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| Hamlet: A Murder Mystery (EMME Interactive, 1996)
Please read our copyright notice. Click here for a printer-friendly version of this walkthrough. Hamlet is a multimedia title inspired by and incorporating the events of the Kenneth Branagh adaptation of Hamlet. It uses cutscenes from the film to flesh out the story, but it can be confusing for those who have not studied the play because of the language differences from Shakespeare's times. The game begins with a video that assumes you know the events leading into the play. The acting is top-notch, though the quality of the video is average, far less clear than the game graphics. The puzzles are, for the most part, easy, straightforward, and well-integrated into the story. A couple of puzzles stumped me for several hours and were thoroughly enjoyable, particularly the logic puzzle utilizing verse from the play. The game is completely linear, offering no alternative areas to explore at any time. On the negative side, the game has the worst save feature. The only way to save the game is to exit, and once you are engaged in a puzzle you must complete it to exit the game (your other alternative is to shut down the game using Ctrl-Alt-Del!). The game has a dramatic finale, which is much-deserved after a hit-or-miss duel conundrum that is more arcade than puzzle. Overall, the game kept me entertained for several days. It wasn't good enough to replay in future; however, it should keep your brain active for a few days of easy-going play. One more thing: this game is about as rare as Duckman, so if you see a copy, grab it with both hands! Introduction The game introduces you to a "murder most foul." A video of the ghost of Hamlet's father reveals he was murdered and Hamlet is told that he must avenge his father's death. Gates of the Court of Elsinore Click on the gates ("To be") to enter the courtyard. Click on the building directly in front of you to enter the Vestibule. Vestibule A voice whispers, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." Examine the map to the right of the door directly in front of you. Click on the map at Christiania, Warsaw, and Copenhagen to view videos. When complete, click on the door to enter the State Hall. State Hall Click on the throne to hear an announcement regarding Hamlet's death. At left, some chess pieces appear on the chessboard pattern floor. I'm not sure if this was a puzzle. If it was, I didn't seem to "win" it! Anyway, this is what I did (you control white):
Click on the staircase. Turn right immediately at the staircase. Click on the mirrored door (second from the left) to enter Hamlet's study. Hamlet's Study Click on the little table. Switch off the light. This reveals a handprint on one of the doors. Click on the handprint to reveal a secret passage to the tower. Here you are given a quest to demonstrate skills to be granted: the Wits of Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, Judgment, Imagination, Invention, Hearing, Memory, and Instinct. You find yourself in the Observatory. Observatory Click on one of the pictures above a door (the only one that can be interacted with). You are challenged with a jigsaw puzzle. The target image is the main building in the Court of Elsinore. The building is in the background with a wide path leading up the middle to it. Complete the picture by swapping puzzle pieces. Trial and error will get you there. When complete, you are given a map of the complex. This is then accessible during the game by clicking on the compass at the top left of the screen. Click on the alcove that reads, "All the world is a stage" (although in close-up it actually reads, "The Gates of Hell shall not prevail"). Click on the books to read the story of Hamlet (good for Shakespearophobes like me!). Return to the door below the picture that contained the puzzle. Click on the door to exit to the State Hall again. State Hall Click on the table to the left and front of the throne. Click on the seal to open the letter. Watch the cutscene. Choose the second letter when given a choice. Exit to the Vestibule. Vestibule Turn immediately right and enter the Royal Hall. Royal Hall When you arrive, turn right. Click on the first door on the left. Look through the peephole. Watch the cutscene. Return to the Vestibule. Vestibule Exit right to the courtyard. Watch the cutscene of Hamlet's father's ghost. When the video completes, you are in the forest. Forest Turn right. Click when the action icon appears the second time. Go forward to a tree with blinking eyes (!). Click on the tree to see the ghost of Hamlet's father. The ghost reveals he was killed by his brother but that Hamlet's mother had no knowledge