I cannot recall the last time that I had such high hopes for a game and ended up so bitterly disappointed. I had heard that this was a legendary game and found it to be a frightful bore. The story, what there was of it, was incredibly disjointed and underdeveloped as were the characters. This was a shame as I found to acting to actually be quite decent. It is a tremendous pity that the characters are so underdeveloped. From my own researches, I learned that quite a bit of the script was not shot which may explain the shortcomings of the story. Not that everything was bad about the game. I found some of the special effects quite interesting. The game has a nice, easy to use interface. The animation and the music are also well suited to the mood of the game. These 2 factors are why I am willing to give the game 2 stars. But the inherent weakness of the story compels me to not recommend this game.
The Broken Sword series is one of my favorite series of mystery games. From witty dialogue to outside the box puzzles, these games always seemed to scratch my itch for good, challenging entertainment. Unfortunately, this game didn't rise to the level of the previous entries. It's still a pretty good game. I like the new method of control, was a fan of the switch to 3D, and thought it was a fairly good story. The dialogue and voice acting were also still top of the line. What I didn't like was some of the repetiveness of the puzzles, especially the computer hacking puzzles. I thought some more back story was needed about what happened to George and Nico after the events of Broken Sword 3. The ending was also very flat and lacked a true sense of finality. At the time, there was talk that this would be the final game in the series, but I certainly hope a part 5 will be created for a true final chapter. For fans of this series, I would recommend one playthrough for the sake of completion. After that, I suspect you might not play it again.
Gabriel Knight 1 and 2 were two of the most entertaining mystery game I have played. The music, the story, the voice and actual acting, the addictiviness of the games, and the character development made them some of the most enjoyable games I have played. Needless to say, I was quite looking forward to playing the third game in this saga and was quite let down by what I gone. The good: The voice acting and music are still top notch. In fact, I was quite impressed with Gabriel Knight's evolution as a person as he strove to become a worthy Schattenjager. The bad: Pretty much everything else. The control of the game is very bad. The characters move like molasses and you are forced to use an omnipotent camera perspective to move around and then you have to move your character. I found the story to be a trifle weak and disjointed. The story begins with Gabriel searching for a missing child, but that is quickly pushed to the background by a search for buried treasure and is only brought back to the foreground in the last few chapter to tie it in with the mysterious treasure. However, the tie in is unsatisfactory as well as the ending to this game. I would only recommend this game to those who have played the first 2 games so you won't underestimate what began as a great series. For those who have played the first 2 games, I'd only recommend one playthrought just for the sake of completion.
I had looked forward to playing Phantasmagoria for a long time. I remember when I first saw the game in the nineties. At a whopping seven discs, I thought this is going to be one long mystery/horror game. I hope it's a good one. Unfortunately, I didn't have a computer powerful enough to run it and by the time I did, technology had become too advanced to run the games. Thanks to GOG, I finally got the chance to to play this game. Regrettably the game was a mild disappointment which was unfortunate as the game started with an immense amount of potential. What started as a very interesting mystery tale devolved into a pointless slasher flick by the end of the game. The puzzles are minimal and rather simplistic. This was truly more a movie than a game as moving the plot along consisted of clicking on the necessary hot spots or just walking into a location. I would have been OK with that as the mystery slowly unfolded as you accomplished each task for the day. However, towards the end it is possible to complete one chapter without finding out anything about the back story of the mystery. I had to beat the game, then find out what I missed, and then go back and replay the chapter to get the whole story. The acting is fairly well done, but I found the violence to be quite over the top and brutal. The last few chapters felt like padding just to add something to the game, hence the excessive violence. Had a little more emphasis been placed on the story as opposed to the gore factor, this would have been a very good game. As it stands I give it a B-.
Simply put, Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within is one of the finest mystery games I have ever played and one of the 2 best FMV games I have ever played. Intelligent writing, superior acting (quite unusual for a FMV game), immersive storyline, and haunting soundtrack. This game has it all. The only tiny weakness in the game is that there is no danger to the character until the final 2 chapters. By that, I mean as long as you complete a chapter's tasks, you will move on to the next day. In the last 2 chapters, a mistake at certain points will prematurely end the game. Had that ability to lose been present in each chapter, this game would be the greatest FMV of all time. If you love a great mystery and a bit of a challenge, then this is the game for you.
