iLogic-Crimes is a diverting logic puzzle game from Marian Computer Consulting KG, which exercises your powers of deduction in a variety of scenarios as you attempt to discover ‘whodunnit’. Although the presentation has several layers of cheese piled on top of it, at the heart is a tasty and satisfying whole which – by being different each time you play it – presents a never-ending challenge.

Gameplay

Somewhere, a crime has been committed. One of the nineteen unlikely suspects is guilty: is it the bare-chested Tarzan Wild? Brigit Bordot the disco queen? Henry the mild-mannered janitor (not really)?…Could be…

Over a number of scenarios such as a poisoning at a dinner party or a hacking crime in cyberspace, you must question the suspects and use their answers to deduce the perpetrator of the crime. From answers to questions about the suspect’s location, hair colour, choice of food, level of skill at computers, etc, you use a process of elimination to narrow your search until – hopefully – you point your accusing finger at the correct culprit.

As you progress with your investigation, you receive answers which are precise (‘the killer was a man’) to the vague (‘I sat at table A, B or C’). You automatically keep notes in your casebook, and can place the suspects in their admitted locations at the bottom of the game screen, which can help you narrow down your choices as to who to question next.

Eventually, you will have enough information to allow you to accuse a suspect. Do this in as few moves as possible, with as few questions asked as you can, and you rack up the points and unlock later, harder scenarios. Accuse the wrong guy or gal and you suffer a hefty penalty, encouraging you to put in the work to make sure you’re as sure of your accusation as possible.

On later levels, additional factors are brought into play, making it harder to pinpoint the guilty party. You will find yourself referring to the character overview screen frequently, which is automatically updated with all the answers and provided alibis you’ve received so far. Studying this can help point you in the right direction if you find yourself going round in circles, and it can be satisfying to make the sudden logical leap required to close in on your adversary.

Implementation

iLogic Crimes is well-presented, with a clear and (luckily for it) logical layout. Everything you need to proceed with your crime-busting is only a click away, and the game’s design is fluid and intuitive.

Graphically, it looks a little dated. The characters are static 3D renders who look as though they have walked stiffly out of the 90s; and although the scenario backgrounds are attractive and colourful, they too are static and unchanging throughout the game.

Music is best turned down or turned off, with a similarly dated synth muzak feel that few are likely to love.

One potential flaw is the ability to ‘cheat’ the game, by simply accusing each of the suspects in turn until you hit the guilty party. That said, unless you luck out in your guesses early on, the game will penalise you points-wise; and you don’t get the cerebral satisfaction of working things out on your own, like checking the back of a puzzle book for the answer.

The ability to slide the characters into place and the various ways of taking notes – whether automatically or, via being able to place ticks and crosses on the characters, manually – is well implemented and makes keeping track of things easy.

And the multiple scenarios on offer, with increasing difficulty levels and a near-infinite variety of combinations make iLogic Crimes good value in the lastability department.

Verdict

iLogic Crimes, whilst being guilty of being a little rough round the edges and looking rather dated, deserves a get out of jail free card for presenting an original and entertaining brainteaser that truly does test your powers of logic.

Score: 7/10

Review By: keith

Has played games since games were first invented on every format ever, but now mainly plays them on the iPad (largely due to time constraints). Lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. Freelance digital consultant and photographer.