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Dreamcatcher's usual standard

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 18 / 19
Date: March 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Not a bad little game overall, though I emphasize the little (a day or two should see you through, and that's without a walkthrough). Graphics, acting, and interface are all unimpeachable. Game play is *extremely* linear, to the extent that you sometimes can't end a day without revisiting every scene and clicking on every dead end to see which one you missed. They've mixed in a fair amount of historical detail from the actual Jack the Ripper case, such as letters and so on, with fantasy and speculation. The most impressive part of the game is the authentic feel of fin de siecle New York City -- and that should tell you something.

Still, it's an enjoyable enough way to spend a weekend. Parents, don't worry; there's no on-screen violence and very little gore (except for written descriptions in autopsy reports). The creepiness is all in the ambience.

Be aware: There are a large number of bugs in the game, some of which will stop you in your tracks. Save early and often!

Major flaws in this game

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: March 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I'm vacillating between two or three stars on this game so maybe it should be two and a half. The story is pretty obvious - Jack the Ripper or a copycat is in New York in 1901 killing off prostitutes in what the game calls the "Lowside District" of New York. Why in the world the developers decided to call lower Manhattan the Lowside District is beyond me. Or why the Pinkerton detective agency is called the "Pinterten" Detective agency. Or why a deranged raven shows up at the crime scene of a couple of the murders and then disappears until the very end of the game when you hear the words, "Nevermore, nevermore." What's Poe got to do with this game? They even have a story line about the World Series which didn't even exist in 1901.

OK, but all that aside what drove me the most crazy about this game was that it was very linear. You have to keep going back over the same locations over and over because something wasn't done in the correct order. In the final chapter I ended up visiting every location three times. The only positive note is that navigation is easy. It you want to leave a location, just right-click and the map comes up so that you can visit another spot - again and again.

The graphics are pretty good. There's really isn't an abundance of dialogue but the acting is fine. The music is something I rarely pay attention to - in fact if there is an option to turn it down I usually do because it interferes with the speaking voices and I find it annoying. This game did not have that option and there was only one time that the music was a problem. There really aren't any puzzles - just when to use inventory items in the right place at the right time. They were pretty straight forward. There was one timed sequence in the morgue that I actually thought was kind of a bit of sick humor - I had to use a walkthough for it. I never would have figured it out myself.

After all that - the ending. It was terrible. Absolutely awful. All that detective work (reporter work actually)for nothing. I expected some big confrontation between the reporter and the villain or the heroine to be in actual danger and saved by the reporter - nope. Nothing, except a stupid, "Nevermore, nevermore."

Ehhh.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: March 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Goodness, I never had a game that gave me so much trouble (on a new system, too), and my time and effort was not even worth it.

First of all, the system requirements are much more than what is put on the box. It's kind of bad when you have tech support state system requirements that are higher than the "recommended" requirements on the box! For those that have problems, you either have to update your graphics card, shut down all your start up programs, or update your DirectX. This will not solve ALL your problems (because there are bugs in the game), but it's a good start.

Okay, quick summary: You play a reporter, trying to get a story for your irritating editor about some mysterious deaths that echo the Jack The Ripper cases back in London years ago. But as you do your own investigation, you have to decide if your life (as well as others) is worth the story of a lifetime. This game is a mystery, so there is lots of interviews, snooping, and collecting objects. The game box states "challenging puzzles", but there were only about 3-4 puzzles (and most of the time you can just click everything to get it right). The cursor was annoying and sometimes did not work for me many times.

The ending was a big disappointment. It was somewhat clever but irritating with no resolution whatsoever. The songs that the "Irish Nightingale" sing in the game I did enjoy to an extent.

This game is 20 bucks, but I would wait until it reaches ten dollars-or less. Too many bugs (major to minor) and nothing new nor stellar about the plot and game play. It's not like I had high hopes for this game, but I would think that it would be less buggy and more interesting than what I have encountered. Wait for a sale for this one.

Don't even bother....

