Posted on: October 16, 2014
blackmantis
Games: Reviews: 9
Game with a soul, but no heart.
www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/10/15/wot-i-think-gabriel-knight-20th-anniversary/ This article here sums up the game better than I ever could; Characters appear to be floating, projected 3d models over a flat backdrop with no real sense of depth to it. Any Quality Assurer worth his salt could see that, if they continued using the same team and mechanics as used in her previous 3D Games, that GK20 was not going to live up to its hype. You know that indescribably aesthetic touch that makes certain games so great? GK 20th lacks them. It is a good game, it is solid, and it is Gabriel Knight, but this nails it. "Really, go back. Look at the original. The choice of colour palettes; cold but comfortable blues against bright and chaotic orange. The incidental animations. The rich texture of the backgrounds. " The cool, humid morning of New Orleans as Grace shows up for work? The homely feel to the bookstore, the cloudy day feel to the St Louis Cemetary, and the warm feel to Grannys House? They are gone in the new Gabriel Knight. They are no more than just paintings that you could find on DeviantART. There is no passion, there is no heart in this game. There is none of that original "Sierra" magic to it. It feels like a students first game. + Beautifully new painted backgrounds + Recomposed digital versions of songs over the dos MIDI verisons - Low resolution (made for ipads in 4:3, not for PC in widescreen) - Badly animated, with models that look as if they were made by high school 3d modeler interns - No Tim Curry or any original voice cast, new voices are not terribly brilliant either (there is no "heart" in these characters voices, they sound like random off-the-street people) - Simplification of a game that was meant to be a puzzle (The classic "dumbing down" scenario) - Clumsy ipad-designated interface - Lack of aesthetic Quality Assurance. I'm willing to bet the QA for this game never grew up playing the originals. I'm sorry Jane, I really am.
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