Review:

Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within is the newest creation of Sierra's writer Jane Jenson, the person responsible for the first Gabriel Knight adventure. First off, let me tell you that I enjoyed the first game, Sins of the Fathers, very much. The sequel, however, surpasses it in many ways. The graphics have been replaced with full motion video, which usually spells doom for an adventure game. Sierra has managed to use this medium to their advantage, and has created a rich environment for Gabriel and Grace to experience their newest tale. The video is superb, this being Sierra's second use of FMV (Phantasmagoria being the first), and the flash never detracts from the game. My only complaint: in Phantasmagoria I was able to move the video to a higher resolution than was possible in this game. Sierra: why drop the video quality? The acting is quite good, the role of Gabriel being an especially good effort. I found Gabriel to be much more likeable in this game, he was quite the slouch in the first one. The sound was also a vast improvement over Phantasmagoria. This one didn't sound like it was recorded on a sound stage. There were still some discrepencies, but much more forgiveable. The puzzles are quite fair, nothing too far outside the realm of the unsolveable, and not so difficult that they aren't solveable. Two in particular get my "pat yourself on the back" award. That is, I literally congratulated myself on solving them (to those who have completed the game, I am referring to the tape-recorder and cuckoo-clock puzzles). Jane Jenson has outdone herself on the writing, she has created a very interesting world here, one which captures your imagination and takes it for a long, enjoyable ride. The plot in this game involves lycanthropy, Gabriel finds himself entangle in a centuries-old curse involving a werewolf, King Ludwig of Bavaria, and Wagner (of the famous operas). The pacing and storytelling are magnificent, and when the game comes to the "lost opera" of Wagner, you will find yourself believing that this was actually written by Wagner himself. That is how well this segment was created. Overall, I found this a truly wonderful experience. The game continues the Gabriel Knight myth more than adequately, gameplay is somply a lot of fun. I recommend this game highly to intermediate to accomplished adventure gamers. Beginners may well be advised to be patient, some of the puzzles are a bit tough to grasp without the experience of gameplay.

Bottom Line: Lots of fun. Continues the adventures of Gabe and Grace very well. Gabriel is much more likeable this time around. Sierra could have given us full-screen, every line FMV.