Case 7: The Cardinal Sins
For the last few cases, tension had gradually been building in the BJ series. Big things were gonna happen, and they were gonna happen soon. The build-up to Case 7 was great. Grundislav had started a developer's diary on Livejournal in the mean time, so the development of BJ7 was pretty well documented, with screen shots, character sprites, sound snippets and infos on the development progress being released on a regular basis. From this information it became clear that this game was tying in with the after credits scene of BJ1 Deluxe, and as Grundislav himself put it, he considered BJ7 as the first part of the finale. Consequently, expectations among the fans were high for the penultimate Ben Jordan game when it was finally released on August 13th 2008 - one year after BJ1 Deluxe and almost one and a half years after BJ6. Luckily, this case was well worth the wait: it was extremely polished and featured a killer ending (pun intended!) that put the whole series on a whole new level, making the wait for BJ8 almost unbearable.
Story/Characters
For the first 90% of the play time, Ben Jordan 7 is your typical later era BJ case, with Ben, Simon and Alice working on another case together and the gradual introduction of new pieces to the series overarching main plot which is starting to take shape now. Throughout this game, indications abound that the endgame of the saga is being prepared, a feeling that is only reinforced by the game’s haunting ending. But even before that BJ7 begins to tie up loose ends, starting with the intro where we are finally introduced to Ben’s family, sharing a not-so-comfortable Christmas dinner and discussing (or rather criticizing) his career as a paranormal investigator. This family fight is a wonderful throwback to the very first BJ case that opened with a phone call of Ben’s mother. After the intro we are then teased by the idea that Ben’s late grandfather might have been a paranormal investigator too. While this notion isn’t further explored here, this is obviously a set up for BJ8, and altogether the start of the game with its extended focus on Ben’s family and background gives the distinct impression that this won’t be an ordinary case. Speaking of the case, the main plot is a bit schizophrenic this time. It starts out very dark and foreboding: a priest is murdered in cold-blood on Christmas Eve by a shadowy figure with glowing eyes, and the topic of demon possession has lots of potential. However during the course of the game, the possession plot switches to the background as the overarching series plot gradually gains more importance; we finally get an idea what is going on with all the missing relics and who the real enemies are. With the focus on the overarching plot, the resolution of the possession story is a bit cheesy and almost an afterthought. The resolution of the actual case isn’t the end of the game though – the real ending comes shortly after and is bold, brilliant and changes everything for the final instalment of the series. As revenge for his interferences, Ben is captured by the main villain and must witness Simon's grisly murder – an eye for an eye indeed. This all plays out in a shocking cutscene, and as if that wasn’t enough drama, Alice has gone missing and in the final moments of the game Ben learns of Percy Q. Jones’ involvement with the secret order – moments before he is knocked out by Percy himself. This is all very bleak and a tremendous cliffhanger. The ending is then capped perfectly by the mesmerizing end credits with their grim paintings and the perfect end song “Intervention” by Arcade Fire. The difference in impact of Simon’s death compared to Ranger Rick’s death back in BJ1 is staggering. We really cared for Simon because we saw the relationship between him, Ben and Alice start and grow steadily over the course of four games. Regarding Alice, she gets some further character development in this game as Ben and her grow ever closer, though their relationship is not in the foreground here. BJ7 also sees the long awaited return of mysterious Percy Q. Jones, in his biggest appearance since Case 3, and he manages to be as mysterious and unpredictable as ever. New characters of note in this game are the villains Vincenzo Bianchi and Cardinal Genovese, with Genovese coming off as particularly loathsome. He is clearly set up as Ben’s nemesis for the final game of the series.
