Gumshoe Online is a single-player online detective game created by Hiding Buffalo LTD. There are currently four cases available, with the first one, 'The Osbourne Mystery', being free to play while the others have a very minimal charge.
Note: registration is required to play even the free trial mystery.
It should be pointed out that the trial mystery is very limited and that the actual cases have a much greater length and depth. My favourite case, with respect to its story, is 'Higher Order of the Three', but if you wish to purchase only one then I'd highly recommend the most recent one - 'Something in the Water' as it's easily the most enjoyable.
Each case is made up of a number of detective-like elements. For example, you will spend the majority of your time searching around various locations looking for clues. Each location has dozens of items that can be examined and most rooms have at least one minor clue. Another fairly small section is interviewing people. This is very limiting, as most individuals have only a handful of topics that they can be questioned on, and the tolerance system is fairly useless.
Finally are the puzzles. These are the most enjoyable and at the same time infuriating parts of the game. There are a fairly wide variety of puzzles, from assembling a fuse box to testing a water sample. Some of them rely on math, while others are simply logic. Many of the puzzles are fairly difficult, while some of them are almost impossible, as can be seen by the extremely popular forums, the best place to ask for help with the game.
When you've gathered all of the evidence that you feel you need, you can go back to your office and come up with a solution. If you have the right solution this part is fairly trivial, but it can be annoying when you're positive about your solution and it turns our to be incorrect, as no help is given to push you in the right direction. (A similar system may also help in lowering the difficulty of some puzzles). It's vital that you save before submitting a solution, as if it's wrong you'll have to do the whole case again or just reload your save. After submitting a correct solution, you get a score based on the time (in-game) that it took you and how many clues you collected.
Despite my criticisms, I really enjoyed Gumshoe Online and felt that all of the cases were well worth the cost - I fully recommend buying at least one. Click.
Cheers to Luckdragon for suggesting the game. =)
you break into the study room ??
This is so weird, I pointed this game out to Jay a week ago...
Luckdragon - that's my fault. (If you hadn't noticed I wrotr the review - not Jay). I promised Jay a review but then got severely delayed.
Ups: Good graphics, immersive experience, good balance of difficulty
Downs: Long lags between actions, too high ratio of pointless clicking over puzzles, crashed in my browser (FF)
Hey Luckdragon, you're right - it was because of your suggestion that I mentioned it to Wulfo to check out. I've updated the entry to give you credit. Cheers! ;)
This game doesn't quite work for me. I have tried IE and Mozilla, but the windows on the side (the windows that say "This is your office, it isn't much" and the window that has the magnifying glass, and the office, map, notebook tabs)are cut off so I can't read them. Any tips on how to fix this problem?
Okaaay... having some trouble finding the safe combination int he practice mission... I think I've done everything... but any help would be greatly appreciated. (just a clue, por favor)
Flakey: I had the same problem, but it fixed itself after loging in through the game's front page (IE).
Isaac:
You need to find all the pieces of the torn photograph.
acutally, right after I posted that, I did the very thing you describe!
The thing I"m finding frustrating now is that I've cracked the case, but ordering everything correctly has been stymying me. I understand why that's in there-- to keep people from randomly guess... but the fact that I knew what was going on (And, honestly, from a logical point of view, figured it out before I even went to his house) it seems aggravating that i can't get the credit for it because I haven't ordered the clues properly, or perhaps have entered incorrect clues that for me were the tip off.
In other words, the game's reasoning is a tad linear for my taste so far. But it reminds me of those old Sierra games (Which I heard they're reissuing) so it's definitely enjoyable.
I just can't find that last piece of the photograph...
Did you get the photo piece
in the bookcase in the living room?
I found this game frustrating on many levels - but mainly due to the unbelievably slow load times. I don't mind waiting a bit for a new screen, but to have to wait for 5 to 10 seconds between each click and response, takes all the fun out of it for me.
I did find all the clues, made my guess, and was told I was wrong. I have no idea how wrong, or if my suspect was right, but a few of my clues out of place, or what.
I love detective games, and enjoy a good puzzle, but I found no joy in this one. Yes, it's got some good points, but the bad stuff really seems to outweigh them for me.
