Video Game Review: Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects/Ravenhearst

As most of you know I have Fibromyalgia so I have to spend a lot of my days resting. After surfing the web for many years, my kids decided to introduce me to the world of video games something a little more challenging then the Solitaire that came on my computer. The first game I got was Roller Coaster Tycoon to play with my grandsons. It was amazing to me that at 6 and 7, they knew more how to play video games than I did.

I wrote an article that can be found on ThriftyFun on this game as it is one of the best around for kids and families. Someone left some feedback for that article on another game called Zoo Tycoon which we tried also. It also is a very family friendly video game with hardly any violence unless you let your animals get out and they eat each other.

I found Ravenhearst to be very family friendly if you can get pass the part that there was a murder and just have fun with the story line. Anyone who enjoyed Nancy Drew Mysteries as a kid or is a mystery buff will love this game. But although I am going to recommend this game for families, I found that it was very therapeutic for my fibro. Ravenhearst is set in an old mansion and you have to find the clues to solve the murder. The storyline for Ravenhearst involves a diary that has been found, but the diary of the dead girl is missing pages and it is your job to find the missing diary entries which are clues as to who murdered the girl.

The setting for the story is in the Victorian Age and Ravenhearst is a beautiful Victorian home. Finding the clues involves finding hidden objects in each room of the house, which earns you the right to a clue. Some rooms have secret locks that you have to figure out to get into the room. These are very clever and some I have yet to be able to open. You do have the option of continuing with the game and skipping these but I found that they were very intriguing. The clues are jigsaw puzzles that once put together form another diary entry.

What I found to be the best part of this game where the graphics. You really feel like you are in an old Victorian mansion with rooms filled to the brim with all matters of junk. To the right side of your screen, you have a list of things that you must find in each room, like the old pictures from "Highlights" magazines that we as kids used to look at while we were at our Doctor's office. Fill the picture with three times as much junk and you have the rooms at Ravenhearst. Picture in your mind the best over filled antique store and you have a great picture of the rooms. There are 12 rooms total and every time you go through the game to the end, it resets with new rooms and new clues.

The story does stay the same but it is able to keep your interest. The jigsaw puzzles are not very hard to put together and the less time you spend on them, the more time you save to be able to find the items in each room and, believe me, this can be challenging. The first time I played this game, my grandson's came to my office to see what I was doing. I explained that we needed to find the hidden objects and what Grandma was having a hard time finding and we were off and running. William and Justin were having a blast and it has helped with their reading comprehension as they wanted to be able to read the list without Grandma's help. It is now the most requested game in my house.

Most people with fibro have trouble with concentration and also with memory. This game is great for working on strengthening both of these areas. As you proceed through the game, you go back to each room many times but with different lists of things to find. I found that I really need to concentrate to find the items and that as I went through each room, I started to remember better what was in each room.

I found that this improved my concentration in other areas of my life as my day went on, and that I could sense that my memory was getting better also. I would highly recommend this game as therapy for any one who wants to improve their concentration and memory.

Editor's Note: Here is Debra's previous video game article:

• Video Game Review: Roller Coaster Tycoon 2