Developer: Wonderstruck
Publisher: Rising Star Games
Rrp: £14.99 (Steam), £14.99 (Humblebundle), £14.99 (gog.com), $19.99 (mistakegame.com)
Released: 14th November 2014
Available on Steam, Humblebundle, Gog.com and their own site
Played using: Mouse and Keyboard
Is stealing still a crime if you’re stealing things that were stolen from you in the first place? Well from a legal standpoint the answer is yes, it still is a crime. It’s a good thing that such complications aren’t much of a concern in a video game.
You play as Sophia Take niece to the art patron Madam Take. One fateful day your aunt dies leaving behind her last Will in Testament. Unfortunately the Will and all the art work related to it has been claimed by one Mr Blackstock. Now Sophia must take up the art of theft to reclaim that which has been wrongfully taken.
The Marvellous Miss Take is a stealth game which has the camera set to a isometric angle much like games such as Diablo or Titans Quest. While this camera angle is very useful for allowing you to see what happening ahead it does cause some small navigation issues. For example, you can’t always see how deep a corner is and so get caught by a guard when you thought you were out of sight.
Characters move to wherever the mouse was last clicked and will generally take the most direct route possible. If you hold down the mouse button the character will run wherever the cursor is located. The thing is that running creates sound waves that the guards can hear if they are in range.
Not all noise is bad, in fact it’s actually one of your main tools for distracting the guards, the various characters have their own noises, a cough, whistle or tap of the cane (among other things). Those aren’t the only ways to distract or lure a guard though, you can allow them to catch fleeting glances of you so they will investigate the area or maybe throw an object (if you have one to hand) to lure them away.
To keep things interesting the movement patterns of the guards is randomized, meaning you can’t just wait in one spot for a convenient scripted gap to appear in their patrols. Instead you have to take some risk and plan as best you can. Of course these randomized movements can lead to some incredibly frustrating moments as you can easily become pinned with no escape.
Thankfully the game is quite lenient and if you happen to get caught you only need to start the floor over rather than the entire level.
You choose the levels you wish to play through a hub art gallery, stepping up to empty frames to start a mission, any of which can be replayed simply by approaching the now filled frame.
In order to progress in the game you have to also play as the characters you meet later in the game, the first of which is Harry. His task is to steal the blue paintings on a level that has already been completed with Sophia. He isn’t able to run but he does have a reusable distraction item.
As you complete missions you find out more of the history between Mr. Blackstock and Sophia’s aunt from Harry as well as some general banter between the characters.
As you might expect you as the game progresses the security systems become more troublesome. By the third chapter you don’t only have to deal with guards but security cameras and guard dogs too.
Each level has a par time to complete, perfect for those people that love the challenge of beating a score like that. Me? I’m not really into that kind of thing, I just enjoy outsmarting my opponents regardless of the length of time it takes for me to do so.
Is it worth your time then? Well if you’re in the market for a purely stealth game with no action then probably. Personally I’d wait for the price to drop a little first though as the game is still a little on the short side for the price, at least in my eyes it is anyway.
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
Monaco
Invisible Inc.
Syndicate (Original)
