I love anything that has a good mystery, but one of the most notorious mysteries is the story of Jack the Ripper. When I was informed that I would be able to play the Mystery Murders game for Jack the Ripper, recently released in Nintendo eShop for the 3DS, I became excited!

The story starts out in London, England during the Autumn of 1888. You take on the persona of a psychic or clairvoyant named Emma de Ville. For the most part in the beginning she is your main character. Emma has trouble sleeping and uses a remedy of herbs to create a sleeping potion; each night she has a nightmare about Jack the Ripper killing someone. You will have to fix the psychic’s visions before continuing to investigate. You will also use a crystal ball, tarot cards, and her dreams to move throughout the crime scenes and see the work of Jack the Ripper. Not too far in the game you will become another character, Frank Hudson, a journalist writing for “The Star,” a London newspaper. With Frank, you will go to the crime scenes, and since times have not changed too much, police will not allow him inside. You will use Frank to create descriptions and new ways into crime scenes to further investigate the story. Then there is one last character, an investigator who is thrown on to the case of Jack the Ripper named Fredrick Abberline. Each character will help develop the story and throughout the game you will get some back story of the characters. Will these three unite? Will you be able to catch Jack the Ripper? Many questions lie ahead for those who choose to take up this case!

What is the gameplay like? I enjoyed the variety of puzzles and that the difficulty increased. I also liked that you took the persona of three different characters to help put together all of the puzzle pieces. The only problem I had with the gameplay was if I would tap the screen too quick, the screen would freeze the game and display a message. I would loved to have seen more puzzles that required putting items together. Also a way to see the current objective. In the beginning they give you a quick rundown of the controls and it only takes a minute or two to become used to them. Most of the controls are through touching the screen, but a few allow you to receive hints or look at a newspaper that gives more detail about the story. The game even allows you to zoom in or out, making it easier to spot clues. I loved the controls!

The graphics: This game was not originally made for the 3DS and it shows; the top screen only shows buttons and a face of the character being played. Other than the 3D not being important, the graphics are well done for a Nintendo handheld; you can see great detail in the art of the buildings and rooms. For those who think this is simply a puzzle game like putting items together and problem solving, you are not correct. The game does have many of those puzzles, but in the beginning it is heavy with puzzles like hidden-objects, where you are given a list of items and have to find them before moving on.  Be ready to have some time-consuming, but easy puzzles. On the other hand the deeper into the game you go, the more difficult the puzzles become. Finally the audio, the text was strictly typed, but the music gave a better feel for the game and set the mood.

Overall, this game is good, but better for those who love different types of puzzles. The story starts off slow,  but picks up and has many hours of playability. It would be a good game to pass the time or to play in small amounts, but not a game that one could play hours on end without getting bored. If you like puzzles then play the game and allow your mind to solve one of the biggest mysteries of all, but those with little patience or not too fond of hidden-object games, might want to find something more suitable. You can find the game on Nintendo eShop for $9.99. Good luck to those brave enough to test their hand. Mystery Murders: Jack the Ripper was provided for review purposes by the developers of the game.

a Rafflecopter giveaway