Assorted Gamespite Articles

As a new article of mine is soon to be published, I realized that I've neglected to post here letting any regular readers here (do I actually have any?) know about them. So here goes.

I wrote a series of articles on the MacVenture games that were ported to the NES. These were a series of point and click adventures created for the Mac that, thanks to not needing a keyboard, could now be played on home video consoles. Shadowgate, Déjà Vu, and Uninvited were the three titles that made it to the NES (in that order), and I think Déjà Vu is the only one that really holds up well.

Also, I wrote a virtual console review of Kid Icarus, exploring why nostalgia is so key for this game - it was really innovative when it came out but very much doesn't stand up well today.

As mentioned, I have another article that will be published on gamespite in the next few weeks and I'm pretty proud of it. I think it's the best writing I've done in awhile.

Starflight - Finished the game

Well, this game is certainly short if you know what you are doing. I tried to play that way. I wouldn't go to a planet or area unless someone else told me about it. However, it is very early on that you can get information about the three items you need to win the game. I even played to get every possible (useful) artifact and it still didn't extend the game that long. The sense of exploration and discovery is much less when you play the game already knowing all there is out there. There really ends up only being so much to do. You can mine planets to get money to improve your ship, talk to aliens to learn the locations of artifacts on planets, and then go collect those artifacts. This is one area where Starflight 2 really improves on the original. Its expanded trade mechanism and... more interesting alien races and wider variety (even there are about as many spacefaring species) makes the game feel more epic.

One annoying thing that I forgot about this game was in regards to the Thrynn/Elowan conflict. I remembered that you couldn't have a member of the other species on your crew or they would be hostile to you. I also knew that if you became too friendly with one species the other would be hostile to you. I just didn't remember that "too friendly" meant talking to one before the other. I had about three conversations with the Elowan before talking to the Thrynn and basically lost all chance to get their conversations. So I had to start a new game and just get out to the Thrynn area so I could talk to them and get all the info they had to give before going back to my original game. It is really fascinating how game design like that was common back then.

I also encountered an apparent bug where, even upon returning their sacred artifact to them, the Veloxi weren't friendly enough with me to tell me where Sphexi was. That was the last location I had to go to before I destroyed the crystal planet, so it was pretty frustrating. I eventually looked it up and apparently they are supposed to tell you its location when you become friendly with them, but that never happened to me.

Another flaw of the game, not necessarily related to the Genesis port, is the complete absence of conflict. You never have to fight anything and are usually better off just running. A large part of the game is upgrading your ships' weapons and shields so this is a big let-down. Especially with the improved combat engine on the Genesis. Basically, the Uhlek are always too powerful for you to take on single-handedly, the Gazurtoid's immunity to missiles means you must fight up close with lasers so you will take a ton of damage, and with the Whining Orb (at least in the Genesis version), the Spemin will naturally be obsequious to you. Except for being attacked by whichever of the Thrynn/Elowan you don't befriend or the Veloxi after taking the Crystal Rod, you really never get into a fight that you shouldn't just run away from.

I'm being down on this game because it doesn't hold up as well, but its revolutionary nature still comes through. I still remember the great sense of exploration and discovery the game held when it first came out even if the universe feels small now. It set the tone for what a space exploration adventure should be, and though it wasn't perfect in its first incarnation, that is forgivable because of what it spawned. It is still a good game and I'm sure I would have had more fun if I had never played it before and knew none of the secrets. Still, it is dated, and the changes for the Genesis only helped a little bit (and hurt just as much).

Starflight - Exploring the axe constellation

All the nostalgia brought up by playing Wing Commander inspired some nostalgia for additional older games I played. Through clicking around on some websites, I came upon a game that was near and dear to me in 8th grade: Starflight.

Technically I have the most nostalgia for Starflight 2. The second Starflight was the first one I played. I think I had just been flipping through a catalog of games for the Mac the paragraph on Starflight 2 really inrigued me. I remember I was debating between that and another game set in space and fortunately I chose this one. My Aunt and Uncle got that game for me for Channukah and I was immediately hooked. After finishing up Starflight 2, I pored through catalogs to find that the original game also got a Mac port and I think that was acquired for my birthday.

