Case 3: The Sorceress of Smailholm
Oh, Ben Jordan Case 3. Ask anyone who ever played this series, they will probably all tell you unanimously that this is when the series kicked into high gear and started for real. I get a feeling that this was also the point when Grundislav decided the direction where the rest of the series was going. Characters and storylines are introduced here that will accompany us through the remaining games, the music makes another huge jump ahead and the whole dark atmosphere is just masterfully done. But BJ3 still has some problems which I won’t overlook. Oh, and the game was released on October 3rd 2004, less than four months after case 2. How in God’s name did Grundy manage to complete these games so fast?? I guess that will stay an eternal mystery…
Story/Characters
Story and characters, that’s the area where BJ3 earns lots of points. Unlike the first two games, we don’t start out in Ben’s flat immediately. Instead we see a scene with a group of hooded people planning their next sacrifice and Ben’s face shows up in their cauldron. Spooky! After this cold opening we return to Ben’s flat. This case leads him abroad for the first time, to the small (really existing) town of Smailholm, Scotland, and the intro closes with Ben arriving there during a nightly rain storm. I have to say, the whole intro sets the atmosphere expertedly. Then there’s the whole topic of the case: this time, Ben has to deal with the murder of two little children, and evil witches are rumoured to be responsible. This, together with the bad weather and the drab Scottish landscape sets a dark and foreboding atmosphere. In comparison, the first two games were much more whimsical in nature. But the good doesn’t stop here. The whole narrative becomes much more twisted now and events that happen in Smailholm stay relevant throughout the series. First, we meet Mary Blaine, a young imprisoned woman accused of witch craft. Ben wants to help her and (somewhat predictably) falls in love with her in the process. But Mary isn’t what she seems. She’s in league with the baddies who worship a Romanian vampire-witch named Zortherus, but in the end, Mary gives her life for that of Ben – at least she does in one of the two endings of the game. This whole ordeal will change Ben substantially. Next, there’s Percival Quentin Jones, Oxford Professor of Criminology and another fan favourite. He has also come to Smailholm to investigate the witch murders, and naturally he and Ben start a fun rivalry. But he is also more than meets the eye and eventually becomes an ally to Ben. Staying with the theme of “nothing is like it seems”, there are other misdirections at work here. Poor old Wilma Wiggins is suspected of being the murderous witch but turns out quite nice and… dead soon after. The mourning towns folk on the other hand turn out to be the true culprits, and the dead children… well, they never existed in the first place. Even if some of these twists could be seen as predictable, they are a lot of fun, especially after the first two games, were everything you learned could be taken at face value.
Gameplay/Puzzles
Gameplay in BJ3 stays again mostly unchanged from its predecessors. The interface and controls have stayed the same since Case 1, but one thing that is new here is that the last third of the game splits into two exclusive paths, depending on an action that you take or don’t take at a certain point of the game. While this is kinda cool, I must admit that this is a decision that I’m not totally happy with. On the one hand, the two paths through the game increase the replayability of course. But on the other hand, you learn information in both paths that is relevant for solving the case, and since the paths are exclusive, there’s no way to get the whole resolution by only playing one of them. This is a bit unsatisfactory from a story point-of-view, especially considering this is such a huge turning-point of the series. Granted, of the two paths through the game, one is the obvious “correct” one. It is longer, more questions are answered and it gives more of an emotional payoff due to its resolution to the Mary-situation. Naturally this is also the canon ending according to the later BJ games. All the more it doesn’t sit quite right with me that witnessing all these important events depends on a quick decision at an arbitrary point late in the game that is easily missed if you are not actively looking for it. Yes, the end sequence mentions the two paths and urges the player to go back and try out the other one, but it’s questionable whether casual players would care enough do this, in which case they’d miss a big chunk of the story. But enough with the complaining. The puzzles in BJ3 are good and all very logical, and compared to Case 2 they concentrate more on the actual investigating – you won’t find any convoluted over-the-top puzzles in this game. The highlight puzzle-wise is the witch-code you have to translate, which is very reminiscent of Gabriel Knight’s voodoo code puzzle. My only complain puzzlewise is that there are too few of them, especially as the last part of the games splits in the aforementioned two paths, witch prevents you from doing all the puzzles in one run. BJ3 is shorter than case 2 as is, so integrating both paths into one would have helped in that respect.