I didn't have any problems with load times, which is why I neglected to mention it in the review. Also, I was under the impression that the order of evidence didn't matter too much as long as the scenario was correct and the appropriate evidence was used, but I may be wrong.
i need help im stuck on the lock and its soooo anoying!
i dont know how to get
the piece of torn photo in the bookcase
and i dont know the combination to the safe. HELP ME!!!
To get the piece in the bookcase, just click on the white book.
I can't open the notebook. Clueless :P
Anybody that can tell me where ALL the foto pieces are? I've found 4 of them, but can't seem to find the last one.
The last photo piece
Check for messages back at your office
Now to figure out what to do after opening the safe...
Nothing there Vadar. Anybody else that can help me out?
I tried the first practice game, I thought the idea of the game was very nice and nothing wasnt too difficult to understand, or hard to figure out, besides maybe one or two things at the most. the graphics were very nice too.
What i didnt like was the ending. You could pick any ending and guess whatever you like but they never tell you the answer. They simple tell you your wrong. So you could have played that whole time and never knew what was the right answer. Also, since you can never guess again or play it again, you can never try to find the right answer yourself.
Jay, what happened to the little green "save as favorite" thing you could click on for each game? it used to be at the bottom of each games page! but now it's not... I want to save this game as a favorite, and I can't match the little icon to the game. drat. I think you should be able to search for a game on the favorites page. then it could pop up the icon that matched the game you looked for! yay! No more 5 whole minutes trying to search for it admist all the other ones...
Sorry, meewa, my bad. I forgot to add one for this game. Give me a couple of minutes, then refresh the page. ;)
cheers!
I loved this game and, whilst playing the demo, contemplating giving these ame designers every penny they've asked for conitnued play.
But then I was very irritated by the end. My deduction was wrong and, rather giving me a hint, to help me along, I have to start over.
This doesn't make for very exciting replay value.
I've already played the game. I already know what to look for and where to find it. I'm not gonna go through all of that again just so I can get to the end and eliminate the choice I already made. Process of elimination is for ACTs, not computer games.
This game, ultimately, gets a thumbs down from me. I like a game that I can play over and over. To play this over and over would be monotonous.
Okay, so several days later, and my ordering of clues etc. still has not beaten the level. I even tried assuming it was a different ending, and entering in clues for that... still no good.
Does anyone out there know the proper order for the five clues to get the right ending?
Pynchon, I did mention in the review that you should save before entering a solution. However, this is a definite weakness of the game and something that should be improved as soon as possible.
isaac -
Here is what I did, and got a successful result:
Double Cross
evidence:
Time table
paintings in room
barrels
open window
lights on in dining room
i cant find the top left piece of the photo can somebody help me
Does anyone know the combination of the safe????
The combination is...
19-54-31-96
Anybody know how to open the padlock in garden? I got hook, crowbar, lockpicks, and keys for bedroom, house and back doors.
Umm.. can anyone tell me the combo to the trap door and how do i get the screw drive to open up the shed?
I need help with picking the lock. Any advice?
hey jay
i need your help?? I dont know how to open the trap door in the dining room?? I also wanted to know how to open the safe upstairs in the bedroom????
thanks for your help
Justyna - I didn't review this game, Wulfo did. And I'm sorry to say that I've never played this one. Hopefully someone else will come along that has, though, and answer your question. =)
cheers!
I tried posting on the forum for the game...no help.
Can some one tell me how to figure out the code for the trap door?!
And what do I do with the matches? I have gotten this far with out help...now I am stuck.....can I scream?!
Any help would be great!
there's 362880 different combonations for the trapdoor. :/
nvm, i narrow it down to 64 combos
and it took me a while to get the code :
1 8 9
6 12 18
12 24 36
it's all about addition.
forgot to mention, where did you find the matches? i looked everywhere and found extra earrings instead.
wow... so i guess i'm extremely slow... umm where the heck can i find a crow bar... or how the heck do i get in the doors in the back alley?
nevermind... as soon as i posted that i found it...
the spoiler for the trap door does not work
i need matches and something to open the shed could someone please help i'm sure i've looked everywhere thanx
anyone know how to open the garden shed?? and the clue to opening the trap door was incorrect!
how do a i open the trapdoor???
you guys know on the game on the top detectives list i am #13 marso thats my character.
anyone plz just post your e cards for gumshoe
I'm having a difficult time opening the garden shed- how do i do it??