of this. You return to the observatory. Observatory You are granted the Wit of Instinct. Exit through the only accessible door, which takes you to the Royal Hall. Royal Hall Turn right. Look through the peephole in the door on the right. Then look through the peephole at the left door. When you have done this, you will have changed position. Turn around and look through the peephole. Turn left and return to the Vestibule and continue then to the State Hall. State Hall Click on the sealed letter to read it. Watch the cutscene. Turn around and click on the door. Watch the cutscene. Turn right to exit to a room containing the Wheel of Humours and Tempers. Wheel of Humours and Tempers Click the wheel on the wall. You are taken to a close-up of the Wheel of Humours and Tempers. The goal is to get all of the characteristics to match their respective protagonists. You must start from the inside and progress out. All four characteristics must be complete before it will allow you to progress to the next. Click on one characteristic and then another to exchange them. When they are correct, they will light up with color and will no longer be manipulable. The answers are as follows:
When complete, you are placed in the Garden Maze. Garden Maze It is easy to find your way through this maze if you take notes because any erroneous path will take you back to the start. I doubt there is more than one solution. This will get you to the middle: Turn left. Go right. Turn right. Turn right. Turn left. You are now at the center of the maze. Here, a royal chair sits. Watch a cutscene where Claudius kills Hamlet's father. You are returned to the Observatory. Observatory Again, success! You are granted the Wit of Hearing. Exit through the door to arrive back at the Court of Elsinore. Court of Elsinore Turn immediately left. Look at the car. Watch the cutscene. You are presented with the compass puzzle. This is by far the most challenging and intriguing puzzle in the game. You must figure out how Hamlet's meetings occurred. You must decipher the lines of prose at left to work out who arrived, at what time, from which direction, and what they carried. Trial and error will not get you this puzzle unless you are very lucky! (You have a 1 in 13,824 chance of guessing ... good luck!) I am thankful that the game has a built-in interpreter that translates the verses at left to modern English just by moving the cursor over them. By using all of the information in the verses, you should discover that:
You are then returned to the Observatory. Observatory You are given the Wit of Imagination. Your next goal is to collect evidence to show Claudius is guilty of Hamlet's father's murder. Exit through the door to the State Hall. State Hall Turn 90 degrees right. Exit through this door. You are presented with a series of cards. Click on Gonzago. You will enter the Anteroom. Anteroom Turn around. Click on the table to play a card game. You must beat the king by having a better hand. (High card wins. Pair beats high card. Three of a kind beats a pair.) First to get to three wins. When you have won, you are taken to the State Hall Bridge. State Hall Bridge Head across the bridge. Watch the cutscene. In the next puzzle (one of the hardest in the game), you must decide where each of the twelve scenes below go. There are three rows with a line from Hamlet. Four pictures go in each row, but they must be placed in the correct order as well as the correct row. When complete, a video of the sequence plays and the scenes are rendered immobile. The solution is:
You return to the Royal Hall. Royal Hall Turn left. Click on the door to hear Hamlet speak. A dagger appears at right. Click on it. Watch the cutscene. You are now presented with the bizarre rat game! Believe it or not, you now have an arcade game where you must kill the rats to protect the fellow behind the curtain. Do not click on the curtain where the man is standing or let the rats attack the man. If you do, you will have to start again. When you have saved the man, you are in Gertrude's Suite. Gertrude's Suite At left, click on the chest of drawers to see two pictures, one of Hamlet's father and one of Claudius. Turn further left and click on the picture on the wall. Continue to turn left. Click on the table. Click the light to switch it off. Watch a cutscene where Hamlet's mother can't see the ghost! You are returned to the Observatory. Observatory You are now given the Wit of Sight. Exit the room to Ophelia's Chamber. Ophelia's Chamber Click on the picture on the wall. Watch a cutscene where Hamlet shows off his big mouth. Turn right and click on the third panel to get a close-up of the panel. Click on the upper left wreath design to exit the room to the Observatory. Observatory Read the flower book. Then exit to the Flower Garden. Flower Garden Wander around the paths here to collect flowers. Make sure you turn left and right to find the flowers. Also, don't forget the flowers in the corners. You must collect the following flowers: Pansies, Daisy, Rosemary, Rosebud, Rue, Columbines, Fennel, and Violet. When required, give the following people these flowers:
