Black Dahlia

This game is more a movie with puzzles in between than an adventure.

The story is superb, it spans almost 10 years and there are locations in the USA and Germany. The plot revolves around a black gem, the Black Dahlia, that has mystical powers, and an ancient brotherhood of knights. Throw in some Nazis and you have a true Indiana Jones type of story. The actors are ok. Darren Eliker delivers a good performance as the main character Jim Pearson, and there are cameos by Dennis Hopper and Teri Garr. The acting is sometimes a bit cheesy, but that gives the movie a real B-movie feel.

The puzzles are moderately difficult and occasionally nearly impossible, so I would recommend playing the game with a walkthrough (but don't use it too quickly!).

The game is fairly long (8 CD-ROMS!), so it will keep you occupied for quite a while. Definitely recommended, especially for the good story and atmosphere!

This is one of the greatest games so few people have played. It's a mystery game that involves Nazi plots, a mysterious gem, and the Torso killings of 1940s Cleveland. It got great reviews and has very good graphics quality. Eight CDs long! Worth it; even if you cheat you still feel like you acomplished a lot by beating it.

It was very pretty. And then it sucked. No, seriously. We are Jim Pearson, vastly amusing and not bad to look at, but does seem to think he's Indiana Jones. They told us our mission was to discover the vast subterfuge of Nazi-ism in Cleveland, but in reality, we get to play with psychics, runes, crotchety insane ex-detectives (played by Dennis Hopper in all his crotchetyness), wannabe actresses, and a slimeball named Dick. The point is actually to find the Black Dahlia, a mystical stone which contains all sorts of swirling evilness. This should be simple. Then again...

1. The puzzles are extremely finicky. Casual gamers should get the walkthrough, lest they find themselves sitting there asking, "How the heck am I supposed to know that?!?" 2. The graphics are fantastic. They do occasionally have that live-action blue screen artificial feel. Not often, though. 3. The story was "inspired by actual events". The actuality only went so far as the fact that there really was a Torso Killer, and the Black Dahlia did exist...only it was a SHE and not a STONE. 4. The ending(s). AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!! It felt like so much effort and oh so very little payoff. We want to rewrite it. Better things can happen. This doesn't mean you shouldn't play it, though. Just be prepared.

This would make a fabulous pulp novel. More so than an adventure game.

The first game I ever played, I am in my 50's. I had just gotten a computer and had never played any video games so it was my first experience. I thought the whole thing was great. Everything was new to me, I had nothing in my own experiences to compare it with. I was really into it, then my computer locked up and I would have to start all over again until I got the knack of saving where I was at. The Easter Eggs were fun. When I could no longer move forward I did find a cheater. That made it even more fun. This kind of story is something a person my age can really get into, I had not found any up until I got Black Dahlia that even interested me at all. Are there more games like this, or are there any in the works? I would like to try them.

Hopefully some lucky person who hasn't experienced this game yet will read my comments and go out and purchase it. I actually saw it the other day inside a big bin of ugly and timeworn clearance software that nobody really wants. I tell you, it hurt me to see a game of this nature dumped into some crate of obsolete things. It is old but I probably play through the game at least once every month- it's that fascinating and good.

I guess the experience of playing Black Dahlia is like being totally immersed inside a mystery movie. I have great nostalgia for the 1940s era and the game is set entirely within this time and all the characters are dressed sharply and speak cleverly in the quick and slightly queer way of the period. The lead is played by a very charming man, Darren Eliker, and you take charge of him in a way and you really start to feel like your traveling all over the place with this guy, or as this guy I should say, and it's excellent fun. I implore you to try out this game. I only wish they would make more like it, FMV style. There are hardly any decent adventure games being made with animation let alone with actors. I was told that a game like Black Dahlia simply costs too much to make, basically the same as shooting a film. Yet, it would be obvious to anyone who plays the game the work and quality that's gone into it on every level. I think the story's really great too and that plays a big part in its appeal. In fact, I would love to see this game turned into a feature film- like it almost is already.