Dirty Split
Platform: Windows
It was an easier time, a simpler time. The concept of the nuclear family had yet to become an ancient relic and kids still went to the malt shop after school to share a soda. Gas station attendants didn't just pump your gas but wiped your windshield and checked your oil, and milkmen still dropped off glass jugs of milk on your front doorstep. For some it was as close to utopia as we ever got. And yet, in this postcard perfect picture of America, just along the fingernail thin white borders, there's plenty enough room for murder to creep in.
A high end plastic surgeon and an upper crust debutante are engaged, or at least they were until the good doctor mysteriously broke it off for hardly any reason at all. When he is found dead shortly thereafter, the girl's brother, famed socialite Walter Vanderbilt, becomes the prime suspect.
That's where you come in. Baxter, Al Baxter, retired police detective turned private eye. Under the employ of an indignant mother and a distraught sister, you must break through the stonewalls of the police department, and navigate the labyrinthine narratives of evidence to clear Walter's name. Or condemn him...
Your quest for the truth will take you across the country from star-studded sunny Southern California to the seedy underbelly of New York. Plot twists and turns await, and maybe just a little danger too in this, Uwe Sittig's freshman production of Dirty Split, a point-and-click adventure game with intrigue and style.
Analysis: Perhaps one of the most impressive things about Dirty Split is that this is the author's first venture in game design; a fact that I still find hard to believe. That's because once you get over the initial flaws, the entirety of the game exudes the kind of craftsmanship and polish found in far more experienced professional designers.
The artistry, an homage to the work of Josh Agle and the visual stylings of the late fifties and early sixties, is simply a treat, and mingles beautifully with the smooth jazz soundtrack. This combined with the top notch voice acting helps create a rather uncommon mood for a murder mystery; one that is surprisingly relaxed and subdued.
Indeed, when I think murder mystery, I typically revert to either the hardboiled gumshoes of prohibition era America, or the refined European gentleman detectives such as Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot. Sittig dodges both sleuthing epochs as well as the high tech gadget riddled whodunits of the present to provide what is a truly unique experience in the genre. The fact that there's nary a bug to be found, and that the game is FREE, is all just icing on the cake.
Perhaps one of the saddest things about Dirty Split is that its more glaring faults are front-loaded in the game. Chief among these would be an exhaustive and repetitive dialogue script and poor puzzle choreography. For the dialogue, I understand where the game is going, you have to have some opening exposition to get a full grasp of what you're supposed to do. There's just too much of it and sticking with the game through the opening dialogue interactions can prove to be a test of one's patience.
As for puzzle choreography, I mean to say that Dirty Split seems off balance when it comes to finding that sweet spot where the tasks before your are relevant to the plotline, well timed, and suitably challenging. Unfortunately, just as you're dealing with all this dialogue, you find yourself also having to contend with tasks and pseudo puzzles which seem gratuitous and menial. This is too bad because after you get over this initial hurdle, Dirty Split really finds its rhythm.
Finally, I truly think that Uwe has found something of a star in his lead character Al Baxter. When I say this, I don't mean the kind of video game star that is juiced full of attitude a la Sam and Max or Sonic, but a more mellow kind of star that will appeal to a more reserved audience. More Mario than Sonic, more Trilby than Larry Laffer, Baxter eases his way through Dirty Split with a dry wit and a "Father Knows Best" kind of charm.
To sum up, if you're looking for a two-fisted, edge of your seat thriller, look elsewhere (though, as Uwe wrote to me, you may want to keep an eye out for his next release if that is what you are looking for). If, on the other hand, a calm afternoon spent solving a murder mystery with all the urgency of an afternoon tea sounds like a good idea, this is your game. A flawed jewel in its own right, I think this first (and hopefully not last) adventure of Al Baxter proves that Uwe Sittig will be a developer to keep an eye on.
(Note: Dirty Split is a rather tame game, but there are certain adult themes that may not be appropriate for younger children.)
Windows:
Download the free full version
Mac OS X:
Not available.
Try Boot Camp or Parallels or CrossOver Games.
Walkthrough Guide
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Dirty Split - Walkthrough
Vanderbuit Estate
Ring the door bell (with right click -> handicon).
You will be brought into the garden, where you have to talk to Ms. Vanderbuilt (right click -> mouth icon).
Ask her all the questions
Go a little bit further into the garden and find Denise Vanderbuilt
Ask her all the questions
Leave the building and go to the front gate. Choose the Crime Scene
If you want, you can have a look at the car in the garage (right click -> eye icon).
Crime Scene
You see a desk with a sculpture on it - move it and take the little key
Go to the right and enter the office. Under the desk, on the floor you can see a piece of paper, take it
Have a look everywhere.
