[Ascovel]

Originally Posted by fov

I did see that! I was sure that was going to tie into David's injury somehow. To be honest...

Spoiler:

At the end, when Sam sees his face without the mask, I thought it looked okay. Maybe that's just the art style making it hard to tell? I was surprised when he said "It's bad, isn't it?" and she said "Yes." Is he actually badly burned? Or was she humoring him?

Spoiler:

I thought it was obvious the point of this scene was to reveal he only imagines himself to have been burned. This also ties in with Sam's conversation with the doctor who hypnotized Styles. Apparently David couldn't get over the fact he didn't force himself to jump into the fire to save his wife and in the end suffered no actual injuries.

But I agree the cutscene art style obscured the revelation somewhat.

[fov]

This reminds me of a certain exchange from GK2, where Grace explains to an overenthusiastic customer in the bookstore who wanted to see the author (Gabriel), something to the effect of: "I wouldn't bother. He's very shy. It's his face. There was an accident."

Ha, I recently replayed the opening of GK2 and noticed that. I'm a writer and sometimes notice myself writing / rewriting the same themes or scenarios in different stories. I wonder if this was a coincidence, or if it's an idea Jane has been playing with for a while...

Ascovel, that's how I wanted to interpret it, but Sam's reaction threw me off. I wish it had been a bit more clear. Another unanswered question:

Spoiler:

Why does the original assistant run off at the beginning? I thought it was because Sam did an illusion to scare her, particularly because of what we see her do later, at the Daedalus club, with the birds.

Did anyone else interpret the opening this way?

[jhetfield21]

Spoiler:

i don't think it was Sam after all she didn't know she wouldn't be welcome for the night and i don't think she had to act like that from the beginning.
but more than that i believe it was angela that did it.the girl was blonde and she might have interfered with everything and messed it up for angela.

[AndreaDraco83]

Spoiler:

Of course David isn't burned at all! I mean, that's the point of easily the entire game!

[Tiocfaidh]

So ...

Spoiler:

Style´s face wasn´t burned after all ? When I´ve seen his face in the cutscene it seems that his appearance is fine but according to the dialogue between him and Sam he seems to be scarred

Final thoughts

I liked Gray Matter a lot, really did not want it to end.
Loved the surroundings/locations so much I did not mind revisiting them throughout most of the game.

It took me about 14 hours to complete it but it felt much shorter than that.
Didn´t Jane Jensen mention that the game should be good for 30 hours of playtime ?

Puzzle quality was good. I liked the tricks despite not posing a big challenge.
The variety was cool, highlight being the

Spoiler:

Daedalus puzzles & final chapter

.

Cutscenes were OK and contributed to the feel of the game.
It wouldnt have caused any damage if they´d featured more animations though.
I do not get all the criticism concerning the in-game graphics.
Does anybody expect adventure games to feature high end graphics ?
Gray Matter delivered in this area, for the most part...

Some animations were indeed unintentionally funny.
My "favourites" are Sam having breakfast and the

Spoiler:

pool guy

turning towards you before starting the conversation
Michael Jackson would have been proud of him.

And most of the dialogue portraits looked cheap and inconsistent with the character design,
especially Sam looks ugly
Their faces just look bloated, rehab style.

Otherwise the graphics are beautiful. The final chapter alone is worth the price of admission.
I was kind of shocked about the presentation because it differs from the rest of the game and demands some suspension of disbelief. But if you´re ready to get into it you´ll enjoy the unique atmosphere.

Story was intriguing, thought provoking, occassionylly even brilliant but ultimately predictable.
I wasn´t surprised that

Spoiler:

Angela (for the most part at least ?)

was behind it all because of

Spoiler:

her strange behaviour and quirky character traits & one particular cutscene

A big plus is the voice work.
Sam wasn´t flawless but still very good and Styles really was perfect.
Yes he might sound a bit older than the character he´s portraying but it didn´t bother me at any time.
Rest of the cast was also believable. Only Helena & Angela are a mixed bag. Helena´s accent was a bit over the top, and though Angela´s was believable her´s did get on my nerves but that may have something to do with her character. Normally I really dig Scottish accents.

Soundtrack was just great. A bit repetitive but the compositions are very moody.
Scarlet Furies songs are good as well but have been played much too often in Style´s flashbacks.
They really want us to get the CD, don´t they

Finally I have some questions:

1.)

Spoiler:

How did Helena manage to enter the Daedalus Club, not to begin with getting trapped in the underground ? Why was she there, what´s her true relation to Mephistopheles ?

2.)
What´s the logic behind the

Spoiler:

re-assembled Daedalus puzzles ?
Ok, so you can enter the name of the person you´re looking for by just knowing to whom the puzzle is referring but how on earth should I decrypt the message otherwise ?

I just don´t get it, but would like to know anyhow.

[Tiocfaidh]

One more question

Did anybody of you use the journal/diary ?

I opened it a few times in chapter 1 and totally forgot about it afterwards.

