Blackwell Bundle released
 

Our good friend Dave from Wadget Eye Games has made a bargain bundle from the three Blackwell games. A nice offer for anyone who wants to get to know the Blackwell series and hasn't done yet.

Ever since I played ECC I have meant to get the Blackwell games and today I bought them. I can't wait to start playing. :)

I bought them too! Just now.

I feel very proud of myself for supporting Wadjet Eye. :P

I got the bundle and have just started playing The Blackwell Legacy and loving every minute of it. I started playing with the commentary mode on but had to turn it off since it interrupted the gameplay. But I really like the idea of getting to know behind the scene-stuff. I guess I've come that far as an adventure gamer, not only the game is interesting, but also the writer and the idea he/she had. I think I'll replay it later and click my way through the game and listen to the comments.

Great games, and I highly recommend picking up this bundle. I think the second is the best in the series (it has the best puzzles, methinks), but all three are great story wise.

That's what I did. I still need to do that for the 3rd game.

And the 2nd game was also my favorite.

Well, I started playing today, and I must say it was money well spent. I realize I'm a bit late, but better late than never!

The story seems gripping. It reminds me of Quantum Leap for some reason...

Spoiler:

especially when Rosa had to use the phone to talk to Joey and not look as if she was talking to herself. Fans will know what I mean ;)

And, although not the same thing, Rosa's job is close enough to putting "right what once went wrong". Long story short: I like it.

Plus... Rosa's cute! :P

I bloody loved Quantum Leap. :)

(so yes, Zephram, you are quite right!)

Happy you all are enjoying the bundle.

Oh, yay! I was sure I felt something, QL vibes are unmistakable ^^

Thanks for the Blackwell series, Dave. :)

Awesome! I enjoyed all 3 games, but thought they were too short :/

The second also is my favorite. I absolutely adore the jazz-tinged, nighttime atmosphere, not to mention the greater abundance of no-nonsense, hardboiled dialogue from various characters (which only Joey seemed to deliver in the other two games). I stayed up late playing this one, glass of bourbon in hand:devil:

I used to love the idea of knowing someone like Rosangela (or Lauren), until I had to work with a woman in my newsroom that looked/acted almost exactly like her (who was a reporter, nonetheless). Sure, Rosangela's quirky, maybe even a little cute in the game, especially for a smart, shy writer.

But Dave, she's not someone you want to know in REAL LIFE.:frusty:

No, huh? Hehe.. dunno about Dave, but I still think she's kinda cute. :crazy:

Cute, yes. But in real life, cuteness only gets a cynical pessimist so far;)

Hmm interesting offer :)
How long does it stand? (I was planning to not spent any more money this month because I'm kinda broke-ish :P)
And I guess there exists only a downloadable version? (I am a sucker for boxes, but when they don't exist I guess download will do as well ;) )

@rottford Hah! You should tell her to play the game.

@Luna Sevithiainen: The offer lasts forever, so you can nab it whenever you want! You can get all the games on one CD if you wish, but it costs $10 extra and there is no box. Just a CD.

Glad you all are liking the bundle. Be sure and tell everyone you know how much you like it, too. :-D

Dave, I'm thinking about getting the bundle, but I would want it on disk. I did not see that option in the ordering process. How is that handled?

Hi Sharon! I was just about to make a blog post about this but since you asked first, I'll write it here!

A lot of customers have been reporting corrupt CDs for certain games (most notably Convergence), and the problem lies with the Plimus store's shipping facility The downloads, though, work totally fine. I have disabled CDs for the time being. So if you want a backup CD for the games, you might want to wait.

Anyone who is hesitant about the download versions, I would say just grab them. The Blackwell games, once downloaded are DRM free. I've burned myself a disc with all three of the games (plus the Shivah), and it does the trick perfectly.

Plus, downloading the games means instant gratification, no waiting for shipping. And for these games, you'll definitely want to play them right away ;)

I just finished Blackwell Unbound and I loved it! :kiss:
I really enjoyed the story and how it came together in the end. And the laid back, sort of depressing atmosphere accompanied by wonderful music was perfect on a gloomy autumn day like today over here in Sweden. That last song: ...that's when solitude begins... is so beautiful.

Next up, I'll go through the game and listen to the comments.

EDIT: Yep, now it's just Dave and me and a glass of wine. ;)

Hej Jelena!

Tack så mycket! :-)

Glad you like the music in Unbound!

Thomas Regin

Hej Thomas!
Vad roligt att du tittar in och svarar. :)

Is the music available somewhere? I'd love to be able to listen to it, especially that last song, while relaxing at home after a busy day at work.

