Opinionated Look At: Mouse P.I. For Hire

So here was a game I had not thought I would be talking about, yet here I am. I must admit, I wasn't keen on what was shown, though it was more down to the disappointment of games that used these classic looking animation visuals and failed shooters. I would have completely forgotten about it, had a few months before release more trailers and adverts began appearing in my feeds and for some reason, I suddenly found my curiosity get the better of me and felt I had no choice but to give it a chance.

I thought I'd end up feeling disappointed playing it, I was so wrong.

I've played just under 28 hours of this game at this point and haven't regretted a single second of it and is already my main contender for game of the year. 

The game play has been enjoyable, with much of it focused on combat, which involves a mixture of movement and shooting. If you've played any shooter in recent years, then this might feel familiar enough and the variety of weapons are decent enough. About the only real issue I have with some of it is more how some weapons get obtained more so towards the end of the game, with some feeling not feeling as useful over others. Then again, that may be because those useful ones you can get early on into the game. You will also be using your tail to do a number of lockpicking puzzles, some harder then others and you only get one real shot to get it right (make sure you save, as if you mess up and want it open, you will have to load to a save before you pick the lock). You will also gain new abilities as you go through various levels, so there is some platforming involved.

For me though, combat is fine enough, but it isn't something that makes or breaks a game for me. Indeed, it is everything else about this game that has really drawn my in. I find the world of Mouse P.I to have enough world building and locations to not make the locations you travel around from feeling like it's all the same. The Noir black and white (though it's really shades of grey) style as a story about a 1930's private detective (and former war veteran) is rather well done in a cartoon world filled with gangsters, crooked cops and even cultists. A simple story of a missing magician turns into a twisted case of missing shrews, a murdered actress and an ever growing political group known as the Big Mouse Party. The best way to describe it is more an action detective story.

The characters are interesting, though I feel more could have been done with them (then again, it just might be that I just really want to know more about them and the world itself). Towards the latter part of the game they do get more what I would call 'screen time' and you do slowly get to know them better as the game goes on through optional conversations and side quests. I do recommend spending the time to do this, as not only does help you better understand those characters, but side quests do have some slight rewards to them.

Then there is the music and it is amazing. It is, for the most part, a Jazz soundtrack that is everything I wanted, with some slow parts for those detective moments, with the big swing for those big moments and action scenes. I've lost track of how many times I've listed to the soundtrack (I got the digital deluxe edition, which came with the soundtrack) with some of my favourite tracks being Mozzarella Massacre, A Case Like No Other, Jack Pepper's Theme, Blue Night's in Vaudeville etc. In fact, it's one of those soundtracks for my where instead of the question of 'what is your favourite track?', it is more like 'which is your least favourite track?' as it is impossible for me to pick one it is that good. There are obviously some tracks that were not added in, either because it gives away some points or because it's obviously licensed music. Regardless, I'll be listening to it well into the future (do you know how hard it is to find a good Jazz soundtrack).

As before, the visuals are great, with a mixture of 2D characters and certain visuals in what is a 3D environment. The animation is also something to point out, from the weapon and death animations to the health and ammo characters that appear on the bottom screens. It certainly shows the classic cartoon feel to the whole experience. I have seen mods that add colour to the game, but for me I won't use them as it just takes away from the overall visual experience (and the colour choices are somewhat questionable for some of the characters and locations). Stick with the old style I say.

 Overall, this has been an amazing game for me to play and I will keep playing it, both to 100% the achievements and because I just enjoy it overall. As such, it is my heavily biased opinion that you buy this game and play it. Jokes aside, give this game a look in and if you feel it is something you might like, then I do recommend giving it a go.