Gameplay/Puzzles
Gameplay in BJ7 is exactly as we know and love it from the previous Ben Jordan games and the interface hasn’t changed either. There’s again a map screen that allows moving quickly between locations in the City of Rome. One thing that’s new in BJ7 is that we can now control the voice acting that has returned for this game via the options menu, which is a big improvement over Case 1 Deluxe. There‘s also an optional developer’s commentary track that can be activated from the menu. When active, it plays Grundislav’s thoughts about the development, the involved voice actors etc. while you are playing the game. As this commentary can be spoilery, it is suggested to only activate that option after the first playthrough. There are some very enjoyable and clever puzzles to be found this time around that tie in perfectly with the story: for example I loved Ben’s break-ins into Vincenzo Bianchi’s office and his house. Furthermore this game seemed to be a slightly bigger challenge than most other instalments in the series. The wooden symbol box puzzle in particular had me stumped for some time, until I recognized that it could be solved with a combination of general knowledge and information from the paranormal investigator’s journal that is included in the game folder as html files. This kind of outside the box thinking isn’t found often in adventure games but worked fine here. Simon and Alice were also utilized quite well in the puzzles. In summary, Case 7 has a great flow, some good challenges and the obstacles are integrated perfectly with the story. There’s never a moment where the puzzles seem artificial – with possibly the exception of the very first playable scene that is somewhat of a pixel hunt and also detached from the rest of the story. However I let that one slide because of the great story potential it opens up.
Graphics/Music
Backgrounds in BJ7 are still in the accustomed style and all very good and detailed. What I noticed especially this time are the many religious paintings and churches – in spite of the game’s low resolution they look just gorgeous in the game, Grundislav sure did a great job there. The comic book style cutscenes are again used to great effect and the characters portraits look all great – they have come a long way quality wise from the first game for sure. Of course Percy Quentin Jones gets an updated portrait and character model too. The menu bar was reworked again graphically and we get all new cursor symbols this time. The dialog boxes and inventory were also redesigned to fit the style of the new menu bar: simple black backgrounds with light grey borders. Peter Gresser's music in this game is a new series highlight, or at least it shares the top spot with Ben Jordan 3. This time the score is naturally inspired by church music with instruments like bells and organs in the mix. Themes like the one for Percy are used to great effect and I also loved the song in St Peter’s Cathedral that is later replayed in a darker, more urgent version during Ben’s break-in to Bianchi’s office. On some occasions, classical songs are used in the background to heighten the mood and the Arcade fire song in the end credits is also perfectly chosen. I will always associate that one with the ending of this game! All in all I fell in love with the BJ7 soundtrack. Sound effect wise this game has nothing to complain about, but there aren’t too many to begin with. The special sound effect for gaining points is – quite fittingly – a church bell this time. As mentioned before, Ben Jordan 7 also saw the return of voice acting, and I’m happy to say that it works much better this time. The audio quality has improved and the lines are better acted too, which surely has to do with the fact that Grundislav took a more hands-on approach to directing the voice actors this time. Moreover the speakers are all very well chosen. This is of course essential for important roles like Percy, Simon and Alice who we all hear for the first time in this game. But even small roles like the Swiss Guard in front of St Peter’s Cathedral became much memorable characters due to the great voice acting. Furthermore, the voice acting adds (intentional) humour to a few places throughout the game; it wouldn’t be half as funny otherwise. Lastly, it was a good decision to abandon the narrator this time and keep the voices for spoken dialog only.
Final Verdict
This is the big one, the game that turned me from a Ben Jordan fan into a huge fan of the series. The story takes a huge leap towards the finale and all bets are off now: as hard as it was to watch, killing off Simon – a very likeable guy and one of the series’ main characters to boot – was exactly what the series needed to kick it up to another level. Although the use of the Catholic Church (or at least a secret sub group of it) as fanatic baddies is rather cliché, the game uses them well and the final reveal of Cardinal Genovese as the series’ main villain (and provider of the game title’s clever double meaning) is pulled off nicely. But even earlier, astute players can’t shake the feeling that our favourite paranormal investigator is in over his head when he starts messing with the villains and the powerful organization behind them. It’s here that the dire warnings and prophecies from the preceding games pay off, as they only increase the overbearing feeling of doom. The cliffhanger at the end of the game might be nasty but personally I love it. And although it isn’t hard to guess the outcome of certain story threads, every time I complete this game I can’t wait for getting my fingers on Case 8. So the story is a great one, but the other aspects of this Ben Jordan game are on their peak too, from the nice detailed background art to the wonderful music and the competent voice acting. With all these positives, it’s hardly surprising that I award this game with a rating of 5/5: the best game of the series yet and an almost flawless preparation for the big showdown in BJ8.
