Interesting the varied opinions on chapter 2. Personally, I love the way the background and story of the Schattenjäger and werewolves are drawn out. Slow? Sure, but that doesn't bother me if the story is well told. To have a chapter of significant length with (in effect) not a single puzzle is a risky thing to do, but Jane Jensen manages it amazingly well. I also remain impressed by how well the various historical and werewolf theory threads are draw together later in the game, but I won't say any more about that now
My opinion on Grace in GK2 goes very much towards that of Andrea & Coyote AG - I think people aren't making enough allowances for her situation at the start of GK2. She hadn't
only left school, by the time of GK2, she'd effectively abandoned her whole previous life and the expectations her family had for her. Why? Because what she experienced at the end of GK1 had made her decide that the role of Schattenjäger was something worth using her skills to help (and her feelings for Gaby maybe too
). Remember she'd almost been killed at the end of GK1 - that sort of thing does affect people! And it was only thanks to Gaby that this happened.
And what's her reward at the start of GK2? To be snubbed, ignored, and left to manage Gaby's bookshop in New Orleans while he lives the life of the Schattenjäger and someone far less skilled (in her eyes at least) is entrusted to do the research. In her shoes, I think I'd be pretty furious too! Now this may be rather rushed in its potrayal in the game (there's already complaints that chapter 2 is slow - if more time was devoted to this issue, it'd be even more so!) and the actress may somewhat overdo things, but to say that how Grace acts isn't at all in character with how she is in GK1 is well overdoing it imho. Doesn't mean you shouldn't feel sorry for Gerde - of course you should & I have no doubt that was Jane Jensen's intention. Gracey has good reasons for being angry, but she's taking it out on the wrong person.
One thing that's noticeable is that both I, and Andrea (if my memory serves me correctly) played GK2 before GK1, and so didn't have the preconceptions about how Gracey "should" be behaving. I remember just being slightly puzzled when Gracey was being snotty & bitchy to Gerde about just what her problem was
. I do think there's a parallel between comments here & the reaction to April Ryan in Dreamfall after The Longest Journey - there are some people who just want characters to stay the same and not develop. Personally I feel Jane Jensen & Ragnar Tornquist both got it fundamentally right with the way they had the characters develop, though with some flaws (including Joanne Takahashi rather over-egging the acting).
Quote:
Originally Posted by fov
It's not just her behavior with Gerde. She's very condescending to the Smiths when they come to the door
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As is Gerde - I don't think she manages more than 2 words as she's trying too hard not to laugh
. If you had 2 people come to your door behaving as the Smiths were, I think you might be patronising too
Quote:
Originally Posted by fov
and she's overly nice (in a fake way) to the mayor and Herr Huber when she wants their help. I think the writing is fine; it's the actress's portrayal that's way overdone.
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Think that's very harsh - nothing wrong there that I saw. One thing with the live actors in GK2 is the slightly overlong pauses at the end of each scene before the next dialogue option comes up - I think that can give a bad impression, but nothing much the actors could do about it (it's often a problem with Gaby too). I presume it was either a technology problem or bad directing.
Actually, Grace's German communication with the people in Rittersberg comes over very well - despite it being her (as far as we know) first visit to Germany, she's tried to learn German & attempts to communicate with the locals in German, and acts genuinely grateful to those who offer to speak to her in English. This is in stark contrast to Gaby (playing the classic "English-speaking tourist" role
) who, despite having lived in Bayern for over a year, hasn't bothered to learn more than about 3 words of German & expects everyone to speak to him in English (or just doesn't bother speaking to people if he doesn't think they will).