Starflight basically started a whole new genre of games. It more or less began the space exploration adventure genre that was pretty much realized to perfection in Star Control II (which I will say, without hyperbole, is one of the best games ever made.) The concept of Starflight was basically putting together a crew, outfitting your ship, exploring the galaxy, discovering new star systems and planets, collecting minerals, life forms, and artifacts, and interacting with new alien species. Starflight, its sequel, and then Star Control II just did such a great job of creating a great mood and atmosphere.

In Starflight, the four intelligent species on the planet Arth have recently discovered that they were seeded there by a colony ship from an old empire that was in danger of being destroyed by hostile alien races. This discovery also led to the rediscovery of faster than light travel and the construction of the first new faster than light ships. Interstel, a commercial organization, has agreed to provide you with a space ship and some intial capital so that you can explore the galaxy and bring back minerals and new life forms to further commercial and scientific interests on Arth. Shortly after your first voyage, scientists detect anomalies in Arth's sun and determine that in ten months, it will undergo a nova-like flare destroying all life in the system. Your mission now becomes determining the cause of this flare and finding a way to stop it. While doing this, you will encounter the alien species from the old empire and those that attacked it. You will discover the secret of the ancients, a species only known by its ruins, and their connection to endurium, the fuel used for faster than light travel.

Starflight succeeds largely because the exploration mechanic works so well. Each planet feels different, either in size, atmosphere, or biological or mineral content. In the course of exploration you meet aliens and must find the best way to (generally) befriend them and get information out of them. From these aliens, you get clues as to planets to search and locations as to where you can find new and wonderful artifacts to help your ship or your quest. The galaxy feels well-populated with planets and aliens and yet there is a key component of loneliness to the affair. You never encounter another ship from Arth (I think the instruction manual indicates that only about ten or so were sent out) so it really feels like it is you against the galaxy. Its vastness can be overwhelming, but by careful exploration and ingenious piecing together of clues, you can find all sorts of neat stuff.

This game was published by Electronic Arts back when they were interested in publishing unique and innovative games and when they became the Sega Genesis' largest third-party publisher, this game got a port. I was peripherally aware of the Genesis port because my friend Max told me about it and I knew that mining and combat were enhanced from the computer version. Upon acquiring a Genesis four years ago, it went on my list for games that I had to have. I was ecstatic when I managed to find a copy with box and instruction manual (although I didn't realize at the time, unfortunately without the map).

The Genesis version, so far, remains fairly true to the computer game original, although I was surprised to see that time hadn't treated the game as well as I had remembered. I was surprised since Star Control II is very similar and hold up fine to this day. I think the pacing, at least of the first Starflight, just isn't as great as I remembered it. A lot of time is spent going from system to system and planet to planet looking for minerals and there isn't a lot of reward for this. Star Control II starts out pretty much the same way, but there always seems to be something to buy with your mineral wealth or some more genuine improvements to make while in Starflight the improvements are fewer and less noticable. Also, the universe just seems to be emptier and a bit less interesting.

One thing the Genesis version definitely does improve upon from the original is the interface. After playing a bit of the Genesis version of Starflight and not finding it as fun as I had remembered, I thought maybe I would prefer Starflight 2 since I knew its story and aliens were better. Well, after playing with the DOS version for a little bit, I found I was fighting with the interface. You have to use the keyboard to select between different menus and are constantly hopping between menus for common things like maneuver, combat, land, and hail. I never realized how much superior the Mac ports of Starflight were with their mouse interface. Being able to click on the menus is so much easier. And it did away with the "maneuver" command, assuming that would be the default and you would always want to be maneuvering. The Genesis version does a similar thing in that you can always control your ship using the directional pad with no need to select maneuver in the menus. Also, the biggest improvement is that the game pauses when you bring up the menu. Getting attacked by aliens while trying to find raise shields or combat was always frustrating. The Genesis interface still isn't perfect as much of the commands can be streamlined away. This is evidence by Star Control II automatically communicating with a ship when encountered and then going straight into combat if that ship becomes hostile to you.

As I said earlier, the main enchancements in the genesis version (besides improved graphics) are in mining and combat. Planet landings in general are more interesting because you need to control the descent of your ship and you can move your main ship around the planet a bit without doing a full take-off and landing. You also now have a mineral scanner which can find underground deposits of minerals that your terrain vehicle can dig for. While the prettier planets and more maneuverability on them are nice, the extra mineral searching really doesn't add anything. I haven't experienced much combat, but the new variety of weapons and controls similar to Star Control II seem to make it much better.

