Legacy Interactive | Released: 5.26.2011
NOTE: This review mostly concerns itself with Chapter 1, I plan to go through at least one more chapter and if there are significant game play changes I’ll note them but otherwise it can be assumed to be more of the same. Also this review is image heavy because I had too many good shots to narrow it down.
Occasionally something that seems slightly ridiculous shows up on my radar and I just can’t help but give it a try. House MD the Game falls into this category. The company behind this isn’t one I’ve ever heard of but judging by their website they specialize in this sort of point and click mini game based adventure game. They also have some games based on other popular prime time shows available.
I am a fan of the show, sort of. I really enjoyed it up through the end of Season 3. After they broke up the original team and started adding other subordinates things started slowly moving downhill. I can’t say I’ve watched much past maybe halfway through Season 4. This game features most of the more current characters so it is at least based on the what’s relevant now as far as the show goes. Everyone is there, House, Wilson, Cuddy, Thirteen, Foreman, Cameron, Chase, and Taub. The graphics on this are good enough that everyone is easily recognizable. I won’t go so far as to say they are great though only because some of the facial expressions House gives are a little… odd…
The game itself does a decent job of replicating the general aspects of the show. There are 5 Chapters or cases to solve which must be solved in order. There is the basic set up, some inconspicuous situation leads to a person landing in the hospital. House and his team brainstorm and test for various illnesses. There’s even the “side patient” clinic side of House’s job that shows up. Eventually after several failed diagnosis, House has an epiphany moment (through the use of a bouncing ball mini game) and the solution presents itself to the world more or less out of nowhere.
This plot aspect actually annoys me but it’s consistent with the show and much of modern television these days. They throw so many Red Herrings at you that there isn’t any way to actually piece together the mystery even if you’re paying attention. There is just an “ah-hah” moment and it’s done. Not a complaint against the game mind you but that gimmick reeks of annoying writing.
The game play itself involves reading through the narrative and solving several tasks presented to you. These tasks are timed mini games. You do procedural tasks which are, slightly annoyingly, spelled out step by step, so no real challenge. These involve things like “whip the area with sponge, stick the needle in the arm, no slide up to insert the needle, put the vial on to the end of the needle”.
There are also search and find the clues games. These involve panning around a scene looking for clues as to what may have caused the illness. These are a little weak because you mostly pick up random objects, none of which end up having much to do with anything. The third of the more common puzzles is the brainstorming sessions. Several different diseases float around on the screen. You must select the correct one to move on. As you select answers, letters that match will be revealed helping you to sole the answer. Also letters are revealed over time slowly. Generally you’ll do 4 or 5 of these in a row as House tells you all the reasons you’re wrong.
The whole thing reminds me a lot of the Pet Care style games my kids play. Basic mouse movement based tasks presented to the player with no true threat of loss. This is a very casual game in that it’s meant to appeal to people who don’t really play games. The type who don’t want to get a game over screen ever, they just want play a house episode.
Much of the game is very dialogue heavy. I can’t really decide if it’s good or bad or just off. I have not really paid attention to the show the last few seasons so maybe house has turned into a “Sex one liner every other sentence kinda guy” but I don’t remember him being quite this randomly nuts on the show. The worst comes from the clinic patient. House more or less mocks her the entire time telling her she needs to fatten up repeatedly only considerably more rudely. House is an ass but he’s not really all that flat out MEAN. I’ve included several choice selections in the screenshots, you’ll want to enlarge them to read it though.
The simplicity will probably turn off a lot of more hardcore gamer types. It’ll likely turn off people who just like more action in their game. It’s not real terrible for a mostly text based narrative style adventure game.
Here are some extra images I didn’t have room for…. Click to make them larger…
