Posted May 22, 2010
This review will be completely subjective and chock full of nostalgia, but hear me out.
In 1994, I purchased my first PC. The vast majority of my 40 MB hard drive was filled with Sierra adventure games. About a year later I upgraded to a 486 processor capable of VESA (640x480) graphics and a CD-rom Drive. While everyone else in the world was drooling over MYST, I was playing GK. To this day, I would list it as the cream of the Sierra crop, and every time a games magazine or website posts a "Top 100 of all time" type of article I scroll through to see where GK:SotF lands. It it is not somewhere near the top, that publication loses a little credibility in my eyes.
If you have not played this game, you are missing out on one of life's great pleasures. The voice acting in this game still has not been surpassed and it's been more than 15 years since release. Look at that cast: Tim Curry, Michael Dorn (Warf from Star Trek: TNG) Leah Ramini (king of Queens) Mark Hamil (LUKE FREAKING SKYWALKER and accomplished voice actor).
The story is simply phenomenal. A bookstore in waaaay pre-Katrina New Orleans is looking into a series of murders to use the grisly details in the novel he is writing, of course it helps to have a buddy on the force to get access to the crime scenes. Without giving too much away (and to keep this short) the plot will take our hero to Germany, Africa, and back into the troubled history of his ancestors.
Time is running short (I have to get to work) but in case you don't believe how great this game is, the little bit I've written here, was all from memory. I didn't have to look up anything and I have not played the game in probably 7 or 8 years! That's the kind of impact it had on me. The sequels vary in quality, but the original should be placed on a golden pedestal in the Video Game Hall of Fame.
Oh, and Jane Jensen, if you're out there, it's time to return Gabriel to New Orleans. Either pre- or post-Hurricane Katrina, so a new generation of gamers can learn what a true adventure game is all about!
In 1994, I purchased my first PC. The vast majority of my 40 MB hard drive was filled with Sierra adventure games. About a year later I upgraded to a 486 processor capable of VESA (640x480) graphics and a CD-rom Drive. While everyone else in the world was drooling over MYST, I was playing GK. To this day, I would list it as the cream of the Sierra crop, and every time a games magazine or website posts a "Top 100 of all time" type of article I scroll through to see where GK:SotF lands. It it is not somewhere near the top, that publication loses a little credibility in my eyes.
If you have not played this game, you are missing out on one of life's great pleasures. The voice acting in this game still has not been surpassed and it's been more than 15 years since release. Look at that cast: Tim Curry, Michael Dorn (Warf from Star Trek: TNG) Leah Ramini (king of Queens) Mark Hamil (LUKE FREAKING SKYWALKER and accomplished voice actor).
The story is simply phenomenal. A bookstore in waaaay pre-Katrina New Orleans is looking into a series of murders to use the grisly details in the novel he is writing, of course it helps to have a buddy on the force to get access to the crime scenes. Without giving too much away (and to keep this short) the plot will take our hero to Germany, Africa, and back into the troubled history of his ancestors.
Time is running short (I have to get to work) but in case you don't believe how great this game is, the little bit I've written here, was all from memory. I didn't have to look up anything and I have not played the game in probably 7 or 8 years! That's the kind of impact it had on me. The sequels vary in quality, but the original should be placed on a golden pedestal in the Video Game Hall of Fame.
Oh, and Jane Jensen, if you're out there, it's time to return Gabriel to New Orleans. Either pre- or post-Hurricane Katrina, so a new generation of gamers can learn what a true adventure game is all about!