[shadow9d9]

Well, I just finished GK2 for the first time. I find that many people seem to have a love affair of this game. Here is my opinion of it:

-Decent, long story.
-Average to sub-par acting(What I would expect from a computer game)
-Enjoyed chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6.
-Good, logical(for the most part) puzzles with enough quantity to offset some of their easiness.
-Despite other complanits, I had no problem with the "timed sequences" at the end.

Problems that dragged the game down-
-Chapter 4's museum hotspot hunt. Why must everything have been touched and played to continue on? Totally unnecessary.

-2 easily missed movies that are essential to the game's puzzles-

Spoiler:

Unless people want to watch every 'intro' screen over and over, I assume that most people, like me, skip over each intro screen. Example-conversation starter, entering room for the billionth time, etc. In chapter 4, both the phone call back and the message that a fax came were in these intro scenes... Considering anyone who'd want to keep their sanity would skip these, I found it annoying since I had to look it up.

-At least 2 pixel hunt required items-

Spoiler:

The matches above the fireplace and the tape near the pulley. I luckily found the tape by accident. The matches I never would have found... maybe it is because I am colorblind, maybe it was just a nonsensical pixel hunt. It dragged the game unnnecessarily.

-Exits sometimes very obscure-

Spoiler:

The only one that I found after way too much repetition was the exit to get to the book on the nighstand in zeller's lodge room- You had to exit on the right side after entering bathroom.

-I must also add that there were occasional cringeworthy videos/acting-

Spoiler:

The dream sequence involving Grace being chased by wolves was just way too cheesy.
Also, what was the deal with Grace being so angry in chapter 2? She came accross way too harsh. Also, Gabriel himself was stiff in the beginning.

-Also forgot one illogical puzzle-

Spoiler:

The clock puzzle, although I got it by luck, was a little nonsensical

I did thoroughly enjoy the story, especially in the second half. The locations were great. Loved the German speaking/exploration/history of Germany. Is it perfect? No. Without the few negatives(especially the 2 pixel hunts and 2 missed scenes and museum hunt), it would have been a 9.5 in my book.

I am sure some people didn't skip any scenes and therefore will claim that I should have no reason to complain about missing scenes because it was my choice. Maybe, but I don't enjoy watching walking/into sequences for the 100th time in a row in the off chance of 2/1000 scenes being meaningful.

I don't rate for graphics because I generally don't care about graphics as long as it gets the job done. Some of the music was reptitious and grating, but I don't count it as a negative. Just wish there was a slider for voice versus music.. unless I missed it.

[Once A Villain]

This is one of my favorites. I agree that it's not perfect, but if you look at how most of those very same flaws (pixel hunts, average acting, obscure puzzles, hard to find exits, etc.) STILL appear in recent adventure games and are often even worse...it seems less of a drawback. Granted, just because it was made in 1995 doesn't mean it's allowed to be a flawed mess, but for the most part it's very well made.

Plus, since I find the story quite a bit better than "decent", that probably makes me more forgiving about the few flaws the game has as well.

[shadow9d9]

Do keep in mind that I never give games a perfect score. Even my favorite games don't hit a 10. I found many of the reviews on these sites have hit my issues, particularly quandary's review. Unlike me, they don't deduct as much for wasting an hour or more because you missed a dialogue like the fax/phone messages.

Also, while the story is above average for a video game... compared to say a book or real movie, it falls very flat. This is why I say decent story. I don't give it bonus points because it is in a videogame format.

[Scoville]

The intro scenes that had important information were always slightly different, so it was never an issue for me. The music, camera position, actors' movements, etc... would differ a bit from the normal movie so even in two seconds it was clear it should be watched.

I can't say I had any issues with the other things you mentioned, except for the clock puzzle. That was awful.

[shadow9d9]

Originally Posted by Scoville

The intro scenes that had important information were always slightly different, so it was never an issue for me. The music, camera position, actors' movements, etc... would differ a bit from the normal movie so even in two seconds it was clear it should be watched.

