Review by: Mike Thompson

Disney Interactive's been on a roll over the past couple of months. This summer saw the surprisingly addictive destruction/racing title Split/Second. Now, we have Guilty Party, another great game that has seemingly come out of nowhere. Thankfully, this mystery-themed party game is both smart and enjoyable, which makes it the perfect game for an entire family to play together.

The story casts you as a member of the Dickens Detective Agency, a quirky family of detectives straight out of a Disney-fied Agatha Christie novel. The Dickens family has an arch-nemesis known as Mr. Valentine that they're attempting to track down. There are six family members for players to choose from though there's a seventh character that's unlocked after you beat the game's story mode. It’s all kid-friendly, but the narrative is certainly smart and there are a number of jokes that adults will get, too.

Aside from some quality writing, the production values are, at their worst, solid. The graphics are generally well-done, with a Pixar-esque cartoon vibe. However, some of the minigames look pretty basic. Meanwhile, the voice acting is a step above that of many games, and Wii Remote's speaker is nicely used to provide hints and extra sound effects.

When it comes to play mechanics, Guilty Party obviously took some notes from the classic Clue board game. Moving from room to room in each level, players have to collect sufficient evidence so they can successfully accuse a suspect of the crime in question. Players receive a set number of coins each turn, which you then have to spend in order to move between rooms, interrogate witnesses, or search for clues. Each action costs a coin, and you then have to play a minigame in order to successfully discover information/evidence.

These minigames, however, are a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, they're cute and funny to watch, but they're not always fun to play. The main reason for this is that they tend to lack any serious challenge, though none of them felt buggy or awkward when it came to the controls. There's a wide variety of minigame types (roughly forty or fifty, give or take), and many of them –like the ones where you have to intimidate, bribe, or strong-arm witnesses– are quirky enough to hold your attention for a while.

For better or for worse, the game's difficulty is dynamically adjusted. If a player is doing too well, the game will let them know that things are about to get a bit harder. Players don't really get any say over this, which will probably irritate some folks. In theory, I didn't have a problem with this concept, but some of the minigames felt nigh impossible when I played them at the higher difficulty levels. Players also have "Savvy Cards" at their disposal, which can be used for in-game bonuses during an investigation. These cards can unlock locked doors, turn lights on in a dark room, or even provide extra movement around a level's map. It's a clever little addition that helps break up the monotony of constant minigames.