1995 was quite a year for adventure games. Sales were declining, technology was evolving, and a company known for adventure games, Sierra, was experimenting with a graphics engine known as Full Motion Video, or FMV. It was an interesting concept, it was. Taking live actors and actually putting them onto the screen along with some very nice 3D backgrounds, was not only interesting. It was actually quite groundbreaking. The idea of being able to control a real person in a three dimensional environment was a revolutionary idea, it was.

Of course, Sierra was not the first to use this engine. Several companies before that year tried using the then very early technology that was FMV in their games. The one that probably stands out in peoples minds in the era had to be The 7th Guest. A game that, not only used FMV to make its name famous, but also was one of the games that set the stage for CD gaming. It was very interesting, I think, to see that the game's sequel, The 11th Hour, come out in the golden year of 1995, with it's even better technology and better acting. But, that didn't stop the game from driving Trilobite, the game's developer, out of business. A classic example of how this new engine was dangerous to companies.

But I digress. The very same year of Trilobite’s downfall was also the release of one very interesting game, Phantasmagoria by Sierra. As stated, though FMV games were introduced before, this game really brought attention to it. And despite Phantasm's mediocre gameplay, the game sold exceptionally well in the year of '95, thanks to the groundbreaking FMV that the game featured. This game, of course, had a big budget and required a ton of money to produce and market. Once again, one reason why FMV was a risky thing. Though, despite this budget, Sierra grew strong with this intriguing new game.

And that finally brings us to the point of this review. Two years before the release of Phantasmagoria, writer Jane Jensen teamed up with Sierra to produce a murder mystery adventure that was known as Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers. A game that also sold well and what many consider one of the greatest adventures of all-time. A sequel was in order and in that very same year of FMV, Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within would be brought to store shelves. The game its self promised to be a very intriguing mystery, one more engrossing than the first. But, another interesting thing about the game: the graphics. It was revealed that Gabriel would be brought into the world of FMV. So, did Gabe's transaction into the real world work? ...I'd say yes.

We rejoin Gabriel at his newly inherited castle, Schloss Ritter, in Rittersberg, Germany. After hitting it big with his latest book, The Voodoo Murders, Gabriel is staying in his new home to work on a second book. The problem is, The Voodoo Murders may have been his last good idea, as all his new ideas suck and he knows it. That is, until a knock on the door comes along and changes Gabriel's life yet again. The inhabitance of the small village of Rittersberg have come in support of a family in Munich who's child has been killed by a wolf. Legends say that this is no ordinary wolf, it is a warewolf. And there is only one thing that can kill warewolves, a Shattenjagger. And it just so happens that Gabriel is the new Shadow hunter, and therefor reluctantly accepts to invesigate. Besides, a new book could come out of this. As he does more and more research on the wolves, it appears that wolf killing have been happening across the city. but They appear to be much too big and much too deadly to be wolves. What they are is the question that Gabriel must answer. He later finds interest in a local hunting club and their philosophy. Gabriel suspects that they might have some answers. What/or who has been killing these people? Who are these hunters? How does King Ludwig II tie into this?

Hmm. Felt like I spoiled a bit there. Oh, well. I haven't seen a story this well-crafted since Sins of the Fathers. The way they tie in German history with the already suspencful story is quite clever. Don't be surprised if you learn something through the game. Aside from being intriguing, the game is incredibly suspencful and will keep your heart pounding and your brain guessing until the end. Even the two action/timed sequences are fun because of the suspence that the game builds up. The game never stops trying to keep you sucked in and you wondering what will the end bring. This game is a prime example of how sometimes you just have to uncover the story and keep playing.

GK2 is set up into six chapters. Odd numbered chapters have you controlling Gabriel, investigating the wolf murders and the club, while even numbered chapters have you controlling Grace, researching King Ludwig II, warewolves, and known German composer Richard Wagner and seeing what they all have to do with the murders. Really, the game just could have been the Gabriel chapters and still be a great game, but with the compilation of the Grace chapters, you get a deeper story and more believable characters. I consider Gabriel's chapters to be the suspence and Grace's chapters to be the emotional part of the game. Both character's parts in the game are interesting and none of them are any worse than the other.

The big hype of the game was easily the FMV graphics. It was hard to imagine the characters of the first game brought into a real-life environment. How would the actors hold up to the original voice acters. I mean, Tim Curry couldn't be recasted as Gabriel, as he didn't look the part. Gabriel would be played by some guy named Dean Erikson. Would he fit the part well? Believe me. He did a better job than Tim. People might argue witth that, but thay have to think about it. Though Dean does take getting used to, he fits Gabriel much better than Curry did. At this point of the series, Gabriel is suopposed to be uncertain, wise-cracking, and fearful. Dean does all this well. Also, he actually has a good New Orleans accent. All other actors do a very nice job, and I was glad to see they got actual German actors instead of Americans with fake accents.

The biggest thing worth mentioning is the backgrounds. This is where GK2 beats out Phantasmagoria by a long shot. Phantasm's backgrounds were all computer generated, and though it looked great at the time, today it looks incredibly blocky and beyond ugly. GK2, however, stands the tests of time and still looks great even today. This is because instead of being built by a machine, they use real photographs of real locations and sometimes actually filmed on location. The chapter cutscenes are well-done and you can view them anytime you want, assuming you have seen the particular scene before.



Though graphics are great, the music is a bit lack luster. Sure, it has it's moments like the chase music that builds suspence or the opera scene, but that's about the only music there is. Aside from the touching piano piece that plays at almost every cutscene. It's appropriate at times, but must of the time it's not needed.

The interface is still the same as Phantasmagoria. A lone curcer that lights up when it's over a hotspot. The characters will either examine it or pick it up. A little too simplistic, but ideal for the game, I think. Just like in the first game, there is interviewing of people through assorted dialog options that open up as you progress through the chapter. Pretty standard, but vital for completing the game.

The puzzles are pretty easy and most do not present major problems. Some, however, feel out of place a tad and some require you to trigger something completly irrelevent to that puzzle. Aside from that, the puzzles are logical and fairly enjoyable. However, compared to other Sierra games, they don't stack up at all and seem pretty mediocre. Of course, you won't be playing for the puzzles. You'll be play because you'll care about the characters and you'll want to see Gabriel and Grace complete their mission. Another masterpiece of emotion and suspence created by one of the greatest storytellers of out generation. Jane Jensen, I hope you never stop doing what you do best.

9.0/10

[RLacey]

A great game ruined my the worst final puzzle in history. I'd still recommend it, though .

Which puzzle would that be?

[RLacey]

Originally Posted by SamNMax

Which puzzle would that be?

Spoiler:

The bit in the opera house where you have to run around closing all the doors. I HATED that bit.

Eh. It wasn't that hard if you had the paitients and thought clearly.

[BenjaminBunny]

I love this game so much it hurts. I must have played through it 6 or seven times. aaaghh!!!