Graphics

Mixed reviews

As we mentioned earlier, Gabriel Knight 3 uses a 3D graphics engine. The game doesn't require a 3D card though; it ships with a software engine for those who lack 3D capability. So how are the graphics? Well it might be a bit harsh to call them primitive but they definitely look dated in some ways. Uneven might be the best word to describe Gabriel Knight 3's visuals. On the plus side, indoor environments are well furnished. The interior of the hotel for example, contains a lot of elements that you'd expect to find - beds, tables, chairs, wall hangings, night stands, etc. Nothing looks too spartan in that sense. The church interior is very well appointed with frescoes, statues, altar, and pews.

However, the outdoors scenes and even some parts of indoor areas appear dated with very flat looking textures. Adding to the problem are ridges and other landscape features that are far too blocky/polygonal. Other objects, like Gabriel's Harley, suffer from a distinct lack of polygons as well. The wheels on that thing sometimes look like they belong on the Flintstones' family car rather than a modern motorcycle. The flat lighting and lack of good shadowing effects detracts from the atmosphere as well. We've been truly spoiled by the fantastic lighting in games like Nocturne and Quake 3.

Mosely up close

Let's not get too close

Faces in the crowd

Faces in Gabriel Knight 3 were mostly a plus, but in certain cases, not so great. From some angles, faces look reasonably lifelike and well formed. The artists did a good job on Gabriel's and Mosely's faces for instance. However, the face they used for the sultry French tour guide Madeline was, well…not very attractive. Mostly she just looked scary throughout the game, instead of the red headed bombshell that she was supposed to be. Heck even Ariel from The Little Mermaid was a lot hotter. Err…try to forget I said that. We've been watching a little too much American Pie around here lately. Another minus is that Grace doesn't look very Asian from close up. With a surname like "Nakimura," we'd expect the ethnicity to be a bit more obvious.

Easter Egg: That tombstone says Kurt Cobain

Gabe in disguise

On the plus side, the mouths of the characters actually move when they talk. This is particularly important in an adventure game where there's a lot of dialogue going on. Why? Because we take it for granted that people will emote and move their mouths in real life, it can be very distracting to see computer game characters who look like ventriloquists. Other, more action oriented adventure games like Drakan and Nocturne have characters whose mouths don't move while speaking, which detracts from the immersion. It's also notable that Gabriel Knight 3's characters do a great job at conveying emotion. Mouths can contort into a variety of shapes, eyes widen and narrow, and eyebrows move around naturally. Although Gabriel will often let you know when he thinks someone is lying, it's great to be able to figure it out yourself by using the game's better than average voice acting along with characters' emotions. The developers get a definite thumbs up for the facial animations.

At Larry Chester's

David Bowie? One blue eye, one green eye