Black Dahlia

The Good
It took me a long time to finish Black Dahlia. I think it is for that reason that parts of it still remain etched in my memory.

There is so much more to this game than what the screenshots, or even the game's main description, portray. The case is enveloped in suspense that you can almost feel as you play. The killer you seek is as mysterious as Sherlock Holmes' Moriarty. The murders are part of a deep, dark secret that opens the doors to an ancient, supernatural cult.

Although character interaction is handled with video cut scenes, you explore hand-drawn locations which are all very realistic. There is a World Map for travel to different places that appear after you hear or read about them. Numerous objects can be found while exploring. Your inventory items can be turn around, opened or closed and combined with others (which is sometimes the only way to solve a puzzle). PI Jim keeps a notebook where he copies down important information, but you can type your own notes in it too.

By far the most prominent thing about Black Dahlia is its puzzles. There are puzzles of every type and they range in difficulty from easy to hard. Luckily, easier ones are at the beginning of the game, easing you into the mode and provoking your logical side. Most of the puzzles have clues to them, but some of the more difficult ones do not. (For those who need it, there is an auto-solve option if you know the proper one-word code.)

You can die in this game. And decisions made at the end of the game can result in 2 distinct endings. Both endings provide a more than satisfactory conclusion to the game.

The Bad
As I eluded to above, some of the hardest puzzles in the game don't have any clues and, rather than being based on logic, they're mere guesswork.

I had some hang-ups and crashes while playing, even after applying the patch.

The Bottom Line
I think this game must be one of the most memorable games I've ever played. It is a good adventure game, especially if you really like puzzle-solving and mystery detective games. If you like games that test your logic and reason, enjoy adventure exploration and character interaction, play this game. You will find it as challenging as I did!

The Good
From start to finish this package was incredible. The cast was hand-picked from Hollywood, the virtual sets were the finest ever, sound and music were totally spot on, and the story was a masterpiece. Even the standard adventure engine featured some nice tweaks that kept me interested in the game without breaking the illusion of reality. The music especially helped set the tone, and was at a constant low in the background, just on the edge of concsiousness and pushing the story forward as necessary. The virtual sets, as stated, were incredible. There were many times when I forgot completely that they were computer generated, that the actors were working with blue screen technology. And the actors themselves worked well in front of a blue screen, something which normally hurts a performance.

The Bad
Perhaps the only real issue to put an adventure gamer off about this one is the difficulty. This was hands down the HARDEST game I've ever played. The puzzles involved have a certain logic behind them, but I only tended to pick up on it in hindsight. Also, of course, is the fact that this is an FMV game; The bane of the common gamer. This is definitely for those who want a story and enjoy film clips interspersed along the game, and this constitutes a small minority at this point.

The Bottom Line
Excellent all the way through, pick this up for a great cinematic, mind-bending experience, but be ready to flush a little bit of pride when you have to go look up a walkthrough.