Jack The Ripper Review

The question here remains: did the developers ever consider putting in something challenging enough to test the player's knack for solving crimes? And will players have enough patience to endure through the boring bits in order to get to the challenging stuff? Adventure fanatics certainly will, but I'm not so sure about casual gamers. If we discard a few sporadic puzzles that may actually require you to think a wee bit, there's really not much to keep you involved in the game. Well, I ask you, what good is an adventure if it doesn't include cleverly designed challenges for the player?

After playing the game for quite some time, we came across a few occasional technical mishaps. One of the most annoying mishaps is related to your character's movement. Moving around is carried out via a straightforward point-and-click manner akin to Myst-like adventures - when an area is accessible, an arrow will appear showing you where to go. The problem arises when the arrow simply doesn't show up in locations that can be visited. This occurred every once in while and was more than enough to impede the gameplay. Of course, this problem can also be associated with the rather difficult manner (mouse-over issues) in which players are required to search for vital clues.

On the bright side, Jack the Ripper treats gamers to a fairly decent audio experience, with good character voicing, chilling intermezzos, and a couple of touching tunes and songs. For example, you can have a nice breather from brutal killings and suspense by listening to Abigail the "Irish Nightingale," as she unleashes her golden voice. Such moments underline the game's authenticity even further. Unfortunately, the game's backdrop sounds are flimsy and absent through some of the game's crucial scenes.

So, what's Jack the Ripper all about? In a nutshell, it's about sitting through dialogues and following an occasionally riveting story as you track down a merciless killer on the loose. It's obvious that a lot of research and writing went into the concept of the narrative and the game's "historical accuracy", but that seems insufficient to charm your average modern-day gamer lusting for action shooters and MMORPG's. One can always argue, however, that this is not a game for people looking for a Serious Sam clone (and it certainly isn't). (Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Einstein! - Ed.) The real problem here is that unchallenging puzzles, certain technical glitches, and somewhat tedious gameplay may even turn away bona fide aficionados of the genre, and, sadly, dishearten even the most devoted of fans with a rather disappointing and frustrating ending. And there's just no excuse for that.