THE GAME GUY
Patterson's thrilling puzzlers go mobile
November 7, 2009
Marc Saltzman
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
You no longer need a PC to dive into video games based on James Patterson's bestselling Women's Murder Club thrillers.
The latest in the game series, THQ's Women's Murder Club: Games of Passion, has just arrived on the Nintendo DS/DSi portable game system. This $35 "Teen"-rated title allows you to step into the investigative shoes of Lindsay, Claire and Cindy, who probe a string of seemingly unrelated murders. By using the stylus, players can examine areas for clues, interrogate witnesses and engage in Where's Waldo-like "hidden object" exercises and other puzzles.
"I love to play to a big audience and, in this instance, the notion was to broaden the video game audience and appeal to both women and men," Patterson said in a phone interview with the Star. "You're not going to kill a lot of people in this game. Instead, it's a mystery to be solved, with a good story, characters, puzzles and mini-games."
Patterson, who has written more New York Times No. 1 bestsellers than anyone, says some of his other books might be made into games soon. "I do have a number of young adult stories. Maximum Ride is one, which is about to get green-lit with Sony Pictures, so we might see a game based on that.
"And there's Daniel X, and we have a game coming on that, but I can't say too much."
Toronto Star