One change that really bugs me in the Genesis version is that pretty much all the back story has been cut so someone going into the game will have little clue what is going on. There was never any elaborate back story immediately presented to you when you started the game, but the instruction booklet of Starflight laid everything out. It was presented as a briefing and gave you the history of the old empire as gleaned from the recent discoveries. You knew about why there were different species on Arth, how they got there, and a bit of what to expect outside. The Genesis Starflight booklet, while about as thick as its PC counterpart had all that backstory replaced by a short in-universe story by some science fiction writer. I mean, it's a good story, but it does nothing to motivate your exploration of the universe. Old-fogie rant: Why can't instruction booklets today have the same care and love as ones from even ten years ago?

There also appears to be some bug in the game as I have made the Mechans hostile to me and I have no clue how. I had a game saved just before an encounter with them. In the encounter, they were friendly and considered me to be the Noah 9 expedition. Every subsequent encounter with them has them attacking me with no chance to communicate.

So, this game isn't quite as good as I remember it, but the exploration and especially speaking with alien races is pretty damn fun. The game isn't that long if you know what you are doing. I'm playing as if I don't, but I've already discovered the three items I need to win the game. Now I just need to discover their locations or at least how to get to them.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Review

The witness sits on the stand, giving his testimony. As he mentions the time at which he supposedly observed the murder, something seems off. You yell out "Hold it!" and press him on this issue. He flinches and mentions that he definitely heard the time so the television must have been on and he heard it spoken. You have him here - this is a clear contradiction with the facts. You pull out the power company records showing that the power was out at the time he says he heard the time on the television and yell "Objection!" into your DS microphone, startling your dog into getting up and coming over to see what is the matter.

Such is the life of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. As a defense attorney fresh out of law school and working for a small firm, Phoenix Wright must prove himself as a lawyer and starts out by taking on a murder case. In fact, all of his cases are murder cases - this guy doesn't get any easy stuff. As you progress from case to case, your reputation increases. You meet familiar, recurring characters and develop relationships with them. The game always takes a fairly lighthearted tone, even when dealing with serious things like murder and blackmail.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is an adventure game divided into two gameplay sections: Investigation and Trial.

During investigation, you check out various locations pertinent to the crime in order to gather evidence that will help your client be exonerated. You are given four options: Examine, Move, Talk, and Present. Examine lets you move a cursor around the screen (using the directional pad or the stylus) and check out objects there. Sometimes these objects are added to your "court record" (inventory) to be presented later. Other times, examining them triggers important story actions. The rest of the time, you get a description and a fun dialogue between characters about them. The move command lets you go to different locations. Sometimes you have to talk to people or acquire certain items before a new place is available to go to. The Talk and Present commands are used when there is a person present on the scene. The Talk command lets you ask them about various topics and the Present command lets you show them items you have.

The investigation portion is interesting at first, but you quickly realize that you cannot progress past it until you have acquired all the items needed for trial and heard all the important information. While it is interesting to see the case unfold and find out the new information, the lack of options for things you can do during investigation makes it feel less like the puzzle-solving typically present in adventure games and more like exhausting every possible option. Still, twists and surprise evidence for the trial are found during investigation so it is important and rewarding to pay attention, even if very little game playing goes on then.

The trial portion of the game is where it comes to life. The witnesses get up and the stand and give their testimony. Then, you get to crossexamine them. The point of crossexamination is to find a contradiction in the witness' testimony so that you can nullify anything negative they had to say about your client. During crossexamination, you see their testimony section by section. At each section, you can choose to press them on that to see if they might reveal a bit more. Once you come to the section of their testimony that you feel reveals a contradiction, you have to find the correct evidence in the court record that contradicts that and present it to them. As the trial progresses, you may be put on the spot to come up with theories as to why you think the witness is lying or other reasons Phoenix Wright gives for why the witnesses testimony is faulty. These are often presented as multiple choices options, but sometimes you are forced to present some evidence. Presenting the right evidence or choosing the right dialogue option moves the trial along, but performing the wrong action results in a penalty from the judge. Five penalties and the judge declares the trial over and your client guilty.

