Review by: Neilie Johnson

A month has passed since the Blue Toad Murder Files episodes 1-3 first enticed us with an off-beat murder mystery and then tortured us by stopping just short of resolving it. Thankfully, Blue Toad episodes 4-6 are here now to stop us hanging off that narrative cliff and challenge us to catch the guilty party and bring him (or her) to justice.

The game seamlessly continues the story begun in episodes 1-3, starting with brief recaps for those of us who forgot what was going on during the month between releases. Having been presented with several murders in the first half of the game, the latter half focuses on the search for three unique statues left behind by a mad genius/former inhabitant of Little Riddle. As before, solving the case involves moving your chosen detective around the village, interviewing potential suspects and doing chores for them in the form of various puzzles. Along the way, you're once again treated to a range of absurd situations and amusing character interactions that provide clues regarding the mastermind behind the town's recent crime wave. You're also assisted in your investigation by the local constable and your faithful canine companion, Watson.

Episodes 4-6 contain all the charm, inventiveness and challenge of the three preceding episodes, with their own unique dilemmas. Puzzles still range from the observational to the logical and ask gamers to recognize patterns, to listen carefully, to recreate images and to solve the tricky equivalent of mathematical word problems. They're also still timed but as ever, you have the option of skipping the more difficult ones as long as you don't mind suffering the resultant sarcastic remarks of the talkative narrator. There's no obvious difficulty ramp as the chapters progress, although less experienced gamers may experience something of a difficulty spike midway through chapter 5.

Gamers who need a little puzzle help or have heretofore only played the single player mode should give multiplayer a try. In this mode, 2-4 players choose a detective, then play through the story together, taking turns solving puzzles. Co-operative players can then help each other get through the more challenging puzzles, while competitive players can leave each other twisting in the wind. Either way, all players are given a score at the end based on the number of successfully completed puzzles and their ability to select the correct suspect. It's a nice change from the extremely straightforward single player game.

The best things about the Blue Toad Murder Files are their characterization, their humor and their puzzle variety; the worst thing about them is their dependency on one another. Each episode is sold separately, but if you care about the story at all, you'll need to buy all six. Chapters need to be played in order to make any sense, and should be played in fairly quick succession in order to keep all the subplots and characters straight. If bought separately, the six chapters come to $45, (a little on the high side for six hours of gameplay) but this cost can be reduced to $30 by buying them in three-episode bundles. The games' replayability is entirely dependent on how much you enjoy reliving puzzles you've already solved but even so, Blue Toad Murder Files are a unique take on adventure game/puzzle play and fans of these genres shouldn't miss them.