I want to start with a disclaimer: I didn't play it since back then, so this is a very basic nostalgia review. Thus said, i loved this game. From the Multiplayer with realisitc damage mode (aka 1 headshot and you're dead, which was rather rare back then) to the crime fueled story, to the fact that it didn't only have "go from start to finish and shoot everything" level design, it was something very special, which only a few other FPS did since then, even up to now. The only reason why i wouldn't give it 5 stars is, because I remember it having a lot of "industrial" levels in the later parts, where you had less civilian interaction and it went more towards the classic "shoot everything" approach, with enviroments that are less recognizable from "real world locations"
I know it's about licensing and stuff, but this is the series that really shows the talent of Jane Jensen. Gabriel Knight would be still one of my first picks in a "Best gaming in history", because it immersed me in it's story and athmosphere and even though it switched from 2D Pixel to FMV to 3D, each of them was able to get the game across perfectly. (Allthough 1+2 are a tiny bit better than 3) Just looking at the picutres reminds me how great the characters were and how you felt a relation to them. The theme song of Beast Within still gives me goose bumps. I don't really play point&click adventures anymore, but for a new Gabriel Knight I would go back to that instantly.
I know this Review won't make a lot of people happy, but i feel i should also show the "not blinded by nostalgia" side of things. Also i want to point out, that this is my view at this moment...in 2012. I bought this on gog, since i didn't get my old boxed version running (or even installing) after debating for 2 days if it is worth the money or not and now i wish i would have bought something else. I recently played Risen 2, followed by Risen 1, which is imo a lot better (and looks even better at times than part 2 strangely) and now after i finished both, i wanted more. Knowing about the botched Arcania and allready played the mediocre Gothic 3, i thought i move further back to the game that i bought in the past, but never really got into it at those times, even though I loved Gothic 1. Now after installing it, waiting forever to get it started (has some issues on my win7 64bit and takes forever to start) i took my first steps, allready repulsed to not have a mouse cursor in the menu. Those first steps where very akward...mouse sensitivity was all the way up and still felt to low, which i had to counter with my Logitech sensitivity button, but that wasn't the end of it. The whole control sheme is disgusting from a modern viewpoint and the main difficulty in this rather hard game comes from the controls. I was expecting a similar system to Risen 1 at least, but boy was I off. I can't say much about the story and rest of the gameplay, cause the graphics (i expected old graphics, but not those extra hard fade ins of enemies and objects that this game has) and controls made me quit after 10 minutes. So yeah in short: I accept that this is one of the best RPGs ever produced, but if you want to play it today, you have to have a veeeery high tolerance. I am not a graphics whore and also grew up with the developement of computer games, all the way back to a C64 and still love to play several old games today, but i simply can't deal with how bad the controls in this game are. I hope this viewpoint helps out some people. I was blinded by my memory that this was a great game and by the amount of positive reviews.
(Strangely.i.can't.use.space.on.this.site...) This.whole.trilogy.is.my.favorite.collection.of.all.time. Great.story,great.characters. If.you.like.point&click.games.buying.those.is.a.no-brainer. Jane.Jensen..stop.doing.other.stuff.and.work.on.Gabriel.Knight.4.NOW!!!
