!

Anonymiss

I'm on part 5 of 9 and enjoying this game immensely. Some of the objects were well hidden but when you find them you hit yourself on the head and go duhh!! Some were tricky, blended very well into background.

The mini-games are great; some easy and some were thinkers. I love interactive games such as this. Locations require you to go back to a previous scene, do another hidden area to obtain another part you may need.

Quite pleasing. I love the variety of scenarios--werewolves to Indian Reservations to a Casino. Well worth my money. (and a good excuse not to finish painting the hallway this weekend!).

BfgFlounder, Sillyfeet, and Scotcat:

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your REVIEWS! I always check the first thread of a forum for reviews, and when I checked this one, SPOILERS GALORE!

I was so glad to see this thread created, and *kept* as a review thread.

I've downloaded, but haven't played yet. Looking at your reviews, I'm headed that way right now.

Hi,I really enjoyed the demo very much and am considering buying this one.This was great to be able to come and read everyones thoughts and reviews that should be in every game before all the help questions cause I know I always come and get other peep's reviews before purchasing it helps a lot,thanks so much,happy gaming all.......Kyndal

everything was going fine till i cured the werewolf...then my game froze, i am online,have the latest direct x, unloaded and reloaded game...same thing