Riding high on the success of the TV Series of the early 1990's, in 1994 Cluedo was adapted into one of the best games ever made for the Philips Cd-I (with a sequel in 1995). Players are presented with an engaging and fascinating in depth murder mystery to solve. There are six different mysteries in total, each with 4 possible outcomes. The mysteries are "The Hooded Madonna", "Happy Ever After", "Deadly Patent", "Blackmail" "The Road to Damascus" and "Not In My Backyard"
Filmed at the beautiful Arley Hall in Cheshire, the mysteries setting of "Arlington Hall" is opulent and decadent. Players must search the mansions nine rooms for evidence and locate and examine the six infamous weapons whilst they also interrogate the six "colorful" characters suspected of the dreadful deed asking them for statements, alibis, observations etc. The use of live actors (something which has unfortunately not been repeated in most Cluedo computer games since, animation seemed to prove the order of the day since then) really comes into its own with the flashback element of the game.
The characters: Mr. Boddy. Master of Arlington Hall and uncle of Miss Scarlet. Mr Boddy is feared rather than loved. It is no wonder they all want him dead. Angus MacInnes portrayal of the character is superb. Greedy, self-important, and cunning, Mr. Boddy is often wanted dead due to his wacky decisions regarding the Hall or crooked business deals. He treats his household staff with contempt, his niece with domination, Mrs. Peacock with false romantic promise, Prof. Plum like the S*** on his shoe, Col. Mustard with blackmail, and Mr Green with double-crossings!
Mrs. Elizabeth Peacock. "If I were a man I would kill you NOW!" One of the best members of the cast, Susan Wooldridge does the role justice with her portrayal of the intimidating widow. Her character is marked by a vein of arrogance and haughtiness, her motive for murder often being the fact she simply cannot handle being rejected by Mr. Boddy (HEA, NIMB,). Mrs. P always comes into her own in scenes with Miss Scarlett. The two despise each other and their time together often escalates from great one liners to physical violence. In particular the most hilarious scene of all the mysteries, the Conservatory scene in "The Road To Damascus" in which she is slapped by Miss Scarlett.
Mr. Jonathan Green "You won't double-cross me Boddy! You wait and see!" He has two loves in life, Miss Scarlett, and money! And who wins overall? just ask the lead pipe he stuck in Scarlett's face at the prospect of loosing thousands! Always involved in some shady deal with Boddy that goes awry his motives constantly lean towards the financial over the emotional. The character is interesting to say the least however, he is not very engaging and Milligan's portrayal seems to lack some spark.
Mrs. Blanche White "Oh shut up will you! By the time I'm finished nobody is going to believe a word you say" Reprising her role from the TV series, there is one word for Joan Simms' Mrs. White: Fantastic (and slightly scary!). When you interview her she is a sweet little old lady. In the flashbacks however she is vicious and mean with a penchant for threatening people with household tools. She is very much the comic element that is needed. Deliciously evil, at times she would do away with all the houseguests as well as Mr. Boddy is she had her way, yet you always end up feeling sorry for her. Well, she is almost fatally electrocuted in one mystery and almost trips over Mr. Greens rope on the stairs in another.
Professor Peter Plum "I'll show you what I think of your patent!" A "why does it always happen to me" character! Plum is very meek and utterly downtrodden and slightly annoying. Well, we need a nice-guy in amongst all the devious ones I suppose. It is not surprising he is the least frequent killer as it seems he wouldn't even hurt a fly. His motives for murder include a stolen patent, the threat of jail, and being besotted with Miss Scarlett and wanting to protect her.
Miss Vivienne Scarlett "You can't take my home and destroy my life on a whim" Poor Nicola Van Dam! Known throughout the Cluedo world for her laughable acting skills. Her performance varies A LOT depending which mystery you play. (It's just unlucky her worst ones are the ones that made it onto the better know CD-Rom version of the game.) In some mysteries (HEA, THM, NIMB) she carries the role really well with a mix of elegance, poise, artfulness, and getting to act like act complete B*TCH to everyone with shining moments in "Happy Ever After", "The Road to Damascus" and "Not In My Backyard". Her performance in "Deadly Patent" is a low point, which contains certain Ballroom scene which has given her a bad name. (Possibly one of the worst portrayals of a woman in emotional distress ever made.) She is Mr. Boddy's niece and Arlington Halls regular floozy. Over the six mysteries she manages to be in affairs with Mustard, Green, AND Plum!
Colonel Michael Mustard "If this HAS to be done it better be done by someone who knows what they're doing" A dashing, gallant chap. A ladies man in every sense of the word, John Standing's Mustard could rival some of the top notch Mustards of the TV series! Mustards motives are defiantly the most diverse of the group and include revenge (THM, HEA), blackmail (B), patriotism (NIMB), gentlemanly protection of Mrs. Peacock (DP), and gambling debts (TRTD). A well written and well acted character, believable and charming in all aspects of the game. (Mustard's interviews are definitely the best of the bunch!)