Go back and leave the building, choose Police Precinct at this point
Police Precinct
Talk to Sam two times. He will give you a photo of Dr. Bedford.
Go to the office and talk to Captain Pearson
After this, try to go to the detention cells. The guard wont let you through. Talk to him.
Go back to the captain's office and ask for the authorization
You will get papers that someone from the Vanderbuilt family has to sign.
Leave the police precinct and choose the Vanderbuilt's estate
Vanderbuilt Estate
Ring the bell and show the papers to Mrs. Vanderbuilt when you are in the garden.
As she needs more light, go into the estate and press the light switch at the left wall.
Go back to Mrs. Vanderbuilt and let her sign the papers.
Leave the building and go back to the Police Precinct
Police Precinct
Show the Captain the papers.
Go back to the guard at the cells and give him the permission.
Try to talk to Walter.
As he has a headache, you first have to move the mop and the bucket away.
Talk to Walter now.
After that go and talk to Sam again.
Leave the building and go back to the Crime Scene
Crime Scene
Use the little key to open the cabinet and read the patient papers.
Leave the building and go to Las Vegas
Las Vegas - Airport
Go right and leave the airport to the Casino
Casino
At the entrance, you see Lola. Talk to her.
Have a look at the posters on the wall.
Enter the Casino and go left behind the talking couple.
Take the firecrackers and the screwdriver from the work bench.
Pick up the lever, which is laying on the floor
Go back to the couple and go right and talk to the concierge.
Ask him about the couple.
Go back to Lola. Use the lever and the screwdriver on the drain.
Take the lens.
Go back to the concierge and ask him for a tissue.
Use the tissue on the lens (Drag the tissue to the lense in inventory)/li>
Go back to Lola and give her the lens
Ask her to sign the autograph for George
Enter the casino again and give the autograph to the man of the couple
Wait till the concierge is leaving his desk and take the key from behind the counter
Use them in the elevator after the door opens.
Talk to Madame Ferroux. Click on the flower laying under the picture on the desk.
Talk again to Madame Ferroux.
Leave the casino and go to the airport
Airport
Go to the telephone and first call Mrs. Vanderbuilt and then call Sam.
Leave the airport and go to the Rainbow Motel
Rainbow Motel
Talk to the receptionist and show him Bredfords picture.
Also show him the paper from Bredford's office.
Look at the poster of Madame Ferroux.
Leave the motel and go back to the casino.
Casino
Let Lola give you an autograph for Chee Chee.
Go and see Madame Ferroux and ask her sign a written statement.
Leave the casino and go to the motel.
Motel
Give the autograph to Chee Chee.
Go to door number 36 and use the key from inventory on the door.
Pick up the paper from the floor.
Take plane tickets, business cards and writing pad out of the suitcase.
Leave the motel and go to the airport.
Airport
Go to gate A, B, C.
Walk to the bar and talk with the guy.
Show him the photo of Dr. Bedford.
Look at the photo on the wall.
Talk again to the guy at the bar.
Leave the bar and the airport and go to Joe Castafiore's house.
Joe Castafiore's House
Use the doorbell to try to go into the house. Try it two times.
Take the photo to the mailbox.
Talk with Mrs. Castafiore.
Open the cabinet. In there you will find the birth certificate for Joe and his twin brother.
Leave the house and go back to the airport.
Airport
Go to the telephone and tell her the news.
Go into your inventory and drag the pen on the writing pad. Click the writing pad to read, what you have written.
Go to the lockers.
Click on the number 169 and take the travel catalog.
Click on the catalog to look at it
Go back to the telephones.
Call the telephone number on the catalog and talk to the publisher.
Leave the airport and go to the house in Aspen.
House in Aspen
Knock on the door. The answer you have to give is "Denise sent me".
Talk to Dr. Bredford. and talk to Dr. Bredford.
Talk to the man in black.
Drag the firecrackers from the inventory into the fireplace.
Go now to the Aspen Ski Cable Car Station.
Aspen Ski Cable Car Station
Go into the control station.
Open the toolbox. Pick up the funnel and the pliers.
Get a piece of wire from the fence at the big wheel, drag the pliers from the inventory onto the fence.
Use the wire on the lock (under the red button).
Push the red button.
Use the lever to reach the top positon.
Go outside, open the door of the cable car
Cable Car
Take the emergency hammer off its hook on the frame of the window and use it on the emergency box.
Now use the hammer on the box and pick up the oxygen mask and the rope.
Now use the hammer on the hatch on the floor.
Use the rope on the box.
Cut the mask from the oxygen bottle by draging the pliers on it.
Now drag the funnel onto the oxygen bottle
Use that airhorn on the hatch.
Now use the rope to enter the hatch
Posted by: Kayleigh
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August 10, 2008 4:12 PM