Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders is one of Hercule Poirot's more well-known mysteries. While this story hasn't been told as often as
Murder on the Orient Express or
Evil Under the Sun, it has still been portrayed a few times. Interestingly enough, most game adaptations of classic mystery novels try to change the ending in order to keep those familiar with the story guessing.
The ABC Murders doesn't do that at all and sticks quite closely to the original text. So, while a fan of Poirot's mysteries will already know how the different murders play out and who commits the crimes, what
Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders gives you is solid insight into how to work and act like Poirot himself.
The biggest way that the game conveys Poirot's mannerisms is through the screens that represent Poirot's little grey cells working. As Poirot works his way through a murder, he will observe many details around him and he will start to ask himself questions. When you have questions to answer, you can go into a screen and see if you know enough details to come to a logical conclusion. For instance, a question might be whether or not a character has a motive for the crime. As you talk to people that know the person in question, snippets of their interview can become items that should lead to a particular deduction. When you place the proper snippets of information in place, the answer becomes clear. Once you've answered all of the questions, then Poirot knows everything he needs in order to reconstruct the scene.
When a reconstruction starts, you narrate the events leading up to the murder, and based on everything you know, you should be able to talk through the events. If you do make a mistake, then the reconstruction ends and you have to start over. Once you successfully match the events though, the story can advance.
As for the mystery of The ABC Murders itself, the story starts off when Poirot receives a letter saying that something interesting will happen on a certain day in a certain town. When the day arrives, a murder is discovered and Poirot is called in to help with the investigation. While there is an obvious suspect, the presence of an ABC Train Schedule combined with the letter signed by "A.B.C" means that Poirot thinks something else is going on. Poirot is proven right when another letter arrives suggesting yet another murder. It quickly becomes clear that the killer is toying with Poirot, and the police and Poirot must work as hard and fast as possible in order to find the connections between the deaths and track down the killer's next victim before it is too late.