You are then transported to the Forest. Forest To find the exact path to take, you'll need to experiment a little. Keep in mind, though, that there's only one, so it's just a matter of trial and error. Turn right. Find the correct path that takes you to a large tree. Click on the tree. You are then near a stream. Click at the bottom left of the screen. An image of Ophelia appears. Click above her image. A daisy appears. Click above and right. Click on the branch at right. A key appears. Click to the right of the daisy. The branch falls into the stream. Watch the cutscene. You are returned to the Observatory. Observatory You have saved Ophelia and are given the Wit of Smell. Again, exit through the door. Watch the cutscene. You find yourself on a Danish ship. Danish Ship Turn around. Go below decks. Turn left. Click on the map. Examine the map. Click on the flashing circle to learn there are pirates in the area. Click on the box in the corner of the room. Click it to open it. Read the document that bears a death warrant for Hamlet. Click on the text to change it to read that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern go to prison. Return upstairs. Take control of the helm. Turn the ship north until you are met (and overrun by pirates). Watch a cutscene in which you are a prisoner. Eventually, you are returned to the Observatory. Observatory You are granted the Wit of Judgment. Click on the door to continue in the Cemetery. Cemetery Turn around. Click on the gravestones. Watch the cutscene. (Bad accent, Billy!) Now you must solve the gravestone puzzle. The goal is to click on three stones in succession that go together. They are linked by the pictograph that appears on the gravestone when you place the mouse over it. The triplets are:
When all of the gravestones are removed, you are at the Mausoleum. Mausoleum You have solved the puzzle of death. Now you have to save Guildenstern and Rosencrantz. Enter the Mausoleum. To progress, you must change one letter of each word and enter it in the blanks below. Continue until you have formed the phrase. The answer should look like this:
You then enter Purgatory. Purgatory Through Purgatory, you are given more videos to view. Turn left. Watch the cutscene. Go forward. Turn right. Watch the cutscene. Go forward. Watch the cutscene. Exit Purgatory to the Forest. Forest Turn until you find a crossbow. Click on it. Read the letter to Norway. Click on it and it is placed in the crossbow. Aim the crossbow at the pennant of the Norwegian army. Watch the cutscene. You are back in the Royal Hall. Royal Hall Click on the door in front of you. Click on the peephole. Watch the cutscene. You are in Claudius's Suite. Claudius's Suite Click on the table at left. Read all of the letters: Claudius plans to poison Hamlet. You are immediately returned to the Observatory. Observatory Go to the alcove that has the banner, "Poison is the Coward's Weapon." Read the book "Plants and Poisons." The book reveals the antidote for Henbane (what Claudius is going to use to poison you). Exit the book and move close to the alchemist's table below. Pick up the metal spoon. Add Rosehips from the herbs above to the right glass container. Click on the switch for the gas to distill the essence to the other container. Proceed to do the same with Chamomile, then Hawthorn, then Chicory, then Hibiscus, and finally, Blackberry. You now have the antidote. You are back in the State Hall. State Hall Turn right and click on the table. Watch the cutscene. You now must choose your mother's goblet. Choose the cup that is labeled (when you move your mouse over it), "In this cup an union." This goblet contains a pearl. Add the antidote by clicking on it and dragging it into the goblet. Watch the cutscene. Now you are thrust into a duel. When asked to choose a sword, take the left one (I didn't even come close to winning with the other two). In order to complete the game, you must beat Laertes in the duel. The first to nine is the winner, but you must win by two. To win, you must click on his sword when he attacks to defend yourself, but when he leaves himself open, click on his chest quickly. The final cutscene shows a very exciting end game, once again proving that computer games have much to learn from literature about how to tie loose ends up! |
