Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned

"I've never had so much fun fighting for the side of Good..."

Gabriel Knight, author and self-acclaimed ladies man, discovered a few years ago that he was part of a destiny far greater than he could imagine. He had a sacred role as a Schattenjäger, literally ''Shadow Hunter'' in German. It is now his duty to fight for the side of good and righteousness. Fortunately, for us, the game players, he's still considers himself a ladies man, and it is his conflicting sides of dark and light that make the Gabriel Knight series so enjoyable.

Also of note is Gabriel's other half, Grace Nakimura. Having helped him considerably with his other two cases, Grace once again provides a hand in this adventure, and the status of their relationship is tried yet again.

Graphics: 9

Definitely something worth writing home about. The graphics for this game reach levels of the highly detailed. The actors are presents completely as polygons. Facial expressions are well-rendered and very well done. The town of the game's setting, Rennes-le-Chateau, is just beautiful.

Perhaps the only gripe would be the landscapes, which are frighteningly repetitive in their textures...

Music and Sound: 8

Taking a slight backseat to the graphics, the music isn't all that special. It's good, naturally, just not very memorable. Not like GK2 or even GK1...

The sounds are very interesting. As you move your camera around the area, you can detect sounds differently at different positions. You can really hear the difference even with stereo speakers and not surround sound.

Plot: 10

Although a bit controversial, the plot is a fascinating ride into the history of Christianity and the Holy Grail, as well as dealing with vampires. If you are a devout Christian, you may find some of the ideas a bit offensive, but rest assured that the author of this game, Jane Jensen, is not alone in what see shows in this game. These ideas have been debated for centuries.

Gameplay: 8

Walking around and interacting is accomplished by moving the camera and cursor to the desired location. Clicking on a certain object may bring up a window inviting you to examine things closer, manipulate them, or perhaps use an item on them.

Control of the camera can be tricky and a little frustrating at times, as it seems that you're moving a separate entity besides your character, be it Gabriel or Grace, but it can be picked up quickly.

The game's story is presented in timeblocks. You have accomplish several major events in one to advance to the next. Of course, advancing means you can't go back to do any minor things you may have missed...

Replay Value: 7

Like most adventure games of this type, it's the best the first time you play it, and it goes downhill from there. There is a point system to the game that encourages you to get as high as possible. Of course, finding some of these things with the whole timeblock idea constantly moving things forward can be frustrating.

Overall: 9

Definitely a fine title, worthy of Jane Jensen's pouring her heart into her work. She's outdone herself with this story. I only hope she has enough creative energy to give us a Gabriel Knight 4.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/28/00, Updated 05/28/00