Wintermute Engine Forum

General Category => Software and games => Topic started by: odnorf on June 13, 2003, 10:08:29 PM

Title: Gabriel Knight series
Post by: odnorf on June 13, 2003, 10:08:29 PM
Yeah.. I know all three games from the trilogy are not new but they are great. I just found  "Gabriel Knight 2" on a DVD (it was 6cds!), and I am playing it for the first time in my life. It uses the same crappy engine (it won the price of the CRAPPIEST engine for me) as Phantasmagoria did but it's MUCH BETTER. It's the only game with real characters and backgrounds that I like! Ofcourse I have to add that GK1 & 3 are also excellent games...

PS. I have read somewhere that the creator of GK series (Jane Jensen) is working on a new terror-mystery-fantasy adventure game (but not a GK4).... I am really looking forward to play it... (edit: see below for a link)

EDIT: After a few days I decided to change the 7CDs with the correct 6CDs.... And I also correct a few typos.
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: Mnemonic on June 14, 2003, 09:21:52 AM
Wow! I didn't know there was a DVD edition of GK2! I have the original 6CD version. Does the DVD edition have any enhanced movies or something?


It uses the same crappy engine (it won the prise of the CRAPPIEST engine for me)
Yes, the playable scenes are very "static", but they are glued together by all those movies and IMHO it works pretty good.

Ofcourse I have to add that GK1 & 3 are also excellent games...
I love them all. I'm a great GK and Jane Jensen fan ;D

PS. I have read somewhere that the creator of GK series (Jane Jansen) is working on a new terror-mystery-fantasy adventure game (but not a GK4).... I am really looking forward to play it...
It's my most anticipated adventure game project!

http://www.justadventure.com/articles/E32003/jenseninterview/JaneJensenE3.shtm
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: odnorf on June 14, 2003, 10:47:40 AM
Quote
Wow! I didn't know there was a DVD edition of GK2! I have the original 6CD version. Does the DVD edition have any enhanced movies or something?

There isn't any DVD edition. It's just all the cd's copied in the same DVD. The files (and the movies) are exactly the same as in the original cd edition.

Quote
Yes, the playable scenes are very "static", but they are glued together by all those movies and IMHO it works pretty good.

It's not only that. This engine is slow and buggy (sierra knows about bugs). And all those small videos when you try to to anything are ver anoying IMHO. The good thing is that the videos in GK2 have very good quality, nothing compaired with the bad-quality videos of phantasmagoria.

Quote
http://www.justadventure.com/articles/E32003/jenseninterview/JaneJensenE3.shtm

Yes! That was it! Thanks.... I couldn'r find it anywhere.
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: Mnemonic on June 14, 2003, 09:14:14 PM
It's not only that. This engine is slow and buggy (sierra knows about bugs). And all those small videos when you try to to anything are ver anoying IMHO. The good thing is that the videos in GK2 have very good quality, nothing compaired with the bad-quality videos of phantasmagoria.
t was it! Thanks.... I couldn'r find it anywhere.

I don't remember encountering any bugs. And those videos can be skipped ;) But like I said, those backgrounds are totally static. Not a single thing moves there. And also the main character is just standing there without a slightest movement. Still, the story is excellent and I enjoyed the game very much.
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: renno on June 14, 2003, 11:47:17 PM
What does IMHO mean?
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: Musta Kaapu on June 15, 2003, 02:41:02 AM
What does IMHO mean?

In My Humble Opinion
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: odnorf on June 21, 2003, 10:28:24 AM
 ;D ;D ;D I have just finished GK2 and I have to say that it's really recommended by me to any adventure-lover.  ;D ;D ;D

It a difficult adventure but not as difficult as GK1&3. If you want to play a REALLY difficult adventure try GK3.

***HUGE SPOILER ALLERT***
If you haven't played GK2 don't read below!

But the end dissapoint me a little. I was expecting to see the theater-light-magic-effects in action and not that simple, puzzle with the doors at the basement.
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: Mnemonic on June 23, 2003, 03:21:08 PM
***HUGE SPOILER ALLERT***
If you haven't played GK2 don't read below!

But the end dissapoint me a little. I was expecting to see the theater-light-magic-effects in action and not that simple, puzzle with the doors at the basement.
You thought the wolf puzzle was easy? I certainly didn't :) BTW I don't like the action sequences in all GK games. That's my only complaint for the series.
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: odnorf on June 23, 2003, 03:56:27 PM
Quote
You thought the wolf puzzle was easy? I certainly didn't  BTW I don't like the action sequences in all GK games. That's my only complaint for the series.

