Gabriel Knight 3
Adventure game, huh? Pointing and clicking and inventories and stuff? Aren't those things dead, you ask? The answer is that they're not, and GK3 is the proof. This game is almost as classic as point-and-click adventures. The only major change you'll notice from Monkey Island and pals is that this one's in full 3d. You control the free flying camera, only a few times do you need to order Gabriel and his companion Grace directly to walk somewhere. Otherwise you just zoom in on an object/location/whatever and give an order, and the character you currently control will walk in from right behind the camera to carry it out. You may also use ESC to skip to the end of the current action which further speeds up what would otherwise be tideous transitions. In all it's a very convenient control system which you'll get into in no time at all and which speeds up exploration tremendously.
The graphics feel a bit mixed. The engine certainly isn't up to the standard of Unreal or anything, yet the game seems to demand pretty much to be playable, something clearly shown by strange slowdowns in certain areas as well as in landscape and texture detail. Indoor areas are better, and some of them look very good indeed. Character models are quite detailed though, especially the faces, with blinking and moving eyes as well as moving eyebrows and mouths. All 2d artwork is as good as anyone can ask for of course, no problems there.
Luckily, the graphics don't set the standard of the game, the story and puzzles are way above the graphics in quality. The story starts out as a search for a child kidnapped by what is suspected to be vampires and soon grows into a tree with more branches than you can count. There are all sorts of mysteries, myths and secret organizations drawn into the story, and I'd sure like to know what devoted christians think of it. Yet Jane Jensen, the writer and designer behind the game, manages to tie it all together without missing anything, a truly impressive accomplishment.
Gameplay is very straightforward, if you've played an adventure game before (or even if you haven't) you'll be right at home as soon as you've mastered the camera. Conversations and picking up and using different objects are the main components. The problems and puzzles you face are mostly very logical and plot-related, which is a huge plus. I only found two problems a bit stupid (one felt silly and a bit illogical and the other one was just too difficult), but there's plenty of room to get stuck on other ones of course. Should you do just that, there's plenty of help, another sign of a really good adventure game. The characters can think about certain objects or puzzles to give you clues, and some of the harder puzzles also have special clues available on the menu. The clues are very good too, they put you back on track without spoiling the solution.
You can never get stuck so you'll need to reload a saved game, there's always a way to go on, something that keeps minute-to-minute saving away. Also, this is about the most stable game I've ever owned for the PC. In six days of intensive play I haven't experienced a single crash, lockup or even exit to windws. No need for patches, drivers, nothing. Huge congratulations to Sierra for pulling that of! Now, if only more companies would ...
A thing few adventure games have is replay value. Normally, once your'e through your'e through and then you've seen it all. GK3 is of course like that too, but not entirely. The main plot, naturally, is the same for everyone, but there are side plots which it's up to you to discover. The suspects in the case move around, engage in conversations and so on as time passes, events you'll miss if you just hurry on with the main plot. I thought I was pretty observant playing. Yet, my score ended up at 791 out of 965, so there sure are things to reward another more in-depth play-through ...
There are no real timing- or precision-dependant puzzles in the game, another plus, but close to the end there are a few more action-based events. Those I can make a small complaint about too. I don't know how the other GK games endings are, but I feel this one has a bit much of Indiana Jones or something in it. In my eyes, it deviates slightly from the rest of the game in a negative way.
Classic adventure gamin returns, and it's as good as it gets! Story, puzzles, clues, stability and replayability. Fetch!
