Psh, saw that in the 7th Guest
The second game in the series and this one is a FMV-game... and one of those good ones. Although it still shows the limitation of these kind of games. Looking at the same film clip over and over gets irritating as well as prolonging the game. My story is the same as the first game, they came in the same pack. And it took me ages to get past the first CD since I didn't have the necessary instructions to solve one of the puzzles. And after getting past that and playing the whole second CD the game crashes. If the reason was a bad CD or a bad computer I can't say. Later on I got it again as a birthday present for the Mac and could actually play through out the game. Difference was that the colours was a bit off and I believe one soundbite was missing on the second CD (which could also means other bites was missing as well, but I couldn't tell due to not being able to play that far). Later on with a stable internet compatibility I was able to get a free program to make a "DVD"-version where it pretty much assembled every CD and put it on my old PC drive with something like 2 GB. It was a rather good site. Also, the box came with the soundtrack for the second game. Great tracks, especially the opera scene.
The Scary parts of the games
The game starts with Gabriel in Germany as he tries to take up the mantle as shadow hunter after his great-uncle Wolfgang, but some villagers of Rittersburg arrive at night with a request to stop a werewolf. The supposed werewolf had as it latest victim killed a nine-year old girl and her father was able to get a look from the wolf and see its, as he called it, human eyes. So Gabriel heads to Munich in search of the werewolf. He starts by looking after the supposedly escaped wolves from the ZOO that are accused as the murder wolfs. As he finds out it's no ordinary wolf. It's paws are way to big and the hair sample he can get doesn't match that of a wolf. The curator of the ZOO is connected to some strange hunting lodge and with his blue blood Gabriel sneaks in and joins with the help of the owner Fredrich von Glover.
Grace is left in New Orleans and decide she has had enough when Gabriel sends a letter describing his current situation. Here is the problem with the timeline. She gets the letter that was sent at the day and the very same night she appears in Germany. And is not a telegram since it's an actual letter. And she herself sends a letter the very next day, that somehow appears the same day to Gabriel. And it gotta be the same day since the last thing in the first chapter is that he would return to the club the next day. Which he does. Still, now as Gabriel hunts the deadly wolf Grace does the research on werewolves which makes her look up the Black Wolf, a noble man the Ritters arrested and executed due to his werewolf curse. A curse he got for assaulting a gypsie woman and the matriarch of the clan cursed him. And they appeared again during the times of Ludwig II of Bavaria, the fairy tale king who built Neuschwanstein and Richard Wagner who did all those operas. It's a tale of political assassinations, cursed monarchs and a lost opera. Somehow I find the Grace episodes easier, might be to me liking history and such. And basically the Gabriel parts where the scarier ones.
So Gabriel pretty much bumbled unto the murderer, but who could it be in the hunting club? Is it the doktor? The Lawyer? Politician? Butcher? Or the aggressive bank person that snaps at any thing? Well, obviously it's Von Glover that turned von Zell, the banker into a werewolf. Now, some LP I watched argued that von Glover didn't do anything worth killing, but that was missing the bigger picture. First, over 100 disappearances have been reported over 30 years alluded to be the work of the black wolf. He turned not only von Zell, but also Ludwig II of Bavaria as well as an officer in South America, which was subtle since it was mentioned in one of the books Grace read and sent to Gabriel about the officer, but in the same chapter von Glover shows of a mask he got from South America... hinting pretty much that he was responsible for that as well. And he probably have been doing it since his father's day, the original black wolf that was killed in 15th or 16 century. Well, Gabriel gets invited to join a hunt, and due to Fredricks fascination of the Ritters since they killed his father, as well as some means to get rid of von Zell who couldn't control his werewolf form. And that was the reason he gathered these very people in order to form a wolf pack by the best in every speciality and use their talents like law, politics, money and so on. During the trip Gabriel get proof of von Zell as a werewolf and prepares to kill him with von Glover during the night, but in the end Gabriel gets bitten and afterwards firing the killing shot when von Glover can't (hinting again he is the real bad guy since he is the alpha male and can't kill any of his beta). As Gabriel starts to turn and Grace picks him up and looks for the opera Wagner constructed for Ludwig II which sound and stage would somehow destroy von Glover. After an amazing cheesy opera scene a Gabriel in wolf-form hunts von Glover in the basement and puts him in the boiler rooms he pushes him into the fires, killing von Glover and with that releasing Gabriel from the werewolf curse.