The DS version of the game (the original was released in Japan for the Game Boy Advance) adds a new fifth case that makes more use of the DS' features. You use the stylus to rotate objects, reassemble a broken jar, and even pause and rewind a video to find evidence. In the regular game, the stylus can be used to point to an object on the screen instead of using the directional pad. Also, instead of merely using a button, you can yell "Hold it!" or "Objection!" or "Take That!" into the DS' microphone when pressing a witness or presenting evidence.

The stories and characters in the game can best be described as whimsical. None of the stories in the cases are particularly moving or high literature, but they are well enough done that you could imagine them in an episode of Law and Order or a typical legal suspense movie, or even a John Grisham novel. The dialogue and text contains a fair amount of jokes and commentary, and they work well to amuse you while playing along. The localization effort is pretty good in the main cases (particularly the character who talks in l33t-speak), but is a bit shoddy in the fifth, added on case.

The game is quite logical and so the puzzle of figuring out what evidence to present when can almost always be worked out. While the investigation portion can sometimes feel frustrating because you are just exhausting every option, the trial portion is appropriate tense because of your limited chances to make mistakes. You get a sense of sweating over where to object to the witness' testimony and what evidence to present then. The ability to yell "Objection!" into the microphone when you think you have the witness nailed to a contradiction becomes incredibly satisfying. The fifth case is, again, not quite as well put together in terms of the logic of how and when to present evidence, but it doesn't detract much from the case.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is really and interactive legal novel. You follow Phoenix as he attempts to prove his clients' innocence. Along the way, you help him ask the right questions and examine the evidence carefully. In court, you let him master the trial and confound the rival prosecutor. The game is mostly reading text and honestly not a lot of game playing, but the game playing present, especially in the trial scenes, just feels great. For anyone interested in adventure games, Phoenix Wright gets it done.

Rating: 8 / 10

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Beat the game

Man, that last case is a long one. I certainly have no complaints about the length of this game after going through that.

The last case also seems a bit less well put together than the previous ones. It was made just for the DS version of the game. It has some neat features, like manipulating evidence and dusting for prints that make use of the touch screen. However, I also noticed about the same number of typos/grammatical errors as in the previous cases combined. And there were many more moments when not only was the right evidence to present at the right time in a case not obvious, it didn't even make that much sense once I'd done it.

Still, a very fun game and the best classic adventure game I've played in awhile. Too bad the sequel isn't supposed to be as good.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Finished Turnabout Goodbyes

This game has a definite charm about its characters and their actions. I think a lot of that is because the game, even though supposed moved from a Tokyo setting to a Los Angeles setting, still feels very Japanese. Not only are there some concepts that weren't localized for a North American audience, sometime the way the characters speak or interact feels more Japanese. After having played two DS games recently with amazing localizations (Contact and Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime), this game is a little disappointed. It isn't bad, and I only noticed two typos/grammatical mistakes in the game, but it prevents total immersion.

Still, presenting the cases in court is a blast and the tension you feel when having to figure what is the right piece of evidence or the right conjecture is great.

The next case is the special, new DS-only case that takes more advantage of the DS features. I am looking forward to it.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Finished Turnabout Samurai

Yet another game that I'm way late on the bandwagon for, but if it helps I actually bought this game before I owned a DS. This is back when it was incredibly scarce, so I paid full retail for a copy I managed to find. It has since had two more printings and is being clearanced at Circuit City.

Anyway, I'm really glad that the DS is bringing back more honest to goodness adventure games. While I know this game original appeared on the Game Boy Advance in Japan, I feel like it never would have made it over here if not for the DS. It works on the DS too, despite being a retooled GBA game. Though I never use the touchscreen controls, being able to yell "Objection!" into the DS microphone is all kinds of awesome.

The premise is pretty awesome because how many games let you play as a defense lawyer? That is a definite advantage of adventure games - they can pretty much adapt themselves to any setting. In this game, you get to question witnesses, gather evidence, badger people on the witness stand, and confront them with their filthy lies! It is all very endearing and it works very well. The reason it works is because the story is good. There is a reason text adventures are nowadays referred to as interactive fiction. The story drives games like this which is why when discussing Indigo Prophecy, I waffled on whether that game was actually an adventure game or more of an interactive movie - I think I eneded up sticking with adventure because it had puzzles to solve.

