Adventure Gamers - Forums

I seem to remember that the game was originally supposed to be longer, but part of the plot was trimmed to stop the game from going to far over the budget. Maybe this explains some of the plot holes.

In reference to the interlacing, the GoG version already has interlacing removed, so that’s the one to get if you don’t already have an old copy.

TimovieMan - 24 October 2013 03:45 PM

Would you mind if I posted my own review of the game in this thread, once I’ve played it?

Not at all!  By all means.

Lambonius - 23 October 2013 03:55 AM

I think in terms of werewolf narratives, this is a very strong one.  The way the fictional pieces of the story fit with some of the actual mysteries and legends of Bavarian history is definitely the high-point of the game.  The parts of the game where you, as Grace, are tasked with delving into the history and mythology of the area is great, but ultimately those sections serve to highlight the weakness of Gabriel’s side of the narrative.  At times I felt like it wasn’t clear enough WHY Gabriel was doing some of the things he was doing—like getting involved with the Hunt Club, getting to know Von Glower.  In general, Gabriel’s side of the story is just less interesting.  The “case” he’s trying to solve is quickly forgotten as Gabriel gets more and more sidetracked with new characters and locations.  Later on in the story, when you find the zoo wolf tags—I remember distinctly thinking something along the lines of “Oh yeah, I was supposed to be solving a case!” 

The story also hits its peak well before the final act.  In fact, I think the final act in general is probably the weakest point of the entire game.  It’s never made clear why the opera itself apparently has the power to make the werewolves transform, or why exactly that’s useful to anyone.  And the gameplay as Grace, walking around the opera house picking up random bits of junk and setting up the “trap” (which is also never explained—why exactly did they need to lock Von Glower in and shine a spotlight on him?) is just boring.  This was the point where I stopped playing in my first run through the game, and it was out of boredom.  Anyway, I don’t want to spend too much more time picking apart the story—suffice it to say that it has its strengths and weaknesses, but is far from the perfect masterpiece many claim it to be.

I do really like that the main villain is sympathetic and multi-dimensional as a character, though.  So often in werewolf stories, the actual werewolf villain is portrayed as more of an animalistic killer, and that’s not at all the case here, which is a nice change of pace that helps set the story apart.  In fact, the villain is so sympathetic, that it seemed a little strange that he ends up getting violent and having to be killed at the end of the game.  I guess the opera did that?  Yeah…another thing that wasn’t very well explained.  Oh well.

Ultimately the plan for the trap was to force Von Glower to transform and Leber was maneuvered into position to be forced to either kill him(the most likely outcome) or capture him once Von Glower transformed.  Also in the high box seats I think Wagner figured that Von Glower would not be able to survive the fall if he tried to jump(wrong).  The opera being able to transform him is something you have to accept along with the idea of werewolves in the first place(Wagner apparently did some serious supernatural research to create that opera).  The entire reason for this was to save Gabriel from being a werewolf, since it was basically implied in some of the details you gather that once the “Alpha” werewolf is killed, those of his lineage would revert back to their human state, which was proven to be correct at the end of the game.

Von Glower is not violent at the end of the game by choice.  His sole objective once he’s forced to transform at the opera is to escape from it.  He only attacks when he’s completely cornered at the end, in which case his goal is still just to get away(and if you fail to knock him into the fire, he gets away without causing injury to anyone, Leber then turns and shoots wolf Gabriel before Grace can react).  He is a fairly sympathetic villain as you say because he only wants to have a werewolf companion of some type(though he does forcibly transform at least one person, perhaps two, so he is still a villain, and it’s uncertain how much involvement he has with the actual killings along with Von Sant besides simply not taking action to stop them and turning Von Sant in the first place).

Good review.  It’s mostly fair, to me GK2 is very good, but doesn’t quite reach greatness due to a lot of the issues you pointed out.

Karlok - 24 October 2013 07:51 PM

HitBattousai - 24 October 2013 06:40 PM

He is a fairly sympathetic villain as you say because he only wants to have a werewolf companion of some type

A mass murderer wants a companion and that makes him sympathetic? Jane Jensen portrays Von Glower as a tragic figure and does that very well, but that’s not the same thing. I felt touched by the face of the young Von Glower through the flames at the intro of the game and of course the player remembers that image at the very end when we watch the face of the old Von Glower burn in the furnace. Sympathetic? He plotted Ludwig’s downfall, he used everyone and everything for his own ends, including Gabriel.

(though he does forcibly transform at least one person, perhaps two,

He turned Ludwig and Von Zell, and would have turned Gabriel if Von Zell hadn’t done it for him.

 

See, now I didn’t get that impression of Von Glower at all.  Manipulative—maybe, but not a violent mass murderer (at least, not for many decades.)  It is strongly implied that Von Zell was the actual killer for all of the different murders Gabriel was investigating.  And I didn’t get the impression that Von Glower was going to force a transformation against the person’s will either.  Remember, he lamented Gabriel being bitten by Von Zell, even going so far as to say something along the lines of it not being how he would have wanted it to happen, and not that soon.  I got the impression that Von Glower was legitimately befriending Gabriel (and that he had also befriended Von Zell) and that the transformation of Von Zell was something that was done openly and with Von Zell’s permission.  Von Glower’s letter (and his actions throughout the game) seemed to imply that his search for companionship was one wherein he was legitimately seeking to get close to the person, and then to reveal his true nature at the appointed time and give the person a choice.  At the very least, it’s left ambiguous as to whether or not his transformation of Von Zell was against his will or not.  Von Zell became violent and unhinged because he wasn’t able to control his animal urges, which also affected his personality, something the werewolf book told you often happened with “young” werewolves.  Von Glower mentions being “disappointed” in Von Zell, and seems genuinely upset at the murders that Von Zell committed.  Ultimately we don’t even learn whether or not Von Glower manipulated Ludwig, or whether those were the ravings of Ludwig’s maddened state.  It’s all left purposefully ambiguous.

Yeah, but Von Glower is never directly indicted as having committed any of those kinds of acts in the game.  Certainly, the idea that he was a werewolf means that at some point he had given in to the animal instincts and killed people, but the game seems to be pretty purposeful in its attempts to paint him as a sympathetic and ultimately very wise immortal individual, who had mastered his instincts long ago and was only seeking companionship at this point.  I mean, look at the opera scene—Von Glower is frantically trying to FLEE the crowded opera house—I interpreted this not JUST as an attempt to avoid detection, but as an attempt to avoid violence against the other patrons.  I agree, it’s one of the great strengths of the story that I, as the player, DID feel conflicted about killing Von Glower in the end.  No arguments there. 

I can’t possibly be alone in this reading of the character.  Come on, GK2 fanboys, what do you think?