An entry in the Art of Murder adventure game series focused on DS and its features. Player once again takes a role of Nicole Bonnet in search for a serial killer. Unlike the original first few PC games from the series, you do not see your full character nor control it on the screen, but rather play it in first-person much like visual novel type of games.
You can use you PDA to check the info about the victims as well as clues you have found during your investigation. PDA is also used to open map where you can see the locations you can travel to. The available locations are only available until you are done with all the clues on them and new locations constantly appear as you find new clues and leads. Exploring the location works in a way of hidden objects game where you can see the listed objects you have to find. Once gathered, you will have to use objects in solving puzzles or further gathering new clues and leads in your hunt for the killer.
Occasionally you will talk to other characters, mostly your colleagues like your boss, your partner or a crime lab staff. Dialogues don't present any choices and just forward the story or give you new clues. When interrogating a suspect, you will be able to present him gathered clues to get his confession, but you will have to find all the clues before you can even start interrogation.
Your boss, as we as internal affairs will pick a bone with Nicole, just to see how the case is progressing. Such check-ups will require you to answer up to five case-related questions with multiple answers where more than one answer can be correct. Failing to answer correctly will not end the game or anything, but will not earn you bonus score points.
Score points are gathered from pretty much any action you do, from gathering objects in hidden-objects mode, finding secret files revealing more about the nature of serial killers, using objects in the game, successfully answering question and completing mini-games. There are many different types of mini-games, but all gave in common that they give you a limited amount of time to solve them. Once you fail to solve or pass the mini-game three times in a row, you get a chance to spend some of your earned score points in order to pass it, otherwise you can try and try and try until you pass it on your own. When you are testing clues in a lab, each test is also handled via mini-game. Mini-games are versatile and vary from searching a hidden clues and putting them in your evidence bag, using a magnet on a string to take the keys hidden at the bottom of the aquarium while avoiding obstacles, pairing elements when testing for DNA match, and more. While game is not a DSi exclusive, when played on DSi, some of the mini-games will use its technology during the puzzles, namely DSi camera. In such mini-games you may be required to move your hand in front of DSi camera in order to turn some crank or wipe the dust from the objects, making such mini-games rather unplayable in dark-lit room.