Missing: Since January

Missing: Since January is a kidnapping mystery where you must help find Jack Lorski, a reporter for SKL Networks and his photographer, Karen Gijman, who vanished in, (you guessed it) January.

The only clue to their disappearance is a CD-Rom left behind by the abductor, that contains disturbing puzzles to solve and clues to follow on the internet.
You interact with other characters in the game by supplying an email address, where they provide help as you progress, and use search engines to find pieces of the puzzle scattered across the internet.
There are sites set up by both the characters helping you and the actual killer as the plot unravels.

These techniques make the gamer more involved with the story and helps create a realistic atmosphere.

It's not a new idea, EA launched Majestic, "The Game That Played You" in 2001, where the game extended beyond the PC to involve emails, faxes and even phone calls from characters as you became immersed in the plot. Majestic was a brilliant idea, but ultimately failed to catch on because of unnecessarily difficult sign up processes.

Missing: Since January enjoys the interactive spirit of Majestic, but is let down by some of the more game-like puzzles, which betray the realistic atmosphere that builds up.
This is not a game for children, the designers worked very hard to make the imagery and audio as unsettling as possible as you gain insight into the cracked mind of the abductor.

Gamers who like to go back to games again and again will be disappointed with Missing, the plot is totally linear and there's only one way to complete it, overall though, this is a fine game with a great idea, and for the most part the creepy atmosphere is brilliantly maintained.

The recommended requirements:
· Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP
· Pentium® II 333 MHz or Equivalent Processor
· 128 MB RAM
· 8x CD-ROM Drive (or PC DVD Drive)
· SVGA Graphics Card with 32 Bit Color
· Sound Card 16 Bit (SoundBlaster™ Compatible)
· Hard Disk 700 MB
· 56.6 Kbps or Better Internet Connection
· Internet browser with Flash
· Email address

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