Case 2: The Lost Galleon of the Salton Sea – Deluxe
Until this point of time, each new chapter of the Ben Jordan Series had taken longer than the last to come out, but nothing could prepare fans of the series for the agonizing wait they’d have to endure until the release for Case 8: due to the game’s complexity and Grundislav’s busy life, the completion of Case 8 took much longer than originally anticipated. In late 2009, Ben Jordan 8 was still far from completion and when Grundislav announcend around that time that he was working on a deluxe version of Case 2 that was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, any further Ben Jordan game was a welcome addition to the series, but on the other hand many fans were growing restless and would have much preferred for BJ8 to come out finally. Although BJ2 Deluxe had to be postponed too, it wasn't delayed too long: Ben Jordan 2 Deluxe was released on March 25th 2010, and luckily it proved to be a great entry to the series.
Story/Characters
Like BJ1 Deluxe, the deluxe version of Case 2 took the story of the original game and enriched it with further details. This technique had worked well for the first deluxe version already, but with this new game, Grundislav went much further. He essentially rewrote and redesigned a whole section of the game, namely Ben's exploration at the Salton Sea, introducing an all new cast of quirky characters and situations which replaced the familiar ones from the original game. Thus the whole middle part is pratically a new game, but the first part in Dunesberg and (to a lesser extent) the finale in the sunken ship were also heavily redesigned. Moreover, as with Case 1 Deluxe, Grundislav added some connections to the overarching series plot in the game: in a lost mine Ben finds traces of a stolen relic. We also get a special end scene with Percy Q. Jones acting all dodgy and preparing his first meeting with Ben that would take place in BJ3 of course. Unfortunately, besides Percy's cameo no other recurring character makes an appereance here, which makes this game mostly a solo show for Ben (which of course is exactly like the original case 2). The new characters that do appear in BJ2 Deluxe are genereally more varied and interesting though than the ones they replace, showing how Grundislav’s writing has improved since then. Furthermore, the good voice acting helps endearing most of the old and new characters in this deluxe version to the players – for instance George Roberts comes across as a very likeable guy when we finally meet him.
Gameplay/Puzzles
Ben Jordan 2 Deluxe has all new puzzles, so it’s definitely recommendable to play both versions of the game. While the puzzles in the original case were a bit over the top compared with other entries in the series, the same isn’t true in this game. The puzzles are perfectly in tune with what we have come to love and expect from Ben Jordan games puzzlewise. One creative stand-out puzzle is the song which missing passages you have to complete by exploring the environment. The game’s interface is the same as in BJ7, including a map screen in the Dunesberg region to switch loctions. There are no surprises otherwise, everything works like it should.
Graphics/Music
The graphics are very good in this game, as is to be expected that late in the series. What could have been boring and monotone desert locations come to life with vibrant colors and lots of quirky details, and while the original version of the game lacked detail in many scenes, this game is just the opposite. Especially impressive is a short visit to a haunted house in the early part of the game. Ben spends only a short time there, and that section has little to no bearing on the overall plot of the game, but it’s a place oozing with atmosphere: a desolate shack in the middle of nowhere, complete with rattling chains and a thunderstorm brewing. Likewise, an abandoned motel in the desert makes for another moody environment at a later point of the game. Ben Jordan 2 had a great soundtrack to begin with, and the Deluxe version adds a few additional memorable tracks while still using the original tracks in the appropriate locations. Same as BJ1 Deluxe and BJ7, this game also adds voices to the mix, and as in BJ7 they work very well and add a lot of value to the game. The original kinks with the voice overs in BJ1 Deluxe have been long since resolved.
Final Verdict
I have to confess that I wasn’t that excited about Case 2 Deluxe when I initially heard about it. Not only was I eagerly awaiting the finale of the BJ series, I liked the original Case 2 just fine and didn’t regard BJ1 Deluxe as that much of an improvement over the original, in fact in my eyes that one had some bad design decisions. However, when playing this deluxe case, I loved every minute of it and remembered quickly why I loved the entire series so much. Case 2 Deluxe is simply enjoyable from begin to end and unlike the first deluxe version there aren’t any glaring design mistakes this time. On the contrary, this game is immensely polished in all regards and fits in perfectly well with the rest of the series. Like Case 1 Deluxe however, and for the same reasons, I still prefer to play this game in order of its release instead of simply replacing the original Case 2 with it. Regarding the series’ overarching plot, some allusions and connections were added to this game which ties it in closer with the rest of the series, but you don’t learn any new information if you play it after BJ7 like I did. All in all I give this deluxe version of Ben’s second case a rating of 4/5: very polished and enjoyable, but many of the series’ most memorable characters are missing yet and the story isn’t as dark and tense as in later Ben Jordan games.
