I was unfortunate enough to miss the first two Gabriel Knight games, but their glory reached even my young ears. Which was what drove me to buy this title when it came out. I have fond memories of it. Tim Curry's acting is as entertaining as ever and the mystery plot (about vampires in rural France) keeps you interested. But the game's real charm is in its characters. The cast of suspicious treasure-hunters roam around, each with their own motives and secrets and a major part of the game is spent in uncovering these motivations. Whether you are breaking into their rooms or casually talking to them, you are bound to uncover suspicious evidence that will drive you to form theory after theory.
Sadly, the game starts to loose it's charm when abandoning this formula towards the end. The mystery proves to be too cliche' and the ending pits you against a foe that appears and disappear for the sake of a climax.
Perhaps most memorable is the love story between the title character and his assistant, manages to create tension, interest and emotion all through out the game.
The 3D environment fail to impress as they once did. And it's clear that unlike 2D games, 3D games have some trouble preserving their visual charm. Yet for those who can close their eyes to such flaws, GK3 is a solid adventure game that offers fascinating puzzles, excellent voice acting and a decent script.