I can't say I had any issues with the other things you mentioned, except for the clock puzzle. That was awful.

Not having issues personally doesn't mean you ignore flaws. Like I said, I did the clock puzzle in 2 seconds because for some reason I decided to try it. I still include it as a flaw.

[Ninja Dodo]

I liked the story and the puzzles but I *hated* the FMV format: going back to the center of the room every time, actors trying hard to assume a neutral expression at the end of every bit of dialogue... but most of all, the 'acting'. It was embarrassing, striking entirely the wrong tone in almost every scene. Grace especially was a total miss, replacing the witty and playful sarcasm from GK1 with outright bitchyness.

[Bobske]

I love the story and the settings! I love the setting so much that I'm going to visit Neuschwanstein in May with a couple of friends

I did worry about the use of FMV. I love Phantasmagoria but there were a lot of problems with that game. The puzzles (if you can call it puzzles) were too easy and you could play through the game in a couple of hours and the acting was really bad . Fortunately, GK2 didn't have these problems. I do agree with Ninja Dodo that Grace was miscast. The rest of the characters were imho pretty amazing.

Great adventure game!

[kostas]

The Beast Within was one of the first adventures I played and I have to say I really liked this game!

I consider it to be the best in the series (I know many will argue but Jane Jensen agrees with me... ) and one of the top-5 adventures I have played.

I loved the atmosphere and the way the author used the historical background to create a marvelous story.

[daikatana_]

Originally Posted by Bobske

I love the story and the settings! I love the setting so much that I'm going to visit Neuschwanstein in May with a couple of friends

I did worry about the use of FMV. I love Phantasmagoria but there were a lot of problems with that game. The puzzles (if you can call it puzzles) were too easy and you could play through the game in a couple of hours and the acting was really bad . Fortunately, GK2 didn't have these problems. I do agree with Ninja Dodo that Grace was miscast. The rest of the characters were imho pretty amazing.

Great adventure game!

I agree with a great story, I loved it too. But what I can't agree with, is your opinion on actors They were so bad, I've never seen anything worse in my life Gabe has totaly different personality. In GK1, Gabe is a sarkastic womanizer and Tim Curry did a great job. In GK2 he is a shy weirdo who can't even act, it was a little sad. But it was a great game, no doubt about it.

[CrimsonBlue]

I agree with Kostas. It may have been different if I had played GK1 a little earlier, but I only played it two or so years ago. Either, the game hasn't aged well at all, or it's just me not liking it as much as others.

I loved, however, GK2, although if GK3 had a more intuitive and less retarded control method/interface, that would have been my favorite.

But life isn't fair, so I have to give GK2 my vote as the favorite in the series.

[Yorolepal]

I remember the acting being really good when I was playing it at age 16. But now at age 25, it is embarrassing...and I stopped recommending it to friends.

[daikatana_]

It is interesting, but when I see the movie with bad actors, it is really pain to watch, no matter how good story there is. In this case, even though acting was really bad, I was having fun and I really like the game

[JemyM]

I did not have that much of a problem with the acting and I enjoyed the story more than the average movie I have seen so I still consider GK2 a classic.

[Stain]

Although I do enjoy the GK series, the thing that bugs me the most is that you have a huge area to explore and one small thing on one screen will change. I have to search all the screens to find which one has changed in order to move the story along. Once I do that thing, now I have to search all the screens for the next thing that has changed. Rinse and repeat.

I do find this "flaw" in several games, including the aforementioned Phantasmagoria. To me it is worse than a pixel hunt, because I have to search so many screens.

Some adventure games are non-linear enough that you do not get stuck looking for the one thing that advances the plot, but many use this method of advancing the story. I guess the "well-designed" games (or perhaps it is better to say "games that are easy enough for me") use this technique to advance the story, but it is more clear where to head next (i.e. you find a key for the locked door - you know to go to the door next). In GK2, I would scour to find an object on a screen, then once I got the object I would have to search all screens because I did not always know where to go next.