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: October 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is one of the worst games I have ever played. First of all, I like games that make you think. This game is completely predictable. If you don't figure out something right away--you won't have to worry. Your cursor will figure it out for you. There are only a few logic puzzles, and even those are too easy. And if you like visiting the same locations over and over in a game, then this one's for you. I give it a 1 out of 10.

What the...?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: June 13, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The game has an interesting story, and the setup as a writer who is on the ripper's trail is pretty good.

However, the game's technology is outdated, and its implementation overly buggy. Also, the gameplay itself is extremely dull. But I played through it all because the whole "Jack the Ripper" story kinda intrigues me anyway. Now I do not want to spoil the game for you by telling you the ending, but really, there simply isn't much to spoil. It was not worth it at all.

This is one of those games with a real story. It makes you wish that there were more games with a story like this. But then you realize how bad this is actually implemented and you kinda lose hope for the whole genre...

If I were you, I'd steer clear.

Very disappointing

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: March 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I had heard about this game before it came out and how it was so great and all. Well this game could have come out 7 years ago and looked the same. It's very archaique, the graphics are quite blurry, the animation is not good, since you don't really move around freely but click in a section of the screen that takes you there if you can. After you click it takes you to the next scene, it's not linear, it's just frame after frame. You don't have that much freedom in the game, it's not like you can go talk to anyone you want or try things that could seem cool. The game is too easy to play too, i don't even think the atmosphere is that great, it's just plain boring.

I usually love role playing games and i'm very interested in jack the ripper, and thought the two put together would be a great combo but it's a huge disappointment. With all the technology that's available today, the creators of this game could have come up with something a whole lot better. I would have rather spent 10 or 15 more bucks and gotten something decent. I guess you get what you pay for.

Hope you like to repeat yourself..

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: September 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Since other reviews touched on gameplay and it's graphics, I just want to say this...

1. Sure, your surroundings are a pretty picture.. but I like games that are interactive. I want to go through drawers, look closer at pictures.. do something besides run around busy rooms that you can do nothing but run through.

2. The plot is weak. I won't spoil the story-line, but each in game day you pretty much go to the same places, talking to the same people. You have to meet certain requirements to make the game progress, and non of it is interesting.

The one thing I did like about the game, there are a couple real nice songs you can listen to while you play, or just wait in one of the bars and listen.

Unfortunately, I got this as a present for my mom, thinking it would be a puzzle game and be creepy. Buzz, wrong!

What a let down

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: November 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The music was good. That is all I can find good to say about this game. The ending was very disappointing to me. What a let down. The game play itself was boring and dragged on .

I beg to differ on the horrible reviews

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Okay, so I admit that I am not the most PC game savvy and for this reason, I enjoyed this game. It is very similar to Post Mortem and Still Life (not surprising, as they are made by the same company). Yes, it is tedious and repetitive, but it is simple, puzzles are easy, the story is linear, you can't really screw up, and I appreciate this in a game! The graphics are pretty cool, as is the music.

I play adventure games to pretend I am really there, in the game, trying to figure out the mystery. I don't need shoot-em-ups or puzzles that take me all day to figure out. If you're like me, you'll probably enjoy this game. You just need to go into it knowing that you are not looking at an Oscar-caliber experience. Take it for what it's worth and you may just have some fun! :)

It Never Worked! I Was "Jacked"!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: April 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Why did I waste my hard-earned shekels on this ca-ca from Adventure Gaming? I have a state-of-the-art Gateway desktop but the game always locked up tighter than a frog's sphincter at the menu screen. I had to unplug my main power cord to break the stranglehold on my computer every time I tried to click on 'New Game!' Their Technical Service had me jump through numerous hoops (install new drivers for my cutting-edge Nvidia graphics board, uninstall/reinstall, shut off programs during install, etc. etc. blah, blah, blah). Nothing worked. Save your money and in my humble opinion be wary of Adventure Gaming's future offerings. You've been duly warned.

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