In 1997 cut down versions of "Deadly Patent", "Road To Damascus" and "Blackmail" were made into the "Cluedo CD-Rom".
Filmed at the beautiful Arley Hall in Cheshire, the mysteries setting of "Arlington Hall" is opulent and decadent. Players must search the mansions nine rooms for evidence and locate and examine the six infamous weapons whilst they also interrogate the six "colorful" characters suspected of the dreadful deed asking them for statements, alibis, observations etc. The use of live actors (something which has unfortunately not been repeated in most Cluedo computer games since, animation seemed to prove the order of the day since then) really comes into its own with the flashback element of the game.
The characters: Mr. Boddy. Master of Arlington Hall and uncle of Miss Scarlet. Mr Boddy is feared rather than loved. It is no wonder they all want him dead. Angus MacInnes portrayal of the character is superb. Greedy, self-important, and cunning, Mr. Boddy is often wanted dead due to his wacky decisions regarding the Hall or crooked business deals. He treats his household staff with contempt, his niece with domination, Mrs. Peacock with false romantic promise, Prof. Plum like the S*** on his shoe, Col. Mustard with blackmail, and Mr Green with double-crossings!
Mrs. Elizabeth Peacock. "If I were a man I would kill you NOW!" One of the best members of the cast, Susan Wooldridge does the role justice with her portrayal of the intimidating widow. Her character is marked by a vein of arrogance and haughtiness, her motive for murder often being the fact she simply cannot handle being rejected by Mr. Boddy (HEA, NIMB,). Mrs. P always comes into her own in scenes with Miss Scarlett. The two despise each other and their time together often escalates from great one liners to physical violence. In particular the most hilarious scene of all the mysteries, the Conservatory scene in "The Road To Damascus" in which she is slapped by Miss Scarlett.
Mr. Jonathan Green "You won't double-cross me Boddy! You wait and see!" He has two loves in life, Miss Scarlett, and money! And who wins overall? just ask the lead pipe he stuck in Scarlett's face at the prospect of loosing thousands! Always involved in some shady deal with Boddy that goes awry his motives constantly lean towards the financial over the emotional. The character is interesting to say the least however, he is not very engaging and Milligan's portrayal seems to lack some spark.
Mrs. Blanche White "Oh shut up will you! By the time I'm finished nobody is going to believe a word you say" Reprising her role from the TV series, there is one word for Joan Simms' Mrs. White: Fantastic (and slightly scary!). When you interview her she is a sweet little old lady. In the flashbacks however she is vicious and mean with a penchant for threatening people with household tools. She is very much the comic element that is needed. Deliciously evil, at times she would do away with all the houseguests as well as Mr. Boddy is she had her way, yet you always end up feeling sorry for her. Well, she is almost fatally electrocuted in one mystery and almost trips over Mr. Greens rope on the stairs in another.
Professor Peter Plum "I'll show you what I think of your patent!" A "why does it always happen to me" character! Plum is very meek and utterly downtrodden and slightly annoying. Well, we need a nice-guy in amongst all the devious ones I suppose. It is not surprising he is the least frequent killer as it seems he wouldn't even hurt a fly. His motives for murder include a stolen patent, the threat of jail, and being besotted with Miss Scarlett and wanting to protect her.
Miss Vivienne Scarlett "You can't take my home and destroy my life on a whim" Poor Nicola Van Dam! Known throughout the Cluedo world for her laughable acting skills. Her performance varies A LOT depending which mystery you play. (It's just unlucky her worst ones are the ones that made it onto the better know CD-Rom version of the game.) In some mysteries (HEA, THM, NIMB) she carries the role really well with a mix of elegance, poise, artfulness, and getting to act like act complete B*TCH to everyone with shining moments in "Happy Ever After", "The Road to Damascus" and "Not In My Backyard". Her performance in "Deadly Patent" is a low point, which contains certain Ballroom scene which has given her a bad name. (Possibly one of the worst portrayals of a woman in emotional distress ever made.) She is Mr. Boddy's niece and Arlington Halls regular floozy. Over the six mysteries she manages to be in affairs with Mustard, Green, AND Plum!
Colonel Michael Mustard "If this HAS to be done it better be done by someone who knows what they're doing" A dashing, gallant chap. A ladies man in every sense of the word, John Standing's Mustard could rival some of the top notch Mustards of the TV series! Mustards motives are defiantly the most diverse of the group and include revenge (THM, HEA), blackmail (B), patriotism (NIMB), gentlemanly protection of Mrs. Peacock (DP), and gambling debts (TRTD). A well written and well acted character, believable and charming in all aspects of the game. (Mustard's interviews are definitely the best of the bunch!)
In 1997 cut down versions of "Deadly Patent", "Road To Damascus" and "Blackmail" were made into the "Cluedo CD-Rom".