The gameplay is divided into two modes - evidence gathering and trials. If I weren't a defense lawyer (and weren't always playing as the same character), I'd swear I was playing a video game adaptation of the popular television series Law and Order. I know there are CSI games, but the courtroom drama is really what makes this game. In the evidence gathering portion, you can't lose - you just can't progress unless you have done everything required of you. This is fine - all the good latter day adventure games don't let you screw yourself over at the beginning but only find out later on. The problem is that there are only limited things that you can do while gathering evidence and so it feels more like you are just exhausting all possibilites here instead of cleverly solving puzzles.

The courtroom scenes totally make the game. The witness is up on the stand giving testimony. Do you press them on their statements hoping they will crack under pressure? Or will that make you look bad and them clam up? Can you figure out which piece of evidence contradicts their testimony? Get it right and their testimony and credibility will start to unravel. Get it wrong and your credibility will be called into question. Get it wrong too many times and the judge will decide you have no case. Plus, did I mention yelling "Objection!" into the microphone?

I was going to comment that the game seemed short, but then I realized that I have put about nine hours in so far and am only 60% done. So if the game does end up taking 15 hours to complete, I will have still paid $2/hour for good entertainment. That is far better than most movies I see in the theater.

Also, I really hope the Japanese justice system doesn't work the way it does in the game or there are a lot of innocent people in jail there.

Indigo Prophecy - Review

Indigo Prophecy is in some sense a difficult game to review. It starts out seeming like an adventure game with action elements doing story scenes and ends up pretty exclusively as an interactive movie. It also starts out with an awesome and intriguing story and ends up completing falling all over itself in the end, losing its focus on the characters to try to make the plot world-encompassing.

The story "stars" Lucas Kane who regains consciousness in a restroom after having stabbed a man to death and carving strange symbols on his hands. He has no clue why he did this and has to cover his tracks and escape quickly before he is found out. I put "stars" in quotes there because right after this scene, you take control of police officers Carla Valenti and Tyler Mills who are investigating the murder that Lucas committed and attempting to find who might have done it. Seeing the story of the game from both sides works very well and really makes you feel for each character, even sometimes having to play against yourself. You want Lucas to succeed and find out what happened to him and what made him murder that man, but you also want the officers to solve the case and put the murderer away. The storytelling really works. It is just too bad that the story takes a rapid turn toward the end of the game from a well-told horror story into something bizarre that just tries too hard.

The gameplay consists of adventure sequences and action sequences, sometimes mixed in with each other. In the adventure sequences, you control one of the main characters. You can walk around and when you come upon an item you can do something with, icons appear at the top of the screen along with a diagram showing which direction to move the right analog stick in order to perform that action. For example, in the first part of the game you need to hide the evidence of your murder so that includes hiding the murder weapon and the body and cleaning up yourself and the floor. The adventure sequences are generally never too tough. Many times just wandering around until you find all the icons and apply them all (except ones that are obviously counterproductive) is enough. There are slightly more involved puzzles as well, but I'm generally not very good at traditional adventure games and I never had to consult an FAQ. Even if you don't solve every puzzle or find everything that generally doesn't stop your game, but may deplete your health (described below).

The action sequences are where the game plays like an interactive movie. Theses are pre-rendered sequences where you don't actually control your character, but instead must press buttons in a certain pattern. Sometimes, you may have to rapidly alternate between pressing the L1 and R1 buttons, much like the old Track and Field game. At other times, two circles appear on the screen superimposed on the action. These circles have their top, bottom, left and right quarters colored differently. As the sequence proceeds, the quarters will light up and you must quickly press the corresponding analog stick in that direction. It is all very similar to the toy Simon. Sometimes the action sequences are do or die - failing them ends the game and you must continue. At other times, failing them only decreases your health.

So there is health in the game, but it is actually conceived as mental health, not physical. The few physically threatening situations you are in are generally action sequences that result in your death if you fail. Your mental health, though, fluctuates throughout the game. At the highest level you are calm. You can fall to stressed, depressed, and devastated. Losing all mental health ends the game, either by going crazy in Lucas' case, or having to quite your job in the case of either of the police officers. Actions you take can have positive or negative mental health consequences. Getting yelled at by your boss or fighting with your girlfriend will lower your mental health. Sleeping, showering, eating, or having sex will generally raise it.