Graphics/Music
The graphics are very atmospheric in this game, the best backgrounds yet: the gothic Scotish landscapes lend themselves perfectily to Grundislav’s style. Also, none of the screens are as empty and low on details as some from the previous instalment, additionally there are weather effects now and for some of the screens there’s even a night version. The title cards of case 1 and 2 have also been replaced by a movie-like overlay of the game title and its creators. The dialog portraits are slowly getting better and more realistic too, with my only real disappointment being the villain Zortherus who looks MUCH too happy and amicable for his role, which I don’t think was the intention. Last but not least, the graphics and music work perfectly together. Speaking of music, Case 1 and 2 had great music, but Case 3 still tops them easily. BJ3’s soundtrack has a great part in its dark atmosphere, be it the inn music, Mary’s song, the witch theme or the gruellingly sad music at the McBee’s place. Actually it was the first AGS game where I listened to the soundtrack in its own, by using the AGS juke box. The music has a slightly medieval touch this time, with a harpsichord being the main instrument. It’s also in this game, that the use of themes is fully embraced. The same melody appears in different variations in different situations and contexts, which really helps pulling everything nicely together. The music is, in one word, magical and fits perfectly to the setting and subject-matter. It wouldn’t be out of place in a professional adventure game of the Nineties. Oh, and there's also a new sound effect for gaining points, the cackling laughter of an evil witch. Hilarious and somewhat creepy at the same time!
Final Verdict
It’s hard to give a final verdict on BJ3. On the hand, it has hands down the best story, characters, music and graphics yet and its atmosphere is through the roof. On the other hand, it’s a bit on the short side, light on puzzles, and the two paths in the latter part of the game, while well meant, do more harm than good to the overall structure and impression of the game. Given its impact on Ben and the rest of the series, the Mary story could also have used some more room and time to breathe; it comes across as slightly hurried here. In the course of only a few game scenes Ben meets, falls in love with, sleeps with and is betrayed by Mary, who then redeems herself by sacrificing herself for Ben’s sake. It’s a good story mind you, and given its nature it wouldn’t work dragging it out over more than one game, but I just wish the tragic love story would have gotten a bit more focus here, as well as only one single, but more impactful ending. Lastly we have Zortherus, who is built up as quite the intimidating figure. He has a great backstory – he’s a centuries-old Romanian vampire-witch with his own immortal witch cult, how cool is that! –, but unfortunately he rather looks like a friendly Buddhist monk, which does harm his impact a bit. As you can see, there are some very high highs and some unfortunate lows in this game. In the end, all the flaws are easily forgivable. The series is still finding its footing, and this game is its first attempt at something bigger than the one-game-one-case-structure it had followed so far. It is also the first step into the main story arch of the series, with the introduction of several important characters and some questions staying unanswered in the end, no matter which path you chose. Considering all these aspects, I award the game with a final score of 3.5/5. Getting better and better, with much more awesomeness ahead.
Story/Characters
Story and characters, that’s the area where BJ3 earns lots of points. Unlike the first two games, we don’t start out in Ben’s flat immediately. Instead we see a scene with a group of hooded people planning their next sacrifice and Ben’s face shows up in their cauldron. Spooky! After this cold opening we return to Ben’s flat. This case leads him abroad for the first time, to the small (really existing) town of Smailholm, Scotland, and the intro closes with Ben arriving there during a nightly rain storm. I have to say, the whole intro sets the atmosphere expertedly. Then there’s the whole topic of the case: this time, Ben has to deal with the murder of two little children, and evil witches are rumoured to be responsible. This, together with the bad weather and the drab Scottish landscape sets a dark and foreboding atmosphere. In comparison, the first two games were much more whimsical in nature. But the good doesn’t stop here. The whole narrative becomes much more twisted now and events that happen in Smailholm stay relevant throughout the series. First, we meet Mary Blaine, a young imprisoned woman accused of witch craft. Ben wants to help her and (somewhat predictably) falls in love with her in the process. But Mary isn’t what she seems. She’s in league with the baddies who worship a Romanian vampire-witch named Zortherus, but in the end, Mary gives her life for that of Ben – at least she does in one of the two endings of the game. This whole ordeal will change Ben substantially. Next, there’s Percival Quentin Jones, Oxford Professor of Criminology and another fan favourite. He has also come to Smailholm to investigate the witch murders, and naturally he and Ben start a fun rivalry. But he is also more than meets the eye and eventually becomes an ally to Ben. Staying with the theme of “nothing is like it seems”, there are other misdirections at work here. Poor old Wilma Wiggins is suspected of being the murderous witch but turns out quite nice and… dead soon after. The mourning towns folk on the other hand turn out to be the true culprits, and the dead children… well, they never existed in the first place. Even if some of these twists could be seen as predictable, they are a lot of fun, especially after the first two games, were everything you learned could be taken at face value.