I love this game. It's scary, the music is fantastic, and even though the graphics at times shows it's age I can't help but feel immersed. It walks a fine line between education when it comes to things like Ludwig and Wagner and fantastical. Sadly, as most FMV-games by Sierra it seems like the end game was rushed due to going over budget and the game getting to big. Apparently the final CD would be divided in two with the search for the opera following Ludwig hiding it instead of watching it as a cut-scene. The box also came with a demo for the third game in the series that was about to be released. Looking awful due to the decision going all 3D. Progress isn't always a good thing.
Meanwhile back in America
Grace is left in New Orleans and decide she has had enough when Gabriel sends a letter describing his current situation. Here is the problem with the timeline. She gets the letter that was sent at the day and the very same night she appears in Germany. And is not a telegram since it's an actual letter. And she herself sends a letter the very next day, that somehow appears the same day to Gabriel. And it gotta be the same day since the last thing in the first chapter is that he would return to the club the next day. Which he does. Still, now as Gabriel hunts the deadly wolf Grace does the research on werewolves which makes her look up the Black Wolf, a noble man the Ritters arrested and executed due to his werewolf curse. A curse he got for assaulting a gypsie woman and the matriarch of the clan cursed him. And they appeared again during the times of Ludwig II of Bavaria, the fairy tale king who built Neuschwanstein and Richard Wagner who did all those operas. It's a tale of political assassinations, cursed monarchs and a lost opera. Somehow I find the Grace episodes easier, might be to me liking history and such. And basically the Gabriel parts where the scarier ones.
Why is Gabriel undercover at some café in Seattle?
So Gabriel pretty much bumbled unto the murderer, but who could it be in the hunting club? Is it the doktor? The Lawyer? Politician? Butcher? Or the aggressive bank person that snaps at any thing? Well, obviously it's Von Glover that turned von Zell, the banker into a werewolf. Now, some LP I watched argued that von Glover didn't do anything worth killing, but that was missing the bigger picture. First, over 100 disappearances have been reported over 30 years alluded to be the work of the black wolf. He turned not only von Zell, but also Ludwig II of Bavaria as well as an officer in South America, which was subtle since it was mentioned in one of the books Grace read and sent to Gabriel about the officer, but in the same chapter von Glover shows of a mask he got from South America... hinting pretty much that he was responsible for that as well. And he probably have been doing it since his father's day, the original black wolf that was killed in 15th or 16 century. Well, Gabriel gets invited to join a hunt, and due to Fredricks fascination of the Ritters since they killed his father, as well as some means to get rid of von Zell who couldn't control his werewolf form. And that was the reason he gathered these very people in order to form a wolf pack by the best in every speciality and use their talents like law, politics, money and so on. During the trip Gabriel get proof of von Zell as a werewolf and prepares to kill him with von Glover during the night, but in the end Gabriel gets bitten and afterwards firing the killing shot when von Glover can't (hinting again he is the real bad guy since he is the alpha male and can't kill any of his beta). As Gabriel starts to turn and Grace picks him up and looks for the opera Wagner constructed for Ludwig II which sound and stage would somehow destroy von Glover. After an amazing cheesy opera scene a Gabriel in wolf-form hunts von Glover in the basement and puts him in the boiler rooms he pushes him into the fires, killing von Glover and with that releasing Gabriel from the werewolf curse.
The werewolves looks bad though, in more than one way
I love this game. It's scary, the music is fantastic, and even though the graphics at times shows it's age I can't help but feel immersed. It walks a fine line between education when it comes to things like Ludwig and Wagner and fantastical. Sadly, as most FMV-games by Sierra it seems like the end game was rushed due to going over budget and the game getting to big. Apparently the final CD would be divided in two with the search for the opera following Ludwig hiding it instead of watching it as a cut-scene. The box also came with a demo for the third game in the series that was about to be released. Looking awful due to the decision going all 3D. Progress isn't always a good thing.
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