The game itself doesn't take very long to get through. No one part is incredibly hard and shouldn't take too long to complete. There are a couple "stealth" sequences and the first one anyway can be very annoying. Not only does it distract from the story, but it is also frustrating as it can be hard to tell exactly why you failed sometimes. Since the game is often a movie and a story, any additional gameplay would probably just feel like dragging it out. It is paced well. It is a shame that, while there are three endings to the game, only one is good and it is quite easy to choose between them right at the end of the game as opposed to earlier actions having lasting consequences.

The graphics are fair. I imagine they would look much better in the X-Box version of the game, but on the PS2 they look a little muddy and blocky. The characters animate pretty well, and usually there is no problem, but on occasion the lack of detail in the graphics actually detracted from the story. The voice acting is extremely well done and a pleasure to listen to. The music is another high point. It is appropriately moody and varied and spooky. The sound completely helps to put you into the story of the game.

Indigo Prophecy definitely has its flaws, perhaps the biggest being that if you bought it at full price, you wouldn't be getting a lot for your money. Ultimately, it is an interactive movie and movies can only last so long. Still, it is quite enjoyable while you are experiencing it. You really feel like you are moving the story along through the things you do and not just going through the motions. Indigo Prophecy is really more of a pleasant experience than a game. If you enjoy stories and ways of storytelling, it is quite fascinating for that.

Rating: 7 / 10

Indigo Prophecy - Beat the Game

So, if I'd known there were about 5 more minutes left in the game where I last left off, I would have kept playing.

Besides the plot just becoming wacky at the end, the game also devolves into almost pure interactive movie. I like the controller sequences in the middle of action in most of the game, but by the end I was done with them. Yeah, so this game totally peters out by the time it ends.

Still pretty good. I'd be pretty happy if there were more games based on this concept.

Indigo Prophecy - Heading to Wishita Base

Every review I read described Indigo Prophecy as an adventure game (or as "the next evolution of adventure games" or something similarly absurdly profound). It definitely has many adventure elements. Having to find items and use them correctly is a key adventure mainstay and there are many sections of the game that play like that. Still, there are also several sections of the game that play more like an interactive movie. There are basically prescripted sequences and while they are unfolding, you must press the analog sticks in the same directions that the colored lights show you. Or maybe quickly alternate between pressing L1 and R1. These sequences owe much more to Dragon's Lair than, say, King's Quest. I won't be changing the genre I put this game into, but if indeed this does represent the evolution of adventure games, it is an intriguing direction.

Also, just about every I talked to who had played the game said that the story is really good until the end. Being at pretty much the end, I can concur. It starts out as a mystery that takes on a horror bent. All that seems fine. The fact that I am heading to this military base in order to save the world? Yeah, not so much.

Oh, I guess I just gave a minor spoiler. Yeah, the reason I subtitle each entry is so you can see where I am in the game. I consider anything I have experienced up to that point in the game to be fair game for these entries.

Indigo Prophecy - Vision in Lucas' Apartment

Indigo Prophecy was hailed as an attempt to bring back pure adventure games. Like any good adventure game, it does indeed focus on story, exploration, and puzzle solving. It also has several sequences that rely on reflexes. These are little mini-games that involve colored lights flashing in various directions and then having to press the analog sticks in those directions. When I think of an action/adventure game, I think of an action game with adventure elements. This is much more of an adventure game with action elements. Plenty of adventure games have some action sequences. I'm thinking of the fights inIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade or the train sequence in Heart of China. Still, the reflex mini-games required to pass certain areas seem to make this game a little more of a gray area. Not enough that I won't label it adventure, though.

The story is really cool. You start the game as a Lucas Kane, a guy that has just murdered a man and has no idea why, but realizes he needs to act fast so as to not get caught. Once you clean up enough evidence of your deed, the next sequence of the game has you play the two cops who come to investigate the murder and you have to find all the evidence you have previously hidden. Further sequences in the game aren't nearly as clever in their juxtaposition, but playing as the guy trying to figure out what is going on with him and the cops attempting to solve his crime is a great idea.