Gameplay/Puzzles
Gameplay in BJ3 stays again mostly unchanged from its predecessors. The interface and controls have stayed the same since Case 1, but one thing that is new here is that the last third of the game splits into two exclusive paths, depending on an action that you take or don’t take at a certain point of the game. While this is kinda cool, I must admit that this is a decision that I’m not totally happy with. On the one hand, the two paths through the game increase the replayability of course. But on the other hand, you learn information in both paths that is relevant for solving the case, and since the paths are exclusive, there’s no way to get the whole resolution by only playing one of them. This is a bit unsatisfactory from a story point-of-view, especially considering this is such a huge turning-point of the series. Granted, of the two paths through the game, one is the obvious “correct” one. It is longer, more questions are answered and it gives more of an emotional payoff due to its resolution to the Mary-situation. Naturally this is also the canon ending according to the later BJ games. All the more it doesn’t sit quite right with me that witnessing all these important events depends on a quick decision at an arbitrary point late in the game that is easily missed if you are not actively looking for it. Yes, the end sequence mentions the two paths and urges the player to go back and try out the other one, but it’s questionable whether casual players would care enough do this, in which case they’d miss a big chunk of the story. But enough with the complaining. The puzzles in BJ3 are good and all very logical, and compared to Case 2 they concentrate more on the actual investigating – you won’t find any convoluted over-the-top puzzles in this game. The highlight puzzle-wise is the witch-code you have to translate, which is very reminiscent of Gabriel Knight’s voodoo code puzzle. My only complain puzzlewise is that there are too few of them, especially as the last part of the games splits in the aforementioned two paths, witch prevents you from doing all the puzzles in one run. BJ3 is shorter than case 2 as is, so integrating both paths into one would have helped in that respect.
Graphics/Music
The graphics are very atmospheric in this game, the best backgrounds yet: the gothic Scotish landscapes lend themselves perfectily to Grundislav’s style. Also, none of the screens are as empty and low on details as some from the previous instalment, additionally there are weather effects now and for some of the screens there’s even a night version. The title cards of case 1 and 2 have also been replaced by a movie-like overlay of the game title and its creators. The dialog portraits are slowly getting better and more realistic too, with my only real disappointment being the villain Zortherus who looks MUCH too happy and amicable for his role, which I don’t think was the intention. Last but not least, the graphics and music work perfectly together. Speaking of music, Case 1 and 2 had great music, but Case 3 still tops them easily. BJ3’s soundtrack has a great part in its dark atmosphere, be it the inn music, Mary’s song, the witch theme or the gruellingly sad music at the McBee’s place. Actually it was the first AGS game where I listened to the soundtrack in its own, by using the AGS juke box. The music has a slightly medieval touch this time, with a harpsichord being the main instrument. It’s also in this game, that the use of themes is fully embraced. The same melody appears in different variations in different situations and contexts, which really helps pulling everything nicely together. The music is, in one word, magical and fits perfectly to the setting and subject-matter. It wouldn’t be out of place in a professional adventure game of the Nineties. Oh, and there's also a new sound effect for gaining points, the cackling laughter of an evil witch. Hilarious and somewhat creepy at the same time!
Final Verdict
It’s hard to give a final verdict on BJ3. On the hand, it has hands down the best story, characters, music and graphics yet and its atmosphere is through the roof. On the other hand, it’s a bit on the short side, light on puzzles, and the two paths in the latter part of the game, while well meant, do more harm than good to the overall structure and impression of the game. Given its impact on Ben and the rest of the series, the Mary story could also have used some more room and time to breathe; it comes across as slightly hurried here. In the course of only a few game scenes Ben meets, falls in love with, sleeps with and is betrayed by Mary, who then redeems herself by sacrificing herself for Ben’s sake. It’s a good story mind you, and given its nature it wouldn’t work dragging it out over more than one game, but I just wish the tragic love story would have gotten a bit more focus here, as well as only one single, but more impactful ending. Lastly we have Zortherus, who is built up as quite the intimidating figure. He has a great backstory – he’s a centuries-old Romanian vampire-witch with his own immortal witch cult, how cool is that! –, but unfortunately he rather looks like a friendly Buddhist monk, which does harm his impact a bit. As you can see, there are some very high highs and some unfortunate lows in this game. In the end, all the flaws are easily forgivable. The series is still finding its footing, and this game is its first attempt at something bigger than the one-game-one-case-structure it had followed so far. It is also the first step into the main story arch of the series, with the introduction of several important characters and some questions staying unanswered in the end, no matter which path you chose. Considering all these aspects, I award the game with a final score of 3.5/5. Getting better and better, with much more awesomeness ahead.