This could have been a great feature, as it ended up in the game it was practically useless.

[fov]

Andrea -- if that's the point of the entire game, they did a poor job of communicating it.

Another reason to dislike the cutscene style, I guess.

[Thorn]

Originally Posted by Tiocfaidh

One more question

Did anybody of you use the journal/diary ?

I opened it a few times in chapter 1 and totally forgot about it afterwards.

This could have been a great feature, as it ended up in the game it was practically useless.

As I take it Journal Entries are usually in AGs in case you stop playing the game for awhile, but when you start playing again you've forgotten some key elements and want to backtrack.

But yeah, I really wish AGs could use it the journal entries to something more than just that!

[AndreaDraco83]

Originally Posted by fov

Andrea -- if that's the point of the entire game, they did a poor job of communicating it.

I really don't think so. Of the thirty people involved in the betatest, no one had trouble in understanding that

Spoiler:

David wasn't burnt at all

Gray Matter has its problems, sure, but this particular point couldn't be more clear, at least in my opinion.

[Vel]

Didn't anyone think that

Spoiler:

the one who introduced David to the ways of the Daedalus club at the end looked terribly like Angela's father?

[kuze]

Originally Posted by AndreaDraco83

I really don't think so. Of the thirty people involved in the betatest, no one had trouble in understanding that

Spoiler:

David wasn't burnt at all

Gray Matter has its problems, sure, but this particular point couldn't be more clear, at least in my opinion.

It could. I was confused by this scene as well, and blamed it on the video art style (which, coincidentally, I otherwise liked).

[Stuart]

I'm close to giving in and buying a copy from Germany. Been waiting to see if it will come out on Steam where I prefer to buy but still no mention. Is there a concrete release date yet for the UK?

[seagul]

Vel, can you post a screenshot, please?

Spoiler:

I remember i thought it was Mephistopheles. So the face must be very different.
But it would be interesting if you are right ...

[Vel]

I can't, I uninstalled the game once I had finished it. =/

[fov]

Is there a concrete release date yet for the UK?

Feb 25.

Regarding the club

Spoiler:

I thought one of the four magicians in all the paintings looked like Angela's father... but not the one who was on stage in the video at the end, so then I got confused about whether it was supposed to be her father or not. Also, I thought the guy David talked to in the audience at the magic show was Mephistopheles.

[Jackal]

Originally Posted by AndreaDraco83

Gray Matter has its problems, sure, but this particular point couldn't be more clear, at least in my opinion.

Yeah, it could definitely be more clear. I immediately assumed what you're claiming to be "true" as well, but I had my doubts after the fact. Sam's response was a little too glib for either scenario, but as kuze mentioned, the bigger culprit is the art. There were just too many odd quirks and distortions in those hand-painted cutscenes all along for me to trust the artwork at that point. Some things looked completely different from one screen to the next, so you can't hinge an entire reveal on a heavily-stylized, off-angle still and think that's conclusive.

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if the ambiguity (however slight) was intentional. The whole game was about questioning reality and whether seeing is believing.

Either way, though, I don't see it as a particularly crucial point. It speaks to the depths of David's obsession, but so do many other things. Like... oh, everything he says and does.

[Lupin The Third]

So the North American release has finally been confirmed (along with Black Mirror 2/3):

http://adventuregamers.com/newsitem.php?id=2196

I'm making a, probably final, appeal to anyone involved with the development and/or publishing that might see this thread....PLEASE DROP THE RADIAL INTERFACE FROM THE 360 VERSION. If this game is going to have a chance in hell with mainstream consumers this immersion-breaking interface has to go. Please just do exactly like the Xbox versions of Syberia or Still Life and the game will work fine. Or go the MI2:SE route and give us the ability to manually control or switch to a P&C interface. This radial menu hybrid doesn't work and is only going to dissuade potential players from giving Gray Matter the chance it deserves. This is a very simple fix that will radically improve the game's acceptance and chance at success and this game deserves better than the awful interface that it's being plagued with.

[fov]

Originally Posted by Jackal

Either way, though, I don't see it as a particularly crucial point. It speaks to the depths of David's obsession, but so do many other things. Like... oh, everything he says and does.

"That piece of burnt toast reminds me of Laura..."

[tastebud]

welp, i just finished this game like an hour ago and let it all sink in. Can't add much new stuff to the discussion but i think that this game definately FEELS like a Jane Jensen game. I love the story, it seems well researched again (like all the GK games). downside is the clunky interface. Im sort of split on the cutscenes. they definately could use more animations, but i think they are well drawn and fit the mood.

and towards the end with the robert holmes (thats his name right?)music i definatley got some major GK2 flashbacks. i thought baron von glower would show up around the next corner.

i feel sad having finished this game. and thats always a good sign that it was an awesome game. i definately want more of jane's work after playing this!

[Tiocfaidh]

Originally Posted by tastebud

I feel sad having finished this game. and thats always a good sign that it was an awesome game.

That´s exactly how I felt.

Bittersweet indeed ...