Martin Mystère: Operation Dorian Gray (known as Crime Stories: From the Files of Martin Mystère in North America) is the only video game adaptation of the Italiansci-fidetectivecomic-book franchise called Martin Mystère, starring a detective and his assistant, Java. It is a point-and-clickadventure game, published by Leader S.p.a. in Italy, The Adventure Company in North America, and GMX Media in Europe. A Macintosh version was planned, but was cancelled in the evaluation stage.[2] Versions for PlayStation 2 and Xbox were also planned, but were also cancelled.[3]
Plot
The player takes on the role of Martin Mystere, a young private eye who is looking into the brutal killing of Professor Eulemberg, a renowned scientist.
Gameplay
The gameplay is standard for graphic adventure games: search for items in order to solve logic puzzles.[4]
Development
Development for the game began around 2002. Most of the time was invested on the storyboard, which was heavily based on the original comic strips of Martin Mystère.[5] The models for the graphics started as layouts on paper. The models were output in Realtime 3D with octagonal views and pre-rendered backgrounds (similar to Druuna: Morbus Gravis and Syberia)[3] and animated with 3DS Max.
The game uses Direct3D retained mode that has been discontinued by Microsoft.
Computer Games Magazine gave a scathing review describing the game as "tragic", adding that it was too over-enthusiastic.[10]IGN deemed it "generic"[15] and GameSpot called it "archaic".[11]Game Chronicles thought the puzzles were illogical and the story didn't make sense.[4]
