Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned

There's no easy way to say this, but the game that adventure tans have patiently been waiting for has proved to be one of the biggest disappointments of the year so far, at least as far as this reviewer is concerned. A shock revelation then, that would merit a detailed explanation forthwith. Trouble is, where do I start? Well, it looks pretty rubbish: the graphics are laughable with background scenery looking out of place compared to its surrounding environment, and larger-than-life characters portrayed in an odd cartoon-style that seems hopelessly at odds with the sinister nature of the plot. No marks for visuals then, yet the problem is made worse with the introduction of a 3D interface that does nothing but confuse the player at every turn. Rather than give Gabriel a first-person perspective (which would have made sense given the whole game is in 3D), a third person view is used and players move Gabe round by pointing at the location they want him to go to. There's nothing wrong with that in theory, but his movements are slow and clumsy. A better option is to use the free-roaming camera to explore the environment, which often produces hilarious results: using this camera you can often get Gabriel to examine and manipulate things that are nowhere near him. Come on guys, you could have done better than this given the amount of time you've had to produce this game. Having said all that, die-hard Gabriel fans will no doubt get something out of it if they persist with it, the rest of you however will wonder what place this dated effort has in a market which has recently received such classics as Grim Fandango and Discworid Noir. So although Gabriel Knight III is not a complete write-off then, it's definitely a missed opportunity, and surely the last nail in the coffin for adventure games as we know them.