I also need to find the matches- i feel like i've looked everywhere, but obviously I'm missing something.
Hi,
Could someone please help?? I cannot find the right thing, to open the garden shed, and i cannot figure out the combination to the trap door. I have done everything else, but them.
I would be grateful if someone could get back to me asap.
Thanks.
the trap door combo is this:
3 6 9
6 12 18
12 24 36
how do you pick the lock in the study?
can i know where you guys found the matches??
All the trap door combos don't work
Can someone tell me where to find matches and whatever opens the garden shed?
where are the matches?! pls say smth. 10x
where are the matches??? please help me!!!!
Where are these darn matches? Totally stuck
Someone, puhhhleeeez where are the darn matches!!!!!
hello. how do i get down to the basement once i have opened the trap door? and how do i pick the lock to the study?
guyz, we want just a small hint, not the whole walkthrough, so pls tell us where shoud we look for those matches!
nevermind. i got it ;;)
Where do I find the matches?
I am not gonna tell you exactly where the matches are, But I will tell you to search outside in the back yard. You will find them. If you get to the point where you are gonna give up, then go where it is warm.... :) :)
Please, Please, Please, tell me where those matches are. Also can you tell me how to open the garden shed.
I am extremely slow. How do you find the crowbar to open the back door in the alley?
To open the garden shed:
1.Get the hook
2.Click on the slightly open barrel in the garden, click on it again to retrieve a rope.
3.Combine the hook and the rope
4.Now you'll need to go back to the alley behind Earl and Brewster. Click on the fire escape, the ladder will slide down as you have the rope combined with the hook to use on it.
5.You'll find a screwdriver there, using which u can open the garden shed.
Hope that helped :-)
hey guys.. please can somebody tell me where to find the matches.. i'm losing my mind!!!
i cant get the ladder down....and i cant find the matches or the screwdriver
Please help me!!!
thanx
If someone tells me how to open the study door I will be sooooo happy.
where are the matches please
For everyone asking about the study:
move the fourth column so that the slit matches the red line. Lock it into place, and the other locks should move right onto the line.
Additionally, the gumshoe forums has hints for this case.
i tried to get the latter at the ally wheni was there but it wont work and i will never get into the basement
The matches, the matches, where are the dang matches?! I've scoured the backyard and they ain't there. What do you mean by 'warm'? I looked extra-careful in the sunny spots XD
Did manage to get into the basement, I need the matches to light the lantern though. =(
I opened the safe in the spare bedroom, but I can't seem to collect the piece of paper that's in there... clicking on it doesn't do anything. Anyone else have this problem?
And there's something wrong with the Notebook feature... both in IE and in Mozilla, it gets stuck in the 'loading' part and never materialises. It's very frustrating.
Oh nevermind.
You people can be so confusing.
The matches are inside the toolshed. Which is pretty hard to open without being able to access your notebook. Grrrrrr!*(@#&$($)*! >=|
the matches are...
on the bottom shelf in the shed in the garden
Can someone tell me where the basement is?
I don't see any numbers on the trap door and I can't open the study door because it won't do anything. No up or down motion.
Please Help
To solve the case :
You can use: Open window, wardrobe, lights, paintings, antique paintings
Or: Money found in the box under the workbench; pictures found in the basement; pictures found at the office; the timetable with DO on it and the barrels in the backyard are the same as the ones at the office.
hey i haven't received the piece of photograph in my office. help please!!
Hey, ppls.
How do you get to the basement in the tutorial thing, please help.
i need help with the lockpick in the house
Where is the rope. I got the hook but not the rope
hey can any one tell how to go in the basement?please..
I'm confused. In the tutorial thingy, how do you look in the barrel full of sawdust in the alley?
how do i get in the basement?
if anyone needs to find out the walkthrough type in osbourne mystery walkthrough in google search.wella.
after your done with the basement what do i do?
Does anyone know why when I try to access the website it doesn't appear to be there anymore? I even googled it but nothing answered my question. Thanks
Gumshoe Online seems to be there now Abbie, but it's nothing more than a page to look at. There are no links, or click heres... nuthin.
Oh well, going by the comments indicating long load times, it's probably just as well.
Update