It's always nice when you stumble across a murder mystery game with a gripping plot, challenging gameplay and good graphics. Dead Reefs combines all of these things and more.

The story goes that the island of Dead Reefs was infamous for the wicked pirate inhabitants that would lure passing ships into the reefs, slaughtering their crews and looting their cargo as the ships would sink. One stormy evening, while on a fateful mission to a neighboring island, an ancient order of monks decided to set anchor on Dead Reefs to take refuge – only to fall victim to the vile pirates led by the corrupt island ruler, Baron DeSantra. After murdering the ship’s captain and searching his body, the Baron would discover an old relic far more evil than any of them could ever imagine!

Since that fateful night, a horrifying madness has been infecting the minds of the island residents, resulting in a murder every nine years. Convinced they had been cursed by monks the residents renounced their pirating ways but the massacres continued. Your role is as the ingenious investigator Amadeo Finvinerro who the King has employed to discover the source of all the evil.

The depth of this game is really impressive. It takes place over several decades and so it's a huge challenge to even approach completing it. As you pick up clues and talk to suspects, the mystery really gathers pace and grabs you. As detective, you are regularly challenged by unnatural events (ghosts, ghouls etc), riddles and death defying stunts. The 3D graphics are incredibly detailed and realistic (think Monkey Island) and the developers claim this is due to their Virtools engine.

If you like to get absorbed in murder mystery games, then you'll love this although prepare to spend a lot of time mapping out the island.