--- /dev/null
+---
+postid: 005
+title: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
+author: Lucian Mogoșanu
+date: August 4, 2013
+tags: gaming
+---
+
+<p style="text-align: right">*Gabriel's mini-stereo isn't exactly
+high-fidelity. Then again, neither is he.*</p>
+
+Back in 1993, when all was fine and dandy and Sierra were still making awesome
+games, they launched the first game from the Gabriel Knight series, written by
+none other than Jane Jensen. I hadn't gotten to play it then, as I only got a
+PC about five years later. Actually I only played Gabriel Knight about a few
+months ago, which is pretty odd considering the bunch of awesome adventure
+games I had experienced before.
+
+<span class="imgright"><a href="/images/2013/08/gk-007.png">
+<img class="thumb"
+src="/images/2013/08/gk-007-thumb.png" title="Mr. Knight and some guy"/></a></span>
+So then it was, long after playing the first two games from the Broken Sword
+series[^1], that I gave GK a try: a random guy in a random city (New Orleans)
+is having weird dreams about weird rituals, then wakes up in his boring,
+typical American room. It seems that our Gabriel owns a rare book store, his
+only employee an Asian American chick (Grace Nakimura) who on a first look
+seems to be either frigid or just some stuck up bitch. Up until now, it sounds
+like your typical American cliché.
+
+To drive the cliché further, this Gabriel Knight guy is also a writer, and he's
+got a friend (Det. Mosely) who's a cop who's investigating a weird ritualistic
+murder that just by some weird coincidence took place on the edge of the city.
+Gabriel's ass is itching, so he decides to investigate the murder mostly all by
+himself, which is just great if you're a guy with no prior detective
+experience. In other words, even more cliché.
+
+<span class="imgleft"><a href="/images/2013/08/gk-009.png"><img class="thumb"
+src="/images/2013/08/gk-009-thumb.png" title="One of the rare player deaths in the game. Not as frustrating as it might seem."/>
+</a></span>
+Fortunately, the story gets interesting when Gabriel starts to delve into New
+Orleans' Vodoo history, which, as far as I can tell from the point of view of a
+non-specialist, is very well documented within the game. A lot of the high
+points of the game are entirely made up of Voodoo lore, exploring the subject a
+lot deeper than other adventure games involving more "exotic" cultures, from
+what I've played[^2].
+
+Another aspect that kept me hooked was the "little" things, elements of the
+story, that come up as the story advances, from short poems to the daily
+astrological forecast. Symbols are often present were you least expect them and
+all these things are tightly integrated so that they give the player a more
+book-like experience, an experience which is also enhanced by the narrator's
+rather peculiar voice. This is more so relevant as the narrator doesn't just
+give a piece of information, but she gives it in a non-dull, non-mechanical
+manner.
+
+<span class="imgright"><a href="/images/2013/08/gk-008.png"><img class="thumb"
+src="/images/2013/08/gk-008-thumb.png" title="When the saints go marching in."/>
+</a></span>
+Most of the voice actors are top notch: Tim Curry, Mark Hamill, Michael Dorn
+and Jim Cummings are a few names. The acting didn't cease to give me that
+annoying Hollywood-like feeling at the beginning, but it either faded away in
+time or I got used to it. Besides that, the graphics are up to par with other
+adventure games in the early '90s and the music (by Robert Holmes, Jane
+Jensen's husband) adds greatly to the atmosphere.
+
+Frankly, I feel ashamed that I haven't played the game earlier. It's not my
+favourite adventure, but it's original enough that I find it hard to compare
+with others, older or newer, and I feel that I must give it its own separate
+place in my book.
+
+<a href="/images/2013/08/gk-003.png"><img class="thumb"
+src="/images/2013/08/gk-003-thumb.png" title="The Voodoo museum."/>
+</a>
+<a href="/images/2013/08/gk-013.png"><img class="thumb"
+src="/images/2013/08/gk-013-thumb.png" title="Beautiful winter landscape."/>
+</a>
+
+[^1]: Arguably the only games from the Broken Sword series.
+[^2]: The Broken Sword games are one example.
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