A Rubber Hose Masterpiece
It’s been a fair while since I really enjoyed a decent first person shooter.
Don’t get me wrong, for there have been many to release on Xbox over recent years, from the reboots of DOOM, to the more retro vibes of Heretic + Hexen, right over to the gritty S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and stupidly fun High on Life. And that’s without even mentioning Call of Duty, Borderlands and Marathon.
But very few of those have managed to properly immerse me, dragging me in for the ride, refusing to let go.
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire though? Man, I can’t stop playing it.
Mouthful of a name aside, and MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is a super accomplished first person shooter. Action packed with tinges of High on Life, full of shoot-outs, but also capable of slowing things down for a more investigative take on matters, what Fumi Games and PlaySide have put together here is of extremely high quality.
Vintage Visuals
Of course, it’s the visuals that will draw most players in. Set in Mouseburg, playing as Private Investigator Jack Pepper (voiced by Troy Baker), a former war hero-turned-detective, you find yourself wandering the mean streets in search of friends, foes, cases, clues and a whole ton more. Striking rubber hose graphics, hand-drawn, frame-by-frame, dance along to your every beat.
Clearly inspired by the most classic of cartoons that emerged around the 1930s, this is a visual treat, working black and white aesthetics that ooze quality. There’s a proper vintage feel to MOUSE, heightened by a number of varying visual overlays which hammer home that old-school nature even more if you are looking for them.
Exploring Mouseburg
For a first person shooter, Mouseburg is a world that feels alive. As Pepper, scouring the streets he finds himself in becomes a joy, diving deep into the nooks and crannies, utilising environmental elements to help progression. Platforming is key, but that is just one way of getting around, with a variety of skills and abilities helping Pepper traverse the world in some wacky, yet wonderful, ways.
With Jack Pepper being a mouse, much of his toolkit is centred around his tail. A Grappling Tail brings some Indiana Jones-style swinging to the scene, while the Tailcopter allows him to hover and glide. It also comes into its own when picking locks on safes and doors, with a fun, timed, move-limited mini-game popping up on occasion.
And use those skills you must, as Pepper is sent off on wild goose chases, missions, and side missions, all powered by leads, his own intuition and cheese-fuelled objectives. Crooks will need to be taken down, dodgy cops should be investigated, and kingpins must have their empire disrupted. Think of MOUSE: P.I. For Hire as an investigation-led first person shooter, and you’ll be somewhere in the ballpark.
Lock, Load, and Laugh
Weaponry is in plentiful supply too, as you would expect of a game that rarely goes a minute without a bullet being fired. Pistols (The default Micer is surprisingly consistent), shotguns, a super Devarnisher and more all sit on a delicate weapon wheel, with limited ammo supplies something to be carefully considered, especially should you utilise upgrades and alt-fire options.
Run out of those bullets and you’ll be left with your fists, and the odd-super power, at your disposal. Munching down on a Popeye-style spinach power-up brings a real smile to the face. It’s good then that Mouseburg is full of smashable crates, TNT barrels and handily placed ammo supplies to keep Pepper busy. It goes without saying that health and armor pick-ups should never be ignored either.
Engaging the Underbelly
In terms of foes, and there are a wide range of opponents for Pepper to, um, pepper. As you’d expect, these come in various forms, from little grunts that can be taken down with a kick, to armoured gangs, flying shooters and hefty battering rams. Mostly, in MOUSE: P.I. For Hire, a swift shoot, dodge, hide, repeat method works wonders, especially when you have the devarnisher to hand, slowly watching your foes disintegrate into a mess on the floor. That does mean that going in all-guns blazing in each and every situation will normally end in failure, with this one feeling much more like a tactical FPS than anything else.
And when all does fail, when that health drops and Jack is overpowered? Health packs, slabs of cheese and super reliable, well-placed checkpoints save the day.
There’s some Metroidvania chucked in to this one too, with locked doors opening further down the line, and back-tracking taking place throughout. This is a cracking world to take in though, and rarely did we ever find ourselves tired of navigating the streets of Mouseburg.
Piecing Together the Conspiracy
Talking streets, and a fun little city overview hub allows for movement between Pepper’s all-important office, and the various buildings and areas of Mouseburg, from opulent opera buildings to seedy film studios. Jumping into your car and enjoying a drive around, done via an overlooking isometric-ish point, should be seen as a neat segue, if only as you look for new places to visit, new clues to uncover, additional secrets ready to be unveiled.
You’ll need to make the most of that car too, mostly as once a specific level is completed, once the bad guys are removed, and a series of clues are uncovered, Pepper’s office and clue pinboard starts putting everything together, the story joining ever-so-nicely. Granted, you could probably skip the numerous, and occasionally too lengthy, cutscenes, in order to focus on the exploration and shooting, but that would be doing MOUSE, and the brilliant voice acting that powers things, a disservice. If anything, with Troy Baker in place as Jack, it’s obvious that this is an audio delight.
A Big Band Score: The Sounds of the 1930s
Same goes for the soundtrack and the rest of the audio. That 1930’s cartoony vibe comes to the fore throughout, with era-correct jazz music constantly keeping this one flowing. The whole thing dances as you play, aiding with immersion even more.
Throw in some newspapers, baseball cards (of which a mini-game can be a decent little distraction) and more to hunt, upgradeable skills and weapons, and the need to properly scour for little tidbits, and it’s easy to see just how high in quality MOUSE: P.I. For Hire really is.
Of course, it’s not perfect. Occasionally those black and white visuals become a bit too overpowering, and it’s easy to miss certain elements as things merge. And whilst a Detective Brush is on hand to aid navigation, I’d like to have been able to call on a helpful flashlight at any time, instead of only at specific moments, when in vents and the most dark of tunnels. It must be said too, that for the Metroidvania feels, and open-world ideas, much of MOUSE is pretty linear, as you traipse specific routes through stages.
A Stunning and Inventive Noir Shooter
Whatever though, those criticisms are relatively minor in the grand scheme of things. In fact, whilst you may well be drawn in to MOUSE: P.I. For Hire by the visuals and soundtrack, once in, you’ll discover a game that is so much more than just that – an investigative, story-focused, secret-hunting, first person shooting platformer that is an absolute joy to play.
Forget the occasional dodgy AI enemy or overly long conversation – MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is a stunning, inventive, and ridiculously fun shooter that constantly surprises. This is one you won’t want to put down.
Important Links
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Finally Arrives – And It’s Every Bit As Stylish As Hoped – https://www.thexboxhub.com/mouse-p-i-for-hire-finally-arrives/
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Locks In Launch Plans, Editions And Xbox Play Anywhere Support – https://www.thexboxhub.com/mouse-p-i-for-hire-locks-in-launch-plans-editions-and-xbox-play-anywhere-support/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/mouse-pi-for-hire/9p7522hwd0nh
