Gabriel Knight - Sins of the Father

Gabriel Knight 1 - Graphic Novel (PDF) - 21 MB - A graphic novel that was included in the game box. The story ties in with the game and is a great companion for fans of the series.

Gabriel Knight: Sins of The Fathers focuses on a struggling author and bookstore owner, Gabriel Knight. The story begins in the town of New Orleans with Gabriel investigating the recent string of voodoo murders that have been happening. As he delves deep into his investigation, he mistakenly uncovers something from his own family history. Soon he learns that fate had bind him to this case, for he finds out that he is the Shattenjager and that he must play a bigger role than he had hoped, for he is the only one who can stop the voodoo murders.

The game plays much like other Sierra point-and-click adventures. The difference in this case however is that there are different cursors for different actions (ie instead of using the hand icon for all actions, there is a hand icon for picking up things, an open icon for use on doors, a use icon for operating various things, and a push/move icon for moving things). The game takes place over a series of several days. To complete a day, the player must complete certain objectives which are given in the form of verses from a poem that appear at the beginning of each day. The objectives are usually rather straight-forward, although one or two can be rather ambiguous. The game is oriented around dialogue, and talking with people produces very large dialogue trees. One of the most useful features is the ability to play back the conversations that Gabriel has had with the other characters. Throughout the game, there are several cut-scenes, which only serve to enhance the game play. The music in this game is nothing short of amazing, and I rank it as one of the best Sierra soundtracks. The game does have a few technical issues however, particularly two large timer bugs. Day 5 often locks up in the opening, and one puzzle might appear to be unbeatable due to a timer bug (don't worry though, as there's another solution to it).

In conclusion, Gabriel Knight 1 is a brilliant game. The game is a masterpiece, and I highly recommend it. The story is excellent and the characters and locations are memorable. A must for adventure game fans.

By: Vroomfondel