Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate
Game Review

MCF: Madame Fate continues the exploits of the young detective who starred in MCF: Ravenhearst. In this game, you (as the detective) are hired by Madame Fate - the owner of a typical carnival - to solve the mystery of her murder. Yes, her own murder. That's right, she's one of those fortune tellers who can see the future. Unfortunately, she isn't good enough to see who is the person who will murder her, hence the reason she hired you.

Among her suspects are the many "interesting" people she employs to run the carnival. The bearded lady, the sword-eater, the bunny-in-the-hat magician and a real-life mermaid all appear on the suspects list. You help Madame Fate find the suspect by searching the carnival for clues. Like any hidden object game, the main portion of this section involves scrutinizing each area of the carnival for a list of cunningly hidden items within a time limit. The beautifully painted areas include the carousel, the pie-eating booth, the tunnel of love and even the clown's trailer (yes... it's disgusting).

You can also interview some of the carnival employees as well, such as the lovely mermaid on the right. This is where MCF: Madame Fate improves on the previous games. To access each employee, you will need to conquer a puzzle. These games range from a hangman-style word-guessing game to a puzzle rearranging letters to form the correct words. Once you solve the puzzle, you get to see the employee.

Once you've found all the clues relating to a certain suspect, Madame Fate will use her crystal ball to attempt to unveil the future. This is where this game improves on its predecessors. Looking at the crystal ball will trigger a new minigame such as the one shown on the left. These abstract puzzles require lots of out-of-the-box thinking and imagination to solve.

But fear not! Each stage of the game comes with limited hints that can be used when you get stuck. There are also special objects in each area of the carnival that behave differently and can be used to replenish your hints and unlock secret locations!

If you like the Mystery Case Files series, the award-winning MCF: Madame Fate is a worthy sequel sure to live up to your expectations. If you are new to this series or hidden object games in general, this is one of the better games to start with. However, if you like a nice storyline and don't want to be spoilt, play MCF: Ravenhearst before this one!

Check out the other games in this series!

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