When One Mystery Is Solved, Another Appears In Cause & Effect
Cause & Effect (Free) by Chris Yates is a mystery adventure for the iPad where the characters fates are in your hands. What you choose may influence the outcome of the story. Follow the clues and uncover the mystery behind Brooke’s disappearance.
Players see the world through the eyes of Max Alvarez. He comes home from work one day to discover that his wife is missing and you must help him find her by following clues that have been left behind.
For example, there is a broken wine glass on the kitchen counter and Max’s wife, Brooke, left her daily planner behind. Max can receive text messages and call friends when prompted in order to try to track down Brooke. However, it seems like every discovery leads to a new mystery.
This Choose Your Own Adventure type mystery reminds me a little of The Walking Dead. Players must go from room to room, trying to find clues. It is not nearly as immersive as the popular zombie game, but the idea is the same.
Only one guy created Cause and Effect. He filmed the scenes, added the sound effects, wrote the dialogue, and created the clues. It is not the best game you will ever play, but it certainly shows a lot of passion on the part of its creator.
I like the cinema clips. They are strangely washed out using an effects filter, so the whole thing looks both real and cartoonish at the same time.
There is no menu screen and the how-to guide only show up once. I was a little confused at first, but I eventually got the hang of things and was able to complete the first chapter. Luckily, it doesn’t take long because there is no way to save your progress. If you close the app for any reason, you have to start over again.
The whole game only lasts a few minutes. This first chapter is only the beginning of what is supposed to be a full game that you’ll be able to download in parts. If the next chapter is as short as this one, it had better be free, too. This was so short. It was more like a teaser than the first chapter.
I suggest you download this game and play through to the end. I also recommend that you rate it and sign up for future update notification. If the developer sees that there is a lot of interest in his game, he may work harder and faster to get the next chapter finished and ready for you to play.
