User reviews

"Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within" is not only the best computer game ever made, it's also one of my favorite horror movies. I guess you could say it's half-game, half-movie...although, in truth, it's so well-researched and cleverly written that it reminds me more of a novel. Who cares what it is? It's just awesome.

Like other games of its type, "The Beast Within" is very linear. If you're looking to wander freely through a huge 3D environment, wasting polygon creatures with a shotgun, you'll be disappointed. Your job in this game is basically to solve brain teasers and push the plot ahead to the next mini-movie segment. I suppose there is a passive aspect to the gameplay, and I do get frustrated when I can't solve a particularly obscure puzzle and my progress grinds to a halt. But the rich storyline and sharp dialogue - courtesy of Jane Jensen, clearly a talented writer - more than compensate for any shortcomings with the game's format.

The movie segments feature several strong actors, particularly Peter Lucas, who makes for a very suave villain indeed. The underrated Dean Erickson is extremely likable as Gabriel Knight; in fact, I prefer his interpretation of the character to the oily purrings of Tim Curry in the series' first and third games. Too bad he seems to be doing real estate deals these days! Oh, and come on, hands up - who else recognizes Clabe "Preiss" Hartley as the evil Caliban from Trancers 4 and 5? Oh...nobody? I guess it's just me, then.

I won't summarize the plot much; suffice to say, it involves German history, werewolves, and homo-erotic tendencies. When I played the game as a teenager, I was a little impatient with all the background information on Ludwig II, but when I replayed the game recently I found it all pretty fascinating.

It's a shame that this type of game - that is, the cerebral type - has all but died out over the years. Hopefully, at some point, the computer game industry will climb out of its rut and start taking an interest in good storytelling again.

I cannot say anything else of this FMV-IF-game that it is magnificient. Great cast, great plot, great music, amazing atmosphere. After the stiffness of the early game Dean fits in the role of Gabe like a fist in the crack. The feelings when played through were more like having read through a magnificient book series than having played through a game.

I loved playing this game... It was really great... And thanx Peter for the best Von Glower we could have... You are the best character of the game!!!

I'll admit...when I first saw the opening movie with Dean Erickson behind the typewriter, I chuckled to myself and thought "who the hell is this joker?" Indeed, as the game began, Erickson did little to change this sentiment. But then something happened: he got better and better as the game went on. Don't get me wrong, he's not exactly the same Gabe that was written for Tim Curry, but Erickson has a personality all his own. In the hunting lodge, Erickson reaches the apex of his character. He just seemed so cool and natural, a regular guy (albeit a schattenjager) caught up in an extremely horrendous situation.

But the rest of the acting is also superb. I've played a few FMV games and they were TERRIBLE. God, even the one with Christopher Walken was a disaster. But this game, filled with unknowns, delivers the best acting that I have ever seen in a video game. Kudos to all involved.

The oscar goes to: Peter Lucas. A 200 year old werewolf with homo-erotic tendencies. This guy was great. Funny, charming, likeable, and very cool. You never know exactly what he's thinking.

Also, the girl that played Grace was excellent, which is good because you control her for half the game. In fact, nobody really stunk. Wait a minute, this is a game we're talking about right?

Oh yeah. Great story, great puzzles, great sound/music/video/everything. Jane Jensen is GOD.

Not many Full Motion Video games being put out now, but The

Beast Within is the best of them all, hands down. The second in

the Gabriel Knight series, Gabe is now in Germany trying to

solve murders involving a werewolf. But what does a lost opera

by Wagner have to do with it? Incredible storylines, fine acting

by all involved, and wonderfully rendered backgrounds.

"Gabriel Night : The beast within" was "only" a videogame.....but I think it would be a wonderful movie.....I hope someone else will think about it. (Using the same cast,of course!)

I just played Gabriel Knight 2 for the first time, and I am astounded that it is actually quite a few years old but still hardly feels dated! I had heard such good things about it, and it lives up every bit to it's reputation. GK2 isn't just a game - it's an experience. Like another reviewer mentioned, you'll come away from it feeling like you've read an amazing novel or watched a stunning movie. The story line is complex and engrossing, and the acting for the most part is above-average. But what elevates the game from excellent to out-of-this-world is Peter Lucas' performance as the enigmatic and sexy baron von Glower. It's such a shame FMV has a bad reputation, because I feel live actors breathe life into their characters in a way that 3D never can. I would love love GK4 or a Gabriel Knight movie, featuring the same cast of course, even if they've aged!

I do not think A Gabriel Knight Mystery is as good as Sins of the Fathers and Blood of the Sacred, but as a game it is a lot of fun. The story is great, quite complicated but it is a lot of fun to see unfolded and resolved, with a number of interesting sequences. The look of the game impresses too, it looks colourful and sophisticated and all the characters are impressively rendered. The score is very good, with plenty of energy.

The dialogue is witty and smart, and I liked the characters. For the first time, I thought Gabriel was overshadowed by the villain of the piece a suave, mysterious and charismatic one by the name of Baron Frederich Von Glower, brilliantly voiced by Peter Lucas. Dean Erickson does do an above average job as Gabriel, he is funny and clever not to mention both likable and oily, but there are one or two times when his line delivery falls a little flat. Although I much prefer Tim Curry, who actually IS Gabriel, Erickson does do a good enough job to not make me feel I missed him too much.