Story/Characters
For the first 90% of the play time, Ben Jordan 7 is your typical later era BJ case, with Ben, Simon and Alice working on another case together and the gradual introduction of new pieces to the series overarching main plot which is starting to take shape now. Throughout this game, indications abound that the endgame of the saga is being prepared, a feeling that is only reinforced by the game’s haunting ending. But even before that BJ7 begins to tie up loose ends, starting with the intro where we are finally introduced to Ben’s family, sharing a not-so-comfortable Christmas dinner and discussing (or rather criticizing) his career as a paranormal investigator. This family fight is a wonderful throwback to the very first BJ case that opened with a phone call of Ben’s mother. After the intro we are then teased by the idea that Ben’s late grandfather might have been a paranormal investigator too. While this notion isn’t further explored here, this is obviously a set up for BJ8, and altogether the start of the game with its extended focus on Ben’s family and background gives the distinct impression that this won’t be an ordinary case. Speaking of the case, the main plot is a bit schizophrenic this time. It starts out very dark and foreboding: a priest is murdered in cold-blood on Christmas Eve by a shadowy figure with glowing eyes, and the topic of demon possession has lots of potential. However during the course of the game, the possession plot switches to the background as the overarching series plot gradually gains more importance; we finally get an idea what is going on with all the missing relics and who the real enemies are. With the focus on the overarching plot, the resolution of the possession story is a bit cheesy and almost an afterthought. The resolution of the actual case isn’t the end of the game though – the real ending comes shortly after and is bold, brilliant and changes everything for the final instalment of the series. As revenge for his interferences, Ben is captured by the main villain and must witness Simon's grisly murder – an eye for an eye indeed. This all plays out in a shocking cutscene, and as if that wasn’t enough drama, Alice has gone missing and in the final moments of the game Ben learns of Percy Q. Jones’ involvement with the secret order – moments before he is knocked out by Percy himself. This is all very bleak and a tremendous cliffhanger. The ending is then capped perfectly by the mesmerizing end credits with their grim paintings and the perfect end song “Intervention” by Arcade Fire. The difference in impact of Simon’s death compared to Ranger Rick’s death back in BJ1 is staggering. We really cared for Simon because we saw the relationship between him, Ben and Alice start and grow steadily over the course of four games. Regarding Alice, she gets some further character development in this game as Ben and her grow ever closer, though their relationship is not in the foreground here. BJ7 also sees the long awaited return of mysterious Percy Q. Jones, in his biggest appearance since Case 3, and he manages to be as mysterious and unpredictable as ever. New characters of note in this game are the villains Vincenzo Bianchi and Cardinal Genovese, with Genovese coming off as particularly loathsome. He is clearly set up as Ben’s nemesis for the final game of the series.
Gameplay/Puzzles
Gameplay in BJ7 is exactly as we know and love it from the previous Ben Jordan games and the interface hasn’t changed either. There’s again a map screen that allows moving quickly between locations in the City of Rome. One thing that’s new in BJ7 is that we can now control the voice acting that has returned for this game via the options menu, which is a big improvement over Case 1 Deluxe. There‘s also an optional developer’s commentary track that can be activated from the menu. When active, it plays Grundislav’s thoughts about the development, the involved voice actors etc. while you are playing the game. As this commentary can be spoilery, it is suggested to only activate that option after the first playthrough. There are some very enjoyable and clever puzzles to be found this time around that tie in perfectly with the story: for example I loved Ben’s break-ins into Vincenzo Bianchi’s office and his house. Furthermore this game seemed to be a slightly bigger challenge than most other instalments in the series. The wooden symbol box puzzle in particular had me stumped for some time, until I recognized that it could be solved with a combination of general knowledge and information from the paranormal investigator’s journal that is included in the game folder as html files. This kind of outside the box thinking isn’t found often in adventure games but worked fine here. Simon and Alice were also utilized quite well in the puzzles. In summary, Case 7 has a great flow, some good challenges and the obstacles are integrated perfectly with the story. There’s never a moment where the puzzles seem artificial – with possibly the exception of the very first playable scene that is somewhat of a pixel hunt and also detached from the rest of the story. However I let that one slide because of the great story potential it opens up.