Well, it took me a few minutes to finish it, but I don't think that it's that difficult... If you close the first doors to stop the exit then everything is easy. And I usually don't have any problems with small action sequences in adventure games (Full throttle has some very good for example).
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: Mnemonic on August 01, 2003, 11:19:15 AM
Just to tease you a bit, Just Adventure has a review of The Black Mirror, a game in some aspects similar to GK:

http://www.justadventure.com/reviews/Black_Mirror/BlackMirror.shtm
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: KA-su-MA-kun on August 01, 2003, 11:29:17 AM
Yeah, I remember when I bought the original GK: Sins of the fathers. I wasn't overly impressed with the looks of the game, but it did have an interesting storyline at least. I have never seen copies of 2 or 3 around here to buy so don't know what they're like (for some odd reason expansion packs and sequels often never make their way to Australia).
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: odnorf on August 01, 2003, 11:42:19 AM
Just to tease you a bit, Just Adventure has a review of The Black Mirror, a game in some aspects similar to GK:

http://www.justadventure.com/reviews/Black_Mirror/BlackMirror.shtm

I have played the demo already, and I am really expecting to play it when they publish it in greece. It's one the most anticipated games for me along with Runaway (hasn't published yet :( ), Syberia 2, TLJ 2, Jane Jansen's new adventure, Sam 'n Max 2, Full throttle 2, etc
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: odnorf on August 01, 2003, 11:53:05 AM
Yeah, I remember when I bought the original GK: Sins of the fathers. I wasn't overly impressed with the looks of the game, but it did have an interesting storyline at least.

I personally believe that all three GK games have an EXCELLENT story/plot and puzzles. That's their strongest part.

I have never seen copies of 2 or 3 around here to buy so don't know what they're like (for some odd reason expansion packs and sequels often never make their way to Australia).

Well, Gabriel Knight 2 is a classical point & click third persion-view adventure (as the first one) but with real actors and in many places real backgrounds. It even has A LOT of videos. Sometimes it's like watching a movie. I usually don't like those kind of games but this one is one of the best.

Gabriel Knight 3 has IMO the most revolutionary engine/interface of the last 7-8 years. It's a real-time 3d adventure game in which you move the camera and not the character! This give's the player unlimited control on the game. You can do things that you wouldn't even imagine with all the other adventures. You have to play it to be able to undestand how it works. Again, I usually don't like real-time 3d adventures but this one is, again, one of the best.

Also, Gabriel Knight 3 has amazing and original puzzles. Especially some puzzles than involve a computer.
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: Mnemonic on August 01, 2003, 12:03:07 PM
I have played the demo already, and I am really expecting to play it when they publish it in greece. It's one the most anticipated games for me along with Runaway (hasn't published yet :( ), Syberia 2, TLJ 2, Jane Jansen's new adventure, Sam 'n Max 2, Full throttle 2, etc

The BM demo sucked. Fortunately the final game is quite different, I enjoyed it very much. On the other hand, and I'm sorry to say that, Runaway was a big disappointment for me :'(
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: KA-su-MA-kun on August 01, 2003, 07:33:40 PM
I'm a little wary of computer puzzles in games thanks to "Enter the Matrix" (I spent 3 hours unlocking all of that for a friend thanks to the irksome interface when you're using a XBox with the original control. And many other games which have computer orientated puzzles don't seem to be designed with any realism involved. I think the most interesting puzzle I've defeated was in a shareware Amiga game, and it wasn't so much a puzzle as such as just the player being cheap. Can't remember the games name but you had a robotic tank which you took through arenas fighting, and at the end of it you could upgrade and repair parts, if you designed to repair your parts yourself you got dumped into a wiring schematic which you had to fix before the timer ran out, strangely it can be a lot of fun, would have been interesting if you could have messed it up and have something wierd happen to your robot ie cross the wires in the treads and have the controls inverted.

Ah well, no real challenge in the puzzles in the future "adventure" games released by the big names anymore, usually they're a case of find the key these days or have nothing to do with the actual situation at hand.
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: odnorf on August 02, 2003, 12:19:43 AM
Ah well, no real challenge in the puzzles in the future "adventure" games released by the big names anymore, usually they're a case of find the key these days or have nothing to do with the actual situation at hand.

I trust Jane Jensen (the creator of GK games) and LucasArts and some other names/companies. So I believe that good-puzzled will always be in some adventure games.
Title: Re:Gabriel Knight series
Post by: KA-su-MA-kun on August 03, 2003, 03:22:32 PM
Oh well I hope that I can produce a set of puzzles sufficiently challenging for MPA. You, and a friend both seem to think the idea has promise, I'd hate to let it down by lacking in the puzzles or anything else for that matter.