Few will deny that the original Gabriel Knight is a classic. Having played all three games in the series, I was pretty excited when I heard a remake of the first game was in the works, especially when it's success could potentially lead to GK4. And now having finished it, I'd call it a successful remake: faithful to the original while modernizing the more out-of-date aspects of it. However, it does have a few problems. But first, the good things. Everything that made the original great is here: a fantastic story, memorable characters, witty dialogue, and challenging (without being obtuse) puzzles. You feel like a real investigator in this game; exploring the city, interviewing people, and finding clues, with the occasional sneaky trick or two along the way. The story is just great, incorporating actual voudoun practices and mythology (with some twists, of course) with New Orleanian culture, and featuring some laughs and chills as well. But that describes the original just as well; what did the remake add? Well, the most obvious difference is the graphics: gone are the pixels and in there place are 3D models and digitized backgrounds. While this is an improvement, I feel it lacks a lot of the charm of the original graphics, but that's probably my bias towards pixel art showing through. The interface is much more simplified, all for the better. No more messing around with multiple icons; clicking on an object shows all the possible interactions with it, and dialogue options now disappear when they're exhausted. A few new puzzles were added, but they don't add much (kinda seem like a waste of time really), but one particular dumb puzzle in the original was replaced with something more straightforward, and therefore better. However, the fact that this remake was done on a tight budget clearly shows in the details, what with the awkward way dialogue is skipped on a click, and the sometimes strange movement of the character models. The new voice-actors are OK.