Graphics/Music
Backgrounds in BJ7 are still in the accustomed style and all very good and detailed. What I noticed especially this time are the many religious paintings and churches – in spite of the game’s low resolution they look just gorgeous in the game, Grundislav sure did a great job there. The comic book style cutscenes are again used to great effect and the characters portraits look all great – they have come a long way quality wise from the first game for sure. Of course Percy Quentin Jones gets an updated portrait and character model too. The menu bar was reworked again graphically and we get all new cursor symbols this time. The dialog boxes and inventory were also redesigned to fit the style of the new menu bar: simple black backgrounds with light grey borders. Peter Gresser's music in this game is a new series highlight, or at least it shares the top spot with Ben Jordan 3. This time the score is naturally inspired by church music with instruments like bells and organs in the mix. Themes like the one for Percy are used to great effect and I also loved the song in St Peter’s Cathedral that is later replayed in a darker, more urgent version during Ben’s break-in to Bianchi’s office. On some occasions, classical songs are used in the background to heighten the mood and the Arcade fire song in the end credits is also perfectly chosen. I will always associate that one with the ending of this game! All in all I fell in love with the BJ7 soundtrack. Sound effect wise this game has nothing to complain about, but there aren’t too many to begin with. The special sound effect for gaining points is – quite fittingly – a church bell this time. As mentioned before, Ben Jordan 7 also saw the return of voice acting, and I’m happy to say that it works much better this time. The audio quality has improved and the lines are better acted too, which surely has to do with the fact that Grundislav took a more hands-on approach to directing the voice actors this time. Moreover the speakers are all very well chosen. This is of course essential for important roles like Percy, Simon and Alice who we all hear for the first time in this game. But even small roles like the Swiss Guard in front of St Peter’s Cathedral became much memorable characters due to the great voice acting. Furthermore, the voice acting adds (intentional) humour to a few places throughout the game; it wouldn’t be half as funny otherwise. Lastly, it was a good decision to abandon the narrator this time and keep the voices for spoken dialog only.
Final Verdict
This is the big one, the game that turned me from a Ben Jordan fan into a huge fan of the series. The story takes a huge leap towards the finale and all bets are off now: as hard as it was to watch, killing off Simon – a very likeable guy and one of the series’ main characters to boot – was exactly what the series needed to kick it up to another level. Although the use of the Catholic Church (or at least a secret sub group of it) as fanatic baddies is rather cliché, the game uses them well and the final reveal of Cardinal Genovese as the series’ main villain (and provider of the game title’s clever double meaning) is pulled off nicely. But even earlier, astute players can’t shake the feeling that our favourite paranormal investigator is in over his head when he starts messing with the villains and the powerful organization behind them. It’s here that the dire warnings and prophecies from the preceding games pay off, as they only increase the overbearing feeling of doom. The cliffhanger at the end of the game might be nasty but personally I love it. And although it isn’t hard to guess the outcome of certain story threads, every time I complete this game I can’t wait for getting my fingers on Case 8. So the story is a great one, but the other aspects of this Ben Jordan game are on their peak too, from the nice detailed background art to the wonderful music and the competent voice acting. With all these positives, it’s hardly surprising that I award this game with a rating of 5/5: the best game of the series yet and an almost flawless preparation for the big showdown in BJ8.