Story/Characters
Like BJ1 Deluxe, the deluxe version of Case 2 took the story of the original game and enriched it with further details. This technique had worked well for the first deluxe version already, but with this new game, Grundislav went much further. He essentially rewrote and redesigned a whole section of the game, namely Ben's exploration at the Salton Sea, introducing an all new cast of quirky characters and situations which replaced the familiar ones from the original game. Thus the whole middle part is pratically a new game, but the first part in Dunesberg and (to a lesser extent) the finale in the sunken ship were also heavily redesigned. Moreover, as with Case 1 Deluxe, Grundislav added some connections to the overarching series plot in the game: in a lost mine Ben finds traces of a stolen relic. We also get a special end scene with Percy Q. Jones acting all dodgy and preparing his first meeting with Ben that would take place in BJ3 of course. Unfortunately, besides Percy's cameo no other recurring character makes an appereance here, which makes this game mostly a solo show for Ben (which of course is exactly like the original case 2). The new characters that do appear in BJ2 Deluxe are genereally more varied and interesting though than the ones they replace, showing how Grundislav’s writing has improved since then. Furthermore, the good voice acting helps endearing most of the old and new characters in this deluxe version to the players – for instance George Roberts comes across as a very likeable guy when we finally meet him.
Gameplay/Puzzles
Ben Jordan 2 Deluxe has all new puzzles, so it’s definitely recommendable to play both versions of the game. While the puzzles in the original case were a bit over the top compared with other entries in the series, the same isn’t true in this game. The puzzles are perfectly in tune with what we have come to love and expect from Ben Jordan games puzzlewise. One creative stand-out puzzle is the song which missing passages you have to complete by exploring the environment. The game’s interface is the same as in BJ7, including a map screen in the Dunesberg region to switch loctions. There are no surprises otherwise, everything works like it should.
Graphics/Music
The graphics are very good in this game, as is to be expected that late in the series. What could have been boring and monotone desert locations come to life with vibrant colors and lots of quirky details, and while the original version of the game lacked detail in many scenes, this game is just the opposite. Especially impressive is a short visit to a haunted house in the early part of the game. Ben spends only a short time there, and that section has little to no bearing on the overall plot of the game, but it’s a place oozing with atmosphere: a desolate shack in the middle of nowhere, complete with rattling chains and a thunderstorm brewing. Likewise, an abandoned motel in the desert makes for another moody environment at a later point of the game. Ben Jordan 2 had a great soundtrack to begin with, and the Deluxe version adds a few additional memorable tracks while still using the original tracks in the appropriate locations. Same as BJ1 Deluxe and BJ7, this game also adds voices to the mix, and as in BJ7 they work very well and add a lot of value to the game. The original kinks with the voice overs in BJ1 Deluxe have been long since resolved.
Final Verdict
I have to confess that I wasn’t that excited about Case 2 Deluxe when I initially heard about it. Not only was I eagerly awaiting the finale of the BJ series, I liked the original Case 2 just fine and didn’t regard BJ1 Deluxe as that much of an improvement over the original, in fact in my eyes that one had some bad design decisions. However, when playing this deluxe case, I loved every minute of it and remembered quickly why I loved the entire series so much. Case 2 Deluxe is simply enjoyable from begin to end and unlike the first deluxe version there aren’t any glaring design mistakes this time. On the contrary, this game is immensely polished in all regards and fits in perfectly well with the rest of the series. Like Case 1 Deluxe however, and for the same reasons, I still prefer to play this game in order of its release instead of simply replacing the original Case 2 with it. Regarding the series’ overarching plot, some allusions and connections were added to this game which ties it in closer with the rest of the series, but you don’t learn any new information if you play it after BJ7 like I did. All in all I give this deluxe version of Ben’s second case a rating of 4/5: very polished and enjoyable, but many of the series’ most memorable characters are missing yet and the story isn’t as dark and tense as in later Ben Jordan games.