Nick Chase: A Detective Story is a beautiful seek-and-find.

The artwork is beautiful, the voice work is fun, and the story isn't too terribly shabby.  But what's really missing from this detective story is, well, the detective work.

It seemed like such a no-brainer.  On a platform that allows for nearly unlimited interaction, how awesome would it be to choose-your-own-adventure in a comic-book world.  You're a detective interviewing people and looking for clues that you must piece together in order to solve a crime.

It's a great concept and one I was super excited about when I hear about this app.  Alas, the actual gameplay is a series of mini-puzzles with the overall mystery plot played out in (decidedly well drawn and designed) traditional comic book fashion.

Let's take it from the beginning.  You're the titular Nick Chase, called in for a much-needed job as a private investigator.  The game basically consists of searching for elements in rooms and combining those elements to solve mini-mysteries.  Some of these mysteries apply to the larger case, and some don't.

Once you clear a level, you are taken through a "cut scene" which consists of voice characters narrating over a series of comic book panels.  The artwork is great as is the voice acting, but I would have preferred it if the developers had added just a little motion to these pictures.

Where the artwork really shines is in the room-searching scenes.  The rooms are laid out as a large canvas that can be moved through and zoomed around in.

The mysteries, though, are just frustrating.  Figuring out where Nick's fish food is seems a little trivial in context of a heist story.  These get a little more interesting going forward--like the task of finding the combination to the police chief's safe--but the whole affair seems very forced and petty.

There are a few cool features here, though.  By collecting and using bullets, you can have the game give you hints by pointing out elements you're searching for in these vast rooms.  It is a life saver in some of these interminable mini-mysteries.

The app also lets you have the ability to play your own music...and good thing, too. The background music, while stylish and cool and jazzy, begins to grate after a while.

In the end, I can't really recommend this app for the $4.99 asking price.  The design and programming and artwork are great, but the game play is just lacking.  Feel free to track down the lite version and give it a spin if this is your kind of thing.

You can buy Nick Chase: A Detective Story HERE.