Discworld Noir is the third Discworld game, a series based on the huge Terry Pratchett science fiction series set on a strange, flat planet. This third title isn't a sequel, however, standing completely separate from the first two games. The Discworld has been very effectively used as the setting for a wonderful pastiche of classic detective movies.

I should say at the outset that this is one of the most ravishingly beautiful games I've ever seen. The moody, rain-filled, rich colors of the game remind you of that greatest of all neo-noir classics, Chinatown.

The game takes place in the dark and corrupt city of Ankh-Morpork, a city populated by all manner of humans, trolls, wizards, and other strange creatures. Picture a collision of Raymond Chandler and J.R.R. Tolkien and you've got a pretty good idea. Your character, Lewton, is a down-on-his-luck private detective (is there any other kind in this kind of story?). At the top of the story, you guessed it, a beautiful woman comes in and asks for Lewton's help on a case. It seems her lover was supposed to have been a passenger on a newly arrived ship, but he's missing.

This is the starting point for one of the wildest, most convoluted, imaginative, and complex stories I've ever come across in an adventure game.

The game's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: the dialog. There is more dialog in this game than in any other I've ever played (with the possible exception of The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Rose Tattoo). Much of it is simply fantastic--hilarious parodies of famous film noir lines ("He was some sort of troll ...") ... but still, there's just plain too much of it. The game could use a puzzle or two. Several times, in fact, it seemed as if there was a completely organic puzzle just dying to express itself, only to get glossed over by more dialog.

The game also comes with a handy notepad that helps you keep track of the extremely complicated plot.

This third-person point-and-click game moves through a series of beautifully rendered environments around the dank city of Ankh-Morpork.

The interface is not bad, but there were times when the game wouldn't move forward unless I did something quite nonintuitive, like pose a question to a scrawl on a wall. Huh? Yeah, I'm not kidding.

However, these are small quibbles. It's not often a game comes along that's this rich and involving. The graphics just do not quit, and they are full of beautiful details, like a slightly swaying chandelier hanging above a temple, or the constant, moody rainfall. The score is excellent, as well, and is used very effectively to punctuate the character of the various locales and personalities.

In the latter part of the game there's a wonderful twist that I don't want to spoil for you. But it's quite unexpected and imaginative and helps keep up interest in what has, at that point, become a pretty long game. This new aspect of your character introduces an entire new way of searching for clues that's a lot of fun.

I would recommend Discworld Noir to any fan of detective games, conversation-driven games, and, obviously, fans of film noir.

Final Grade: B

If you liked Discworld Noir:
Watch: Chinatown
Read: The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler
Play: The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Rose Tattoo

PC System Requirements (minimum):
P166 or greater IBM-compatible computer
32 MB of RAM
Windows 95 or 98
8-speed CD-ROM drive
Sound card
Single hemisphere electro-colloidal brain with cognitive functions