I really liked it (surprisingly)
Let me first say this, I hate, HATE, Full Motion Video (FMV) Games. Perhaps it is because they were the death knell for my beloved adventure genre or maybe it was the god-awful acting but I have for these and many others avoided them. However, Gabriel Knight 2, despite my disdain for the media was an extremely enjoyable game.
I took a pass on this game a decade ago because I dislike FMV and am not a fan of the horror genre. I remember seeing the box in the computer shop and thinking "definitely not for me." Back then, I had not played "Gabriel Knight I: Sins of the Fathers" but after buying it from here and playing it I really liked it and wanted to play the next instalment.
When the game started, I was annoyed. All the things I hate about FMV were there: Firstly, the actor who plays Gabriel Knight is cheesy, his (put-on) accent is annoying, and he has a pseudo-handsome soap opera actor face (though, after googling him, it seems it it just that the game does not do him justice). In addition, one has to watch ALL of a video clip to get the clues from an action and if you accidentally click the mouse you've lost it and probably cannot re-watch it.
Though once I settled in and the style and trained myself to keep my hands off the mouse the game ceased to bother me as much. Eventually, I got sucked into the story which is very compelling. It makes a lot of references to the first game and I recommend playing it before this game. (besides it is good). Since other reviewers have already given a summary of the plot I will just mention what I really liked. Even though I don't like horror, the werewolf theme didn't bother me at all. A majority of the game is not macabre or dark, but rather investigative. Like the first game it is more a detective story with some supernatural elements rather than a horror tale. While playing as Grace, (another nice touch) you look into history, notably ("Mad") King Ludwig II. The writers blend their plot into the very real king's life, including his mental illness and internal torture over his sexual orientation without terribly obscuring the historical truth. Then, while playing as Gabriel you investigate the present, interrogating and tracking the suspects. Since I am a language nerd, I liked that since it was taking place in Bavaria there actually was a lot of German spoken and that there were a few situations where your characters face a language barrier. There are a few instances of "unrealistic English" but for the most part it feels German. Then, there is an Opera in the style of Wagner that was commissioned specially for the game. It's hard to imagine a game today doing such a thing.
Despite my initial reservations and a few drawbacks, this game was very enjoyable. If you, like I was, are on the fence about getting it, go ahead and do it. You won't regret it.
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