Blackwell Bundle

I hate to be the lone dissenting voice here, but I wasn't blown away by these. Don't get me wrong, the writing and voice acting is very good, and I DID finish the series. I just got sort of bored after a while. The problem is that these are more interactive stories than adventure games. There aren't a lot of puzzles, and some of the puzzles that do occur don't make a lot of sense. There's a whole lot of clicking on dialog and listening to responses, especially in the first 3 games, and not a whole lot else. It is a matter of taste of course, but I'm not rushing out to get another game like this. So, while these are very good for what they are, if you are fond of actual puzzles, you may be disappointed.

The best part of these games is how you feel like you are drawn into a small world that these characters inhabit. I could easily see this as a TV series. I enjoyed the acting and the stories. There is not much you could say that is wrong with the game, except that it could have been beefed up a little more, some how? More story? More puzzles? Somehow... The second game is the weakest, overall, yet I really enjoyed being able to experience it, so it worked well as part of the whole. With that said, the only real downside is that it's really short! Buying the package of 4 games is like buying 4 parts of one game. I gave this 5 stars because I did in fact buy it as one game. Had I purchased them one at a time I would have brought the ratings down a touch.

If you are a fan of the old pixel-hunt point and click genre, then you won't want to miss "The Blackwell Bundle," a straight-up, old fashioned, adventure story. All of the elements are here: engaging storyline, appropriate music, and even a little mystery. It's a fun-to-play recipe, and, while I can't think of any major reason to dissaude anyone from playing it, there are a couple of issues that I should mention, this being a review and all. First of all, the games are quite short. Each game is like an episode, and not a proper stand-alone game. It's a good thing they come here as a bundle, because they are too quick to play one at a time. Secondly, each game has some programming bugs, the first being the worst, and the fourth being the smoothest to play; the first game crashed on me several times, and I had problems with hanging and freezing with all four of them at some point. The last issue I had was that there aren't really a lot of puzzles in any of the games. There are one or two puzzles in the last game, but that's pretty much it. Any challange you encounter in the whole rest of the series will come from failing to note an object that you can interract with in the game. If you already know and love classic adventure games, and you know how to save often enough to avoid falling prey to the game-breaking bugs, then none of these issues will be a problem for you.

I didn't expect much from this series, but after playing them they've been one of the most polished and coherent adventure titles I've played. It's clear that Dave Gilbert took the time to think through the gameplay, art, and plot to make every action in the games satisfying. Brace yourself for a few soapbox dialogs, but overall the series is a solid set. I can't pick a favorite, because each has some great art/plot/game mechanics, but be ready for some perspective and art style changes. Wadjet Eye is definitely a studio to watch!