Empire Interactive has dropped word that it'll be publishing Now Production's upcoming DS adventure, Unsolved Crimes.

Hot on the heels of Phoenix Wright and Hotel Dusk, Empire Interactive hopes the game will appeal to both those audiences and those who enjoy solving puzzles like PUT KEY IN KEYHOLE, UNLOCK DOOR, OPEN DOOR, NORTH.

Taking on the role of a young rookie detective in a Homicide division, you and your partner must solve the mysterious disappearance of aspiring model Betsy Blake.

Empire Interactive says the game is set in a stylized 1970s New York, but to us the screenshots look less like The French Connection and more like a CSI series.

The game contains a wealth of options that all draw on the unique functionality of the DS, apparently. So expect to mark spots on maps with Xs, write notes in virtual books and scribble over a pad to reveal what the previous writer jotted down.

Unsolved Crimes is tapped for release sometime this year.

Courtesy of CVG.

Mar 7, 2008