Game Reviews

The sign of a good mystery is that it keeps you guessing until the end. For all of its goofy characters, motion-based minigames, and occasional frustrations, Guilty Party does just that.

The easiest way to understand Guilty Party is to think of the old mystery board games Clue and Guess Who. Like Clue, you explore the different rooms surrounding the location of a crime scene, gathering evidence on the culprit. Like Guess Who, the clues help you whittle down the list of suspects by hinting at the physical attributes of the criminal -- their gender, hair length, height, and weight. You only have two options for each trait, which seems like it could make things too simplistic, but in every case I played through, I was uncertain right up until I uncovered the final clue.

Guilty Party is split into two modes: Story and Party. Story Mode has six main cases, plus a prologue and a finale. These mysteries have set criminals and clues, and each is bookended with a silly cutscene that moves the story along. The plot, about a family detective agency being tormented by the devious criminal mastermind Mr. Valentine, is inconsequential, but the dialogue and voice acting are funny enough to keep players of all ages entertained.The family runs the gamut of mystery story stereotypes, from the superhero wannabe Kid Riddle to the Sam & Max-style comedic noir detective coincidentally named Max. A kung-fu-wielding granny named Charlotte is thrown in for good measure. The other female family members play it straight to the point that they’re boring, but everyone else provides a few chuckles during the team’s absurd exploits. My personal favorite line: “Oh, Hugh the manatee!” screamed while a zeppelin explodes in the background.