EDIT: OK, I found it available at Wadjet Eye Games. :)

Thanks Dave, I'll just download them then.

Jeg er dansk, så du må undskylde mit dårlige svenska!

Dave sagde, at jeg skulle gå in hit og titta! :D

Glad you found it!

I hope you'll like the music in Convergence too!

Thomas.

Din svenska är förmodligen mycket bättre än min danska. :D

I figured as much. ;)


Now I've got the music from both Unbound and Convergence on my computer and I've been listening to the Unbound music all evening. Solitude begins makes me want to dance with my hubby.

They're talking in code! (or maybe swedish)

Happy you like the music, Jelena. I'm a bit biased but I love Thomas's work too.

Bent off to the wrong topic, eh? ;)

I'm already a happy owner of all three games. I also loved the second one the most. The ending was very touching, and Lauren is a great character, believable, full of strength, yet, without hope, doomed to free ghosts for the rest of her life. Tragic, yet not overly dramatic in a forced way.
I like the retro style of the graphics. Most of them were adequate, but some backgrounds looked sparse, unfinished or just not well done. The game felt also a bit constricted, like when the Countess chases you back to the apartment, again and...again. And a bar keeper in the piano bar wouldn't have hurt. ;)
Blackwell Convergence was much more pleasant to look at, and it's cool that the story of the previous games came to a conclusion. While Unbound also grabbed me emotionally, Convergence just entertained me really well and didn't leave as much of a lasting impression.
And, like was mentioned in the review here on AdventureGamers, Rosa just came across as a bit shy, but her awkardness was pretty much gone. Okay, she still cracked some corny jokes, though. ;) Maybe it made it more easy to relate to her, but I didn't remember her like this from Legacy. Maybe I should play the first part again...

Anyway, great games! :)

I've now finished the Blackwell Convergence and I love how the three games come together in the end. Great story! Will there be more games with Rosa and Joey?
One thing though, I missed not being able to get clues from combining Rosa's notes. That was a neat way of progressing in the game.

When checking out the extra material I was thrilled to learn I can actually visit the Minetta Tavern for real. I both love it and hate it when that happens. I yet have to visit Saxton/Polperro in Cornwall after having played The Lost Crown and now I've got New York on my list of places to go. This will eventually ruin me. Dave, when I do visit N.Y you'll have to buy me a drink for doing this to me. ;)

I just finished Convergence and I'll be sinking my teeth in Unbound shortly. Thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. I should say I preferred the design and voice of Rosa in Legacy.

The only thing that upset me a bit is that Joey only cares about Rosa's fate because he's afraid he'll have to spend time hanging around in the hospital. That was OK when they had just met, but later... dunno, I guess I expected them to bond. It's a bit weird if Al doesn't care for Sam ;)

Hey, you have to remember he had already hung over a hospital bed for 25 years. It's totally understandable he doesn't want to do that again. ;)

Indeed, indeed. Don't get me wrong, I find Joey's personality very likeable, for a ghost. I must admit I actually chuckled when, in Legacy, he said he had no intention of spending more time trapped in a hospital, 'cos it made perfect sense to me that he wouldn't want that to happen.
I was just hoping he and Rosa might have bonded a bit more by the time Convergence came along! :P

I agree, Zefram. I had wanted them to bond a bit more, but it's quite understandable he didn't want to hang in a hospital again, like he said in the 1st game when she was going to tell the doctor about Joey.

I like the way they're bickering. If they'd get along perfectly their interaction would be a lot less entertaining to watch.

Agreed, the bickering is a great plot device, I cannot but appreciate it myself. Besides, the part that bothered me wasn't the bickering itself, but that one occasion when Joey saw Rosa in danger and was concerned to get trapped in the hospital again (I think it was at the end of Convergence).

I actually removed the part where I wrote I didn't see how they'd bond anyway. I realized that might very well happen. :)

Indeed! Allow me to edit my own post accordingly. :)

I love the bickering, too. Since they are from different times, it's obvious they would disagree on things, and since poor Joey can't touch anything and has to follow Rosa wherever she wants to go, the bickering is understandable. :P

In case anyone is interested in behind the scenes stuff, I wrote a post-mortem article about Blackwell Convergence for Gamasutra. It just went up!

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/featur..._eyes_the_.php

Interesting read! Thanks for posting the link.

For the fourth Blackwell game I'm pro-notebook!

:D

Me too!

Wow downloaded them from Wadjet Eye's website as a gift to my gf. She's a keen adventure gamer and said that the series was brilliant, and went on the purchase the Emerald City game saying it was one of her fave games of all time - a huge compliment. I've some catching up to do because she can complete point n clicks in a few hours whereas it takes me weeks lol.