Gameplay: Presentation
I bet this game isn't sounding so good right now. I'll be frank; the first act is tortuously slow. In the dark about virtually everything (where did the rich guy's cute niece go?), you are basically left with your weird interfaces to play with and the whole estate to explore. In all fairness though, you're uncovering a story as you go along. Once the bodies start piling up (no that's not a spoiler, would you expect any less from an Alfred Hitchcock inspired title?) the pace picks up a little. The clues start coming in faster, the puzzles get better, and you begin to uncover an entangling web of greed, lust, manipulation and lies. There's a voyeur aspect worthy of Rear Window to your investigation too. Private notes and hidden cameras abound, and key evidence often comes in the form of a photograph or a tape of some sort. You're rewarded on the one hand for using your investigative skills to turn up another piece of candy-and on the other, you're reminded that you are uncovering someone's twisted obsession as you listen to someone die on tape. Even sweeter, handling a piece of evidence will occasionally trigger a "psychic flash" in the form a short clip from one of Hitchcock's films. It's supposed to drop a little hint for you, but since all the sequences are followed by some triggered event, or an explanation of what you just saw, they could almost be done away with. It really is more of a small gimmick tossed in for Alfred Hitchcock fans, but it is a well-done one at that.

Overall, the more you play the game, the more it reveals its Hitchcock-like nature. The more you play it, the more it feels like you're getting into one of his films. Again, kudos to the studios for doing so well here.