The puzzles themselves are of light to medium difficulty, and there wasn't a time when I felt mystified to the point of frustration. Demystification can often result from making yet another round of your environment. Be sure to scrutinize all items, as being hasty can result in a missed hotspot or clue. Throughout Martin's esteemed career, he has prided himself on collecting artifacts and rare antiquities from each of the cases he's investigated, so naturally his estate is full of them, and many of them can be examined. The only items Martin will verbally describe, however, are those added to inventory; the rest are text description only.

Also be sure to exhaust all dialogue trees with any NPC you come in contact with. As a matter of course, some of these are game whey — specifically with Java, whose means of communication are limited to various grunts and groans. Others, though, will provide the clues you need to move along Martin's adventure.

At one point, you'll encounter a titillating club scene, where a scantily-clad pole dancer provides some clues and the basis of a puzzle solution. Yeah! I'm of the opinion that games and movies need more club scenes. Pole dancing, as a given, is under-appreciated. It provides just enough segue — a sort of bathroom break for the mind — to keep things refreshing and on pace. (I am, of course, being facetious, in case it doesn't translate well to written word.) While the UK release felt this suitable for a starting age of seven years old, this version carries a Teen rating, which is probably a little more realistic in all respects (difficulty included).

Much more cannot be revealed about the story, as any hints may reduce the surprises that culminate in the end game sequence. The tale is satisfyingly complex to pique interest and follow through from beginning to end, and that in itself, combined with what has already been mentioned, merits a four star rating. Too bad there are some serious detractors that prevent this in my final score.

Technically, the game has some flaws that can be attributed to a lack of appropriate beta testing and editing, including translation errors and misappropriated effects. At times, characters speaking to one another won't even be looking in the right direction. Meanwhile, apparently Martin has acquired some Jedi training in all his eclectic experience, since when he half-bends to acquire something on the ground or a table, it will instantly appear in his hand. These same issues were complaints I had originally, and it's very disappointing to see that they still haven't been addressed in the many months since. What a wasted opportunity to provide a cleaner, more polished product.

The voice acting, on the other hand, has been completely overhauled. Unfortunately, the change has not drastically improved matters in an area that really allowed for it. The obvious goal of the new recordings was to "Americanize" the characters. It's hard to argue with that logic in a game set in New York City, so gone are all the British voices from Operation Dorian Gray, and replaced in Crime Stories with more natural sounding accents. On the whole, the quality of the acting has been improved, but the most blatant flaw managed to somehow carry over into the new version as well. I'm talking about how the lines are often carried out: as literal lines of on-screen dialogue. For example, if I came up to you and said: "Hello, how are you this most…beautiful day in which we…both are to be wed by…an officious justice of the…peace?" Aside from the fact that I just proposed to you, would not those pregnant pauses be annoying? This page break pacing literally kills any tension in the story, and the attention of the player.

With subtitles on, you will also notice something especially grating. Unfortunately, particular care was taken to transcribe every vocal noise a character makes. You know, those things that we all have a habit of saying through the course of conversation, such as "uh, um, ah, pfu…" Pfu? Yes, I don't recall using that one either, but this game does. It's like they were thrown in as an afterthought to increase word count in the manuscript: "Give me placement of ten more "Pfu's" and that's a wrap!"

Also frustrating is that the cursor will often disappear after interacting with or selecting an item, and will require you to click on the screen somewhere to bring it back. It's not really a disappearing act as much as it is a delayed reaction within the programming, yet it's enough to feel like a bug.

Crime Stories certainly has a charm about it, infused by its characters and locales, along with the gripping story that binds them. It's enjoyable to play, but feels, at least at times, like playing basketball with a bum knee might. You have fun, yet the pain prevents you from playing at your full potential. Similarly, this game has lost some of its potential within the framework of its annoyances.

The game may be enough to be a worthy investment of time (it took me about twelve hours of concentrated play), depending on your level of tolerance to things that make or break your game face. It has been my experience that most adventure gamers are quite forgiving, but often detail-oriented. Crime Stories would ask all of us to ride the line somewhere in the middle. While most of us will be glad to do so, we will also exit the game with the sentiment that just that much more would have made for a far better experience.

And for those who don't agree, well... Pfu.