Definitely the weakest of the 3 Christie mysteries on the PC so far. Extremely tedious point and click adventure. Very few puzzles as such, as most of your investigations are confined to talking to the passengers on the train and collecting fingerprints. Fun if you enjoy that sort of thing.

Come the middle section of the game I was so bored of running up and down the carriages of the train pixel hunting for fingerprints, I had completely lost interest in who had killed the victim and was hoping someone would come along and do me in, just to put me out of my misery.

The final chapter is also a huge let down as you can pretty much guess your whole way though Poirot's surmising of the case, as you have multi-choice answers to his leading questions. Guess wrongly and you get another chance so you can't really lose.
If you decide you absolutely must play this, buy the Agatha Christie multi-pack, along with "And Then There Were none" and "Evil Under the Sun" and you have at least 2 out of 3 half decent games..

I thought this game was a big improvement on 'and then there were none'. The graphics were really good and the voice acting was better. It doesn't move on till you've done everything, so doesn't miss out any important bits. However, there were a lot of strange combining of objects in the inventory, which was annoying at times.

There are still some improvements needed to be made on these games, but can't wait till the next one!!

The title should say it all. This game was ripe to be the Agatha Christie game of all time. David Suchet and supporting cast make the voice acting beleivable and this is what ultimately saves this game. Although the last AC release completely changed the ending of the story, it was a much more substantial release. The player actually was expected to understake most of the tasks and you spent about 70-80% of the time doing things. This release seems to have been rushed out in the hope that David Suchet playing Poirot will save the day.

For my liking there are too many times spent just waiting for other characters to finish what they are saying, and the puzzles are not always too challenging. Some are honestly ridiculous in their solution, which actually gets quite funny.

The game could have been made more balanced by allowing the character (you do not play Poirot, but a Train Company employee) to have more challenges and tasks. This is a shame, as the graphics are not bad, the sound (esp. voice acting) is wonderful and the interface is easy to use. Here's hoping that AC will continue to release more Agatha Christie games, and spend a little more time on the deveopmet of plot/story/puzzle.

Overall I would say that if this game retained the atmosphere and polish of this release, and combined it with the more user led system of the first release (And Then There Were None), it would have merited more stars.

Come on Adventure Company, you so almost have the formula right - how about another stab, say another Poirot (ABC Murders, Evil Under the Sun etc) or even a Jane Marple (4.50 From Paddington, A Murder is Announced, A Pocket Full of Rye, etc). The only question left - who would play the voice of Miss Marple now that the definitive Joan Hickson is no longer with us.

This game is a crime against the writing of Agatha Christie, and should be seen as what it is; a pointless USA-made cash-in, with low production values, low quality voice acting, pointless cameo 'appearance' by David Suchet (in 'take the money and run' acting mode). Puzzles are dreadful and tedious, strung together by overlong video sequences with poor quality character movements and stock music.

It's a nasty affair all round, and absolute murder to get through. It's games such as this that give the adventure genre a bad name. Avoid both this and the Sherlock Holmes: Awakening games, as they have too many horrible things in common.

Despite its great intentions to provide a unique approach to a beloved, unique and influential murder mystery novel and play, And Then There Were None's inadequate budget bore undesirably bland graphics and less than enthusiastic voice acting that tested the attention of advanced adventure gamers and Agatha Christie fans alike.

AWE production's second attempt is a far smoother ride, but there are still hard turns that still make the journey quite uncomfortable.

You know the score with Agatha Christie. She practically invented the contemporary murder mystery. I know this, and I've never read any of her books.

A dozen odd passengers take the Orient Express to their desired destination only to find their path blocked by an avalanche and the next day a passenger murdered in his bed. Not only is the legendary Poirot called to investigate but, a twist to the original story, you play character Antoinette Marceau who investigates as well.

Considering this is a story written decades ago, it's amazing how much detail towards characters there are. Regardless of characters posh, stereotypical accents that could boarder to the point of patronising, (however, this can be easily waved away considering the 1934 setting), they carry much interest, suspense, ambiguity and personality.
Whilst this credit is given more to the original book, it usually transfers very well to the game. Early on I was finding myself pondering if would be `her' committing the upcoming murder, or maybe it was `him'.

However, most of the time characters keep themselves to themselves, and continuously remain as static as a statue. Also there were a number of times I felt the game was being so close to the novel that a number of conversations between characters felt forced and would have done the game better if had been dropped. I didn't need to see all the characters showing their anger in turn after the train brakes to an upcoming avalanche. One obviously can't help realise that, whilst Agatha was a genius in her time, many of her blueprint tricks in her storytelling have now become overkill and clich?? by constant television murder mystery dramas so obviously inspired by her, and the game spends too much effort being a close adaptation to breathe fresh air to the stale concept. Best character of all is Poirot who gives you a number of insights into what clues have been found and their possible significance.

Locations are detailed and crisp throughout. Although a majority of it is situated in 5 carriages of the orient express, there are two train stations and some snowy plains to explore as well. Places are not stacked up full of items as to confuse but still carry enough to never break the atmosphere.

However the game later becomes more complicated than it should be, which is a shame considering the representation of this game is spot on.
Complications occur later on with that of an awkward separate combining inventory screen (you cannot simply drag one item on top on another like other adventures) and later when I had close to 50 items having to potentially combine all 50 items together is quite a daunting prospect.

Like all point and click adventures, there's pixel hunting. The game heightens the voyeuristic feel using various camera methods, which, despite creating a more tense and discomforting atmosphere when needed, don't particularly help when at times items are not showing on the screen. The latter part of the game has finger print hunting that seems almost impossible without searching ever nook and cranny, every side and edge making it not half as exciting as it should've been.

And whilst I enjoyed the first half very much, the game later pits the player too much on its own with not much to lead on. Poirot will persistently quip the same dull lines that not all clues and items have been found. And I began running left and right around the train so much I forgot why I was bothering in the first place.

Most of these faults are by the restraints of being such a close adaption of a famous book. Maybe less emphasis should've been on figuring out tedious puzzles and more on innovative ways of telling the timeless story.

The game should only be complicated by the story itself, which is used as a manipulative device to leave the two billion readers in Mrs. Christie's capable hands. The game should've been more of a compliment, to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy being there with the characters. What matters most in any given story is consistency, but many of the puzzles in Orient are often uninspired and frustratingly typical.

Orient is perhaps too neutral in that by being so close to the original story, it doesn't surpass the more climatic games in the gaming market today neither seems to take the daring approach of trying to surpass. I'd still recommend buying (or at least downloading the demo from gamershell.com) as the game has a terrific sense of atmosphere and characterisation, but sadly this is not adventure game of the year.

NOTE: Comment regarding an earlier reviewer, there are not that many cutscenes and the ones there were, were very involving. Although the main character does have a very posh British accent despite being part French.