I smelled trouble. Big trouble. I hadn't been in Wheaton City long, but was learning fast what a cesspool of depravity the place really was. It's a great spot for a private eye, but a lousy place to call home. I'd heard that business was good, and it is. I'll say one thing for this lousy prohibition... there's no shortage of crime when honesty doesn't pay. The cops are more crooked than the criminals, and there's always work for a gumshoe who can get the job done. A few bucks per case in a town this corrupt will keep me busy a long, long time.

Already there's been a murder at the local speakeasy, and the mob connections are too hot for police. They want to put my neck on the line instead of theirs. Right. Or I can look into the ritual killing of the Dantino gang. Word on the street says it's secret society. A bit much to swallow, but stranger things have happened, I guess. But first I promised a favour—a simple case of a missing accountant uptown. This one's on the house, but it'll shake off the rust and get me back into the game. Time to head online...

Yes, you read right: online. I suppose I need to slip out of my hard-boiled P.I. persona for a moment to tell you more about Gumshoe Online, an Internet adventure made for fans of detective mysteries with a little noir flavouring. Actually, it's not just one adventure, but an episodic collection of individual cases, each of which can be purchased separately and played as a standalone experience.

If you haven't heard much about Gumshoe, that's really no surprise. An independent production, developed by newcomers Hiding Buffalo, the game was launched to relatively little fanfare earlier this year, with a free tutorial and one case available for purchase. Since GO's inception, the second full case has been released, with plenty more expected on the way. There is no physical product to buy, and no download necessary, as the game is played entirely in standard browsers. Registration for the tutorial is easy, and available to all with no obligation involved. Even better, access to the game is available from any computer, as only your log-in is essential (not that I'm even remotely hinting you might want to squeeze in a few minutes at work or anything—ahem). Case purchases are all done through the website (and in-game, no less), so the process is completely painless, and will have wannabe sleuths up and detecting in mere minutes.

It's tempting to suggest that Gumshoe Online is aimed at the increasingly sought-after "casual gamer", but that would be misleading. Or more to the point, if it is aimed at that elusive demographic, it doesn't compromise on its gameplay elements to entice those gamers like other titles have done—most notably, the much higher-profile BeTrapped. Where that game melded adventure elements with repetitive puzzle-based gameplay, GO is 100% adventure from top to bottom, start to finish, and you either take it or leave it on those terms. Whether that philosophy can be successful, and whether the game will be good enough to garner popular interest, still remains to be seen.

The backdrop for the cases is the violent, crime-ridden Wheaton City in 1930s America. After assigning a name to your character, you'll assume the role of a (male) detective, and select one of the available cases to investigate. Gumshoe's gameplay is ultra-basic point & click fare, and the interface simple and effective. Point your cursor over an object, and a description will pop up to describe it. If the item is interactive, a single click will carry out whatever actions are possible, including the use of applicable inventory items. As you discover evidence, information is automatically added to your notebook, which is easily accessible for reference at all times. Moving between locations can be done at any time by calling up an overhead map. Everything easy, neat, and clean.

Due to the online nature of the game, and not to discourage those with dial-up connections, Gumshoe is a no-frills production, to say the least. The graphics are quite simplistic, typically displayed in a 3/4 overhead, isometric window. Eye candy it's not, but the visual presentation is certainly serviceable for the game's intended purpose. Strangely, there is no sound at all, except for a single effect when a notable clue has been identified. The silence feels a little disconcerting at first, so I hope the developers decide to address this issue in future. Still, even without, it's not long before you've set that aside and are digging into the adventure.

You'll want to converse with the characters you meet, and the dialogue system represents one of the game's clever features. Being a nosy detective, you'll find that people have only a certain degree of patience for your intrusive questions. This tolerance level is depicted by a visible bar, so you can measure the effectiveness of your choices. Ask too many pushy questions before they're ready, and they'll become completely uncooperative, so it's best to go slow and strategize your conversations.