User Reviews (51 - 61 of 97)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Baffled By Reviews

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 31
Date: September 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I purchased this game after having read the several positive rewiews others had written for "Gabriel Knight 3." I'm not sure if the majority of reviewers are fans of the books themselves and therefore are fans of the game. (And possibly, for those reviewers who have read the books, it may have given them information needed to determine character direction.) I found myself aimlessly searching for items, with no hint of an idea to what the goals were in order to complete one time slot, yes... the game is "leveled" in time slots, and begin another. Hours of aggrivating gameplay, searching over and over the same locations, musing on whom or what I had forgotten in order to progress. Well, after hours of prolonged irritation, I finally logged on to a GK3 walkthrough site and learned that I HAD already collected all the items required, and HAD already spoken or eavesdropped to all the characters needed. In fact there seems to be an order to which things must be done. (With absolutely no indication, during gameplay, as to what order that may be.) The walkthrough insisted I needed to return to a certain location to progress to the next level. Ironically this "location" is exactly where I had last saved the game. So, knowing this, I took an enjoyable walk around the same room for awhile, like I had several times before, when the game finally decided that I have had enough BS and loaded the next level. (A huge step, I had just completed the first time slot.)
Besides the aggrivating gameplay there are many more negative perks to look foreward too:
-Annoying main character. (He sounds like a southerner hopped up on a mixture of an aphrodisiac and crack.) If there were a way to kill him I would have.
-Annoying supporting characters.
-Horrible graphics. (Outdated.)
-Storyline? What storyline? (Didn't read the book.)
This game will take it's place, without being completed, among my other "worth while" games and collect dust.

An entertaining and fun adventure game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 31, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Gabriel Knight 3 (GK3) is a challenging and entertaining game that is both aesthetically and technically pleasing, proving to be an all round triumph by game designer Jane Jenson and Sierra Studios. The player is immersed in a compelling, convoluted murder-mystery in a remote French village, gets to play as two characters and gradually unravels a complicated web of mysteries, suspects and, the key ingredient, vampires. The aforementioned aspects of GK3 make this 50-hour, 3 CD extravaganza a true delight to play; however, one may find that the plot is a little too complicated, which proves detrimental to the pace of the game.

The player assumes the roles of Gabriel Knight and Grace Nakimura, both private investigators, in a small village called Rennes-Le-Chateau. The village is steeped in history due it being the suspected locality of the Holy Grail. Gabriel has been assigned a mission by Prince James, a wealthy businessman, whose son had been kidnapped whilst in the vicinity of the area. As Gabriel gradually uncovers more about the mystery of the kidnapped child, he concomitantly delves into a turbulent, violent world of treasure hunting, vampires, religion, riddles, shady characters and murder. It is a real pleasure to witness this fantastic story unfold, despite it being rather slow in unraveling.

The marvelous, although slow moving, plot is incorporated into a fully interactive, 3D environment, which the player is able to investigate thoroughly due to a camera that is able to be manipulated. The player can move the camera around much like the camera in a 1st person shooter, allowing investigation of intricate spots such as under a desk or inside a dumb waiter shaft. What makes this locale-investigation so delightful is that each of the environments looks absolutely gorgeous, barring the occasional obviously 2-D tree or clearly polygonal hill.

The sound is pretty good: the character(s) can eavesdrop on conversations and engage in conversations with striking clarity, to name but a few features. Although the voices come out crystal clear, the actual sound of the voices is quite terrible. Tim Curry (of Rocky Horror fame) is the voice of Gabriel Knight, and his feigned southern drawl quickly becomes irritating. Grace's voice is average, as are some of the other characters, and the script can sometimes be quite terrible. None of the characters, despite how life-threatening the predicament, seem to realise just how endangered they are. Gabriel even goes so far as to wisecrack when a razor-sharp pendulum is about to chop his head off.

But despite the minor problems with voices or a rather sluggish plot, GK3's good points far outweigh the bad. It is full of challenging problems and provides hours of great fun and excitement, which is exactly what a game should do. GK3 amalgamates innovation with traditional murder-mystery storytelling, so if you're looking for an adventure game triumph, then look no further than Gabriel Knight 3: it's a real winner.

A highly entertaining adventure game experience.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

In a world that makes it hard to find a pure adventure game, (not an adventure/action combo game where I dread the boring action part and can't wait until it is over, plus what is the point, the big group of action people don't want adventure and many adventurists don't want action - they try to please all, and up end up pleasing few) let alone a fun one, this was a blast. The second in the series was the best.

A sophisticated, sexy story that stands by itself

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you play this game, play it for the story and the great characters. This time, Gabriel is trying to find a kidnapper and his search leads him to Rennes Le chateau, a historical French village formerly famous for the Templar Knights, and rumored to have hidden treasure that could possibly include the holy grail itself.
This game makes you think and there are a lot of puzzles to solve, even though some of them are sort of absurd and off the wall. (The cat and the hole in the wall). Tim Curry is back and doing the Gabriel voice over with an obnoxious southern accent that is somehow not overly annoying, and rather amusing at times. Gabriel is no where near as nice looking as he was in the second installment, which is a damn shame, but oh well. He is actually rather poorly illustrated at times. At least he hasn't changed much. He does come off cockier in this installment than he was in the previous one, or maybe that is just Tim Curry hamming it up as well. Also, Detective Morley from the first game is back, and this also leads to some hilarious situations. There's something not quite right about watching two akwardly proportioned computer game characters leering over the attractive women staying at the hotel.
On the plus side, Grace is back and you do get to play her in alternating chapters. She is once again the behind the scenes researcher but her work this time around is not as tiresome as it was in "The Beast Within". Less museums this time, and Grace interacts more freely with the suspects. The chemistry between Gabriel and Grace is top notch and realistic and it adds a lot to the story.
I was very disappointed when I heard that Sierra would not be making a fourth one. This is one of the few games that is so well thought out that the gameplay supports a genuinely interesting and exciting story and not the other way around. The dialogue is not filled with just pointless, repetitious conversations as a means of filling the time between when you find that next key to unlock that next hidden door that will take you to key world number 3.

