Dexter the Game

For all his effort to follow the Code of Harry, Dexter just got caught red-handed. A ambitious adventure that slashes away at convention with slick graphics and varied play, Dexter unfortunately fails to finish the deed cleanly. It's incomplete, with numerous bugs and a lack of polish doing this otherwise entertaining game some harm.

The dark hobby of forensic scientist Dexter Morgan provides the action. In case you're not familiar with the TV show, that means not only identifying criminals but killing them once you've done so.

Hunting suspects down is a matter of gathering and analysing evidence, as well as interrogating witnesses. Dexter doesn't stray far from classic adventuring in these regards - in fact, it's rather pedestrian in its puzzle-solving. Cases are easily cracked by scouring scenes for evidence and tapping icons when prompted.

Interrogations bring depth to the game, branching according to choices you make on the spot. Three responses are always given that span the spectrum from Dexter's normal mask to his diabolical Dark Passenger. Varying your answers throughout the game is critical to Dexter keeping up his facade, as well as milking people for information needed to solve crimes.

Occasionally, evidence needs be analysed. Mini-games take up the cause ranging from DNA comparison to lock picking to blood splatter analysis.

The latter, for example, has you slashing the screen with a finger to mimic blood splatter patterns. Another mini-game involves hacking encrypted websites by arranging sets of letters into a 4x4 grid, much in the style of sudoku.

While these mini-games do much to inject Dexter with variety, stealth sequences that have you snooping for clues and stalking criminals are truly dynamic. There's a momentary thrill when you switch from fetching evidence to sneaking in the shadows, hunting down a man who has just been marked by the Dark Passenger.

Sadly, these scenes lack the polish needed to carry the initial thrill. The way in which stealth is handled is too rigid to be entirely satisfying.

One scene requires you to spy on a suspect while blending in with your surroundings to remain unnoticed. However, you're not told that completing the stakeout means sneaking up right next to the guy instead of keeping back and observing from afar.

Sequences are so scripted that they break down into trial and error. During one sequence set at night, you're told to keep to the shadows while creeping up on a criminal. The level is so dark, however, that it's difficult to determine where shadows end and begin.

More serious problems plague other aspects of the game. Every time a cutscene plays, the video controls annoyingly pop onto the screen beforehand.

At one point a complete restart of the game was needed in order for the blood splatter analysis mini-game to recognise correct entries. Other times, the game freezes when moving to new locations or activating a mini-game. In rarer cases, it crashes to the Home screen.

It's worth pointing out that we couldn't get the game to start on an iPod Touch with 2.2.1 firmware. Even after resetting the device, it refused to start. 3.0-enabled handsets work fine, but be warned that the game may not function as promised on earlier firmware.

These bugs are tedious, but they only mar what is otherwise a slickly presented and fun game. It's difficult to appreciate Dexter in its full glory, however, when it doesn't function properly. While creative in its mix of stealth and adventure, the execution is a little messy for the likes of the Dark Passenger.