All in all, a surprisingly good game and definitely worth playing. 9/10 Bethany Cox

What gameplay, what actors, what scenery... It's all perfect. It took about 3 months to complete this game, and I loved every second of it. It really caught me. I actually went to see the sites from the game, and I read a lot of the history behind it... See "Gabriel Knight: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned" as well, it is also great. I cant wait until GK4 is released...

A great combenation betwen a tragic sory, great actors, amaizing soundtrack, beautiful characters and some real facts. This game is another masterpiece made by Jane Jensen. A "dont miss" game (Just like the others in the series). This game is highly recomended! Oh and do not mind that it's titled "Horor", the game is not that scary, It's more A mystery game(again, like the others). So, you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be afraid... Everything!!! A great game indeed!

Gabriel Knight returns in the most visually-impressive game of the trilogy. One of the best things about this game is the excellent use of Full-Motion-Video (FMV), a much-abused game element at that time in the industry. Unfortunately, being all FMV made the game seem more like a series of awesome screenshots with sound than a real "game". The feeling of actually being Gabriel Knight is much rarer in this installment when compared to the first one. More interactivity would have lent itself so well to character and plot development. However, this is still a great game with an excellent story, and I would recommend it.

Ah, my friend Gabriel, come in, its so good to see you.

These are the words politely uttered by Gabriels lawyer in Munich. German politness, but the local police chief sneers at him like a rabid schaefer. The mysterious Baron von Glover is the coolest caracter in the game. He hangs around in an expensive hunting club, and he is just beyond coolness. All in all a great game. Forget that is is a few years old, its still good fun.

This game has a great storyline that really draws you in. The historical background (the mysteries surrounding the German king Ludwig) and the location (Munich, Germany) add to the atmosphere and credibility of the story. The horror elements create a good tension. The actors are not always believable, but not bad enough to become really irritating.

Hi.

Gabriel Knight is one of the best game ever. The actors plays fantastic, and the plot is surprising. The game is based on a book by Jane Jensen; "The beast within". Jane Jensen is a very famous author, who has written many great books. If you buy this game, you will be surprised about the quality of it. It makes you sleepless, and a Walkthrough is recommended.

BY THE GAME TODAY!!

Though sequels are always a problem, this one tries very hard, but just doesn't quite make it. Dean Erikson is the disaster; in the original, Tim Curry made Gabriel a funny, smart, likeable character, but here Erikson's voice is just too flat and acting too wooden to raise a giggle. The film quality is remarkably good for FMV and a wonderful libretto was written specially for an opera section, but Erikson does drag the whole thing down. Otherwise, the acting is usually quite (surprisingly) decent, and the sound quality is variable, but generally acceptable. The puzzles, however, are ridiculously easy; I completed it in 3 days. Let's just hope the return to the GK1 style for GK3 will help was some of this one's aberrations under the carpet. Overall, it's all just rather too serious and sombre to be great fun.

Loved this second instalment of Gabriel Knight. It is an adventure game that follows writer Gabriel Knight as he encounters supernatural situations. This game centres on werewolves and takes the story to some much darker places. The story is told through a different medium - cinematic sequences rather than the prior animated game. The gameplay is point-and-click and the story will be propelled by the player's decisions.

The music, acting, writing and direction are commendable. Of course the film quality is limited by the times and the capacity of CDs at the time, but none of that distracts from what is otherwise a compelling story.

This has got to be one of the best adventure games ever. I remember playing the earlier animated installments thinking "wow, this would make an amazing movie"- instead they made this game. Complete with live action cutscenes and live gameplay. Nowadays I'm not sure I'd bother playing the actual game- but I do recommend watching the video online if you can find it.

The story plays out like a horror crime drama, mixed with intrigue, friendship, murder, betrayal and of course, werewolves. The main actor does a great job as Gabriel Knight, harnessing those likable, charming attributes mixed with flaws we all have. A much watch.

Even if you are not into computer adventure games, I assure you it's worth it to play this one so you could watch all those great FMV! Especially Peter Lucas as Von Glower! Trust me, it's you loss if you miss his performance as the charismatic baron. And the story itself is first class!

Albeit not as good as the first part, Gabriel Knight II is still a very entertaining interactive movie. Even (especially?) for Germans - it's intriguing to see how Americans imagine Europe to be like! Sometimes they're not that far off, but it's mostly hilarious. Jane Jensen made up a whole new history of Baveria - occasionally you need to look up in your history book if it's real or fiction. The acting isn't as bad as you might expect from a video game. If you don't like the movie sequences, you can always skip them. The same goes for the somewhat lengthy dialogs which can get tedious after some time. Anyway it's refreshing to watch the actors' gestures throughout the conversation scenes. Also the puzzles tend to be weird (use the walk-through!). But if you appreciate a good story, lean back and enjoy the ride through Baverian mythology.

The Beast Within is one of the few adventure games that you can play over and over again, and still enjoy it just as much as the first time. The whole cast were fantastic, Dean Erickson was the perfect choice for Gabriel Knight (he beats Tim Curry hands down).