Where Are The Vampires???

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: November 12, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game is quite shallow compared to the first two. Much hype is made that this is a game about Gabriel confronting vampires, but these are the most bashful vampires in the world. You don't see any until the last scene of the game (except in Gabriel's dreams). And even then Gabriel doesn't ever confront them himself, but it's Mosely and another guy (and you don't get to see it). Also, the guys who turn out to be the vampires are walking around outside in the daylight the whole game, and don't have "vampire teeth". The only thing different about them is that their eyes turn red when they get mad...pretty sorry vampires.

Some of the puzzles are silly. For example you have this fingerprint kit. You spend much of the game trying to get fingerprints, and in the end the fingerprinting has absolutely nothing to do with discovering who the kidnappers are (which is what you are trying to solve).

The graphics and gameplay are okay but not great. I think they could stand to optimize their 3D engine since this would be responsible for the performance problem many people have had. As far as the story itself, it moves very slowly. Gabriel Knight 2 is my favorite all-time adventure game but this (3) is the first one where I asked, "Is that it?" at the end.

Lastly, this game does address religious matters. They sort of take apart the Christian religion (they really do). I am not a fundamentalist by any means but I think that's a bad subject for a video game. Without going into detail, I'd say you should probably avoid this game if you hold any Christian beliefs--even non-practicing.

Mixed feelings about the ending...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: August 06, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I'm surprised that with so many constructive and positive comments, that Sierra hasn't commissioned another Gabriel Knight game. This is the only one I've played, so I can't compare this game to the first two in the series.

I think the decision to use the Quake 2 game engine was, in hindsight, a poor one. The Quake 2 engine always uses excessive browns in its color palette. This is particularly evident in the outdoor scenes - particularly in areas like Montreaux's Mansion. The mountains look way too blockly and polygonal to be real.

Another odd 'glitch' was that the town was totally deserted, and even with the 3D-engine it still seemed a bit...small. We didn't see any people walking in the streets, even in the daytime. The only inhabitants either stayed at the hotel or lived in the church. This is a totally unrealistic approach that marred the game.

But at the time the game was made, what other 3D-engine was available? ....conclusion, I think Gabriel Knight 3 was a game that could've been great. In the end, the two parts that let it down were the sad ending, and the game engine that was used. I hope Ms. Jensen writes a GK4...although I very much doubt it.

Sierra come back

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: January 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I grew up with Sierra, and they had the talent for creating enchanting, dangerous worlds and the sense of danger kept me playing, the attitude and the emotion that the character's experienced made me feel like I was there and kept me playing. I've seen a lot of people out there throwing out the title, "the last great adventure game" and I would have to bestow that title on this game. I've played Syberia and The Longest Journey, both of which are I suppose, entertaining, but they lack the raw emotion that sierra games had for me. This game, despite all of it's flaws with the interface, and the laughable three-d versions of Gabriel and Grace, kept up that tradition for me. I remember getting up in the middle of the night to play it because I had to know what was going to happen next. It's a good story, and very well told, however controversial. It is more than just point and click. It boasts strong ideas and strong opinions that stay with you after you are finished.

Storyline stinks

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 13
Date: February 25, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I played the previous two Gabriel Knight games, and really liked them! I got this game for Christmas and was excited to play it. I was extremely disappointed! I was expecting vampires, I expected them to be on a similar level as the werewolves in GK2. You only see the vampires in the Gabriel's dreams, and a tiny bit at the end, and then you never get to confront them directly. I wanted "pound a wooden stake through their evil hearts and chop their heads off to keep them from coming back" vampires. I got, "drain their blood to somehow gain the attributes of the people the blood came from" vampires. Pretty lame, pretty boring. They made Jesus part of the story, but made Him an immortal man because of the stars that were aligned at His birth. This really disgusted me. I want vampires! This was such a farce! I would normally give this type of game away to friends after I am done (you know, recycling):) I will never do that with this game! I fact, I am thinking of just trashing it, so that it is not even in my house. Maybe I could pound a wooden stake through it, at least that way I could have the satisfaction of doing that once in this game! Besides the stupid storyline, the graphics were ok, thought they would be better. I also had some trouble with getting the game to play on my PC, even though my computer easily passed all the games requirements. Spend your hard-earned money elsewhere. Try King's Quest 8: Mask of Eternity, that was a lot of fun.

Best RPG game I've ever played

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: January 18, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Unlike many of the other customers, GK3 was the first game in the series that I've played. I could not stop playing the game. Its has been the first game in a long time that has truly struck my interest. In fact, I love GK3 so much that the very next day I went online and purchase the GK2. I have recently finished thaat and is currently waiting for GK1!.

To the author, Jane Jensen, I have to tell you that the GK series is truly remarkable. Each game hs a way that makes you caught up in the story so much, that you can not wait until the next surprised. I hope that you will continue with the GK series and I can not wait until GK4

Mysteriously beautiful

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 10
Date: December 05, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I have played many adventure games and I am a dedicated fan to all adventure games on the PC, But I've never played such an intriguing and mysterious game! The 3D graphics make you feel that you are in the game itself ! The actors' voices and music are really magnificent.

If you liked ANY adventure game, you will LOVE Gabriel Knight 3.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions