Gray Matter

Developer:  Wizarbox

Publisher:  dtp entertainment

Release Date:  February 25, 2011

Platforms:  PC, Xbox 360

Genre:  Point & Click, Adventure

 

 

In the heyday of point-and-click adventure games, many believe that Sierra On-Line was sitting at the precipice of the genre. But among all of the excellent series that were released under that brand, the Gabriel Knight trilogy from Jane Jensen spanning 1993-1999 stood apart from the pack. The impressive historical research that went into the twisting, mysterious storylines gripped the player much like a good book. Author of Dante's Equation, a novel nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award in 2003, Jensen clearly knows how to write a story.

 

Fans of the Gabriel Knight series have been anxiously awaiting Jensen's next full-length adventure game. Gray Matter was announced in 2003 but suffered several delays involving changing hands between publishers and development studios. Finally, the game is completed and set for distribution from developer Wizarbox and publisher dtp entertainment, over 10 years after the release of Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned. A couple of weeks ago, a PC demo of the game was released for download from the game's website, allowing a glimpse into Jensen's new adventure.

 

 

The demo opens with an introductory cutscene depicting one of the game's protagonists, Samantha Everett, driving a motorcycle through a rain storm towards London, as evidenced by street signs. She ends up off-course and her motorcycle breaks down nearby an ominous-looking mansion aptly titled Dread Hill. While approaching the mansion, she notices a young woman at the door talking to an intercom and requesting entry into the mansion. Samantha overhears that the woman is an Oxford student who had been requested by the owner of the mansion, Professor David Styles, to serve as an assistant. The woman is obviously intimidated and is startled by a crash of thunder, prompting her to a sudden change of heart as she runs to her vehicle and drives away, leaving the conversation through the intercom unfinished. Samantha is unphased and seizes the opportunity to walk to the intercom, posing as the Oxford student so that she may find shelter in the mansion. The following scene is the only point in the demo where Samantha is a playable character, which is essentially a skippable tutorial through the game's user interface. Anyone who has played a classic point-and-click adventure game will feel right at home here, clicking on some objects to examine them and others to pick them up.

 

The remainder of the demo takes you through what is Chapter 3 in the full version of the game. You assume control of Professor David Styles, an enigmatic man who seems old enough to be well-traveled, educated, and apparently wealthy, but young enough to maintain smooth skin and dark hair. One third of his face is covered by a white mask which draws obvious comparisons to the one popularized by the musical The Phantom of the Opera. You begin in his bedroom, and clicking on items therein will trigger his dialogue, identifying that his wife has passed away and that he is having quite a hard time coping with it. As you walk around the mansion and study objects, Styles will more than likely relate every one of them to his late wife, quantifying his grief as more of an obsession. Eventually you will find Styles' lab in the basement, occupied by a sensory deprivation chamber. You then learn that the professor has launched into extensive research in psi-theory, particularly the potential presence of multiple planes of existence and the areas of the brain that may be used to access them. He believes that his wife is still present in the house and that he can take steps to contact her and be contacted by her. More details follow, and the situation gradually progresses deeper into the supernatural.

 

 

As is typical for an adventure game of this style and depth, the pace is rather slow. You might find an item in the bathroom and you want to immediately take it to the basement, but to do that will require moving from room to room around the mansion, which can become tedious. This is partially alleviated with a double-click of the mouse, causing your character to briskly jog and expediting these travels.

 

The game's visuals also come off a bit dated. While the landscapes and backgrounds are quite attractive, the rendered characters stick out unnaturally on top of them. The game is roughly 6 years late, so while an issue like this is not surprising, it can cause a bit of a break in the immersion, particularly when a game like Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain has set a new visual standard in the genre. In addition, the dialogue between characters can seem oddly timed where pauses between conversation points will either be unnaturally short or uncomfortably long. These are nitpicks, though, and ultimately do not affect the story.

 

Gray Matter is not a game that is out to show off any technical prowess. However, Jane Jensen's stories tend to be powerful enough to carry a game through technical deficiencies. Playing through the Gray Matter demo suggests that this game will follow that same rule. For veterans of the genre, it looks to be a must-play, but it will require a certain level of patience to someone new to the genre who is accustomed to the immediate satisfaction of modern action/adventure games. The PC platform feels right at home for this title, but it will be interesting to see how the Xbox 360 community receives it. Regardless, it is great to see Jane Jensen back in action, and one can only hope that Gray Matter serves as her revival rather than her swan song.

 

Gray Matter is scheduled for release on February 25, 2011 on PC and Xbox 360. The demo can be downloaded from the official website.

 

Matt Buckley, NoobFeed