Game 150: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (1993) - Introduction

By Zenic Reverie

Soon...

What is the draw to horror? In the intro to Veil of Darkness, I mentioned that this kind of entertainment was not my cup of tea, at least at the time it was released. I enjoyed a good mystery and had some interest in supernatural fantasy, but gruesome and especially gory art turned me away. So, once again, I probably would have passed on this game if the box were the only thing to go by.

Hanging body? weird looking face? no thanks.

The back of the box promises something a little more in line with a thriller than outright horror. A story steeped in voodoo, a generational curse, and unnerving nightmares. It gets my mind racing with possibilities. How were the Shadow Hunters formed? Why do they exist? Are there others? Is the curse triggered by some recent or future event, or has he had these nightmares throughout his life? I guess there's only one way to find out.

Veil of Darkness - A Weight Lifted (Won! and Final Rating)

Written by Zenic Reverie

Hindsight is often referred to as 20/20, but looking back on the last hurdle I needed to cross to complete Veil of Darkness has soured the experience just a touch because as far as can I tell there's no indication I needed to do this.

Thanks to Agrivar for the assist, I instantly realized this is a hole and not the tree's shadow.

Agrivar indicated it was indeed an item I hadn't used, and I should look to use it where I found it. I thought maybe I'd lasso the plane and pull a section out of the swamp. As soon as I loaded the screen though, I looked at this tree and tied the rope. The main problem I have with this type of solution to a puzzle is there's no way to examine the environment to know that shadow was a hole. Sure, I can't walk over it, but there's plenty of other fiddly bits of terrain that block progress that I didn't think much about not being able to walk under a tree. If there was an NPC that mentioned holes in the swamp, then I missed it, but as dialog is the main way the game gives descriptions I would have hoped for some hint about them or the mushrooms growing below.

Veil of Darkness - Dying a Charmed Death (Request for Assistance)

Written by Zenic Reverie

I'll start by admitting defeat. I'm stuck. I've been doing my best to avoid it thus far by scouring every place for items or clues, even replaying the game to make careful notes of words in dialogue before I learned to ask Seth for a light. I'll admit I've been a bit lax on doing so since then, and it might finally be time to pay the piper for that mistake. I thought the game would naturally give me all the pieces by the end. This game though seems keen on making me work for it. I'm facing Kairn, surely on the cusp of victory, and yet missing at least one vital step.

Maybe I need to blind myself.

I had thought avoiding the vampire's charms would require some item, and yet I've so far tried everything I have available. I hoped it was as easy as wearing the garlic necklace, but that must provide a different kind of protection. I reviewed the prophecy:

Veil of Darkness - A Good Ol' Coffin Hunt

Written by Zenic Reverie

A small correction from my last post. The Rowan staff is used to kill the Will-o-wisps, while the zombies are damaged only by the silver sword. Also, I thought I had killed Andrei to gain a crystal, but when I loaded the game up he was still alive. I attempted to kill him and realized why I didn't save, the disease zombies give is devastating. It drains continuously increasing damage, isn't cured by the gypsy woman, and I haven't found a cure for it yet. I'm not sure where I gained that crystal, but Andrei has a diamond specifically.

The machete I found by the plane proved the bane of these plant monsters.

Unlike the zombie's disease, the poison from the topiary creatures does get removed when healing at the gypsy camp. I also had many herbs that cure it, but I was hoarding them while I could make the trek back to camp. Only once I was deeper into the maze did I resort to using the nasturtium to remove the green lipstick. I could easily take out two or three creatures before needing to retreat, and as the only creature in the maze it proved easy to navigate despite the name. I picked up some comfrey plant and garlic throughout the maze. The garlic was strung together into a necklace by Annabelle. She warned to keep it hidden, lest those sided with Kairn might upon seeing it be embolden to strike me down. The comfrey doesn't seem to have a use other than trading for coin.

Veil of Darkness - A Weapon for Every Being

Written by Zenic Reverie

Thanks for hanging around.

The mace I found at the monastery was quite effective against the skeletons, and good thing too because no other weapon made a mark on their bones. Combat beyond normal wolves and bats has required a dedicated weapon to deal damage. This has led me to cautiously approach new enemies, and keep most weapons handy. I dispatched them one at a time, retreating to heal at the gypsy camp. With those two cleared I was clear to explore the graveyard and collected some betony. I found there wasn't much else to do without a means to banish the guardian in front of the crypt. Next location of interest was a crossroads that connected the towns. Here was the man hanged for the murder of Eduard. His soul, still attached to his body, had much to say. He warned me to stay away from a nearby hut that was home to an old crone.

I promise I won't give it to the witch unless it's part of the quest.

Ambrose, the hanged man, wanted his soul redeemed. Finding the true murderer was necessary. Continuing to claim full innocence, he elaborated that the magistrate had to make an example of someone to appease the Dark Lord Kairn. While in this limbo state he communicated with the spirits of the monks from the monastery, blaming their deaths on the nearby witch. The key she sought from the monks unlocks their library where a book called Etheric Rites is held. How Ambrose came by the key wasn't covered.

Veil of Darkness - A Quagmire of Relief

 By Zenic Reverie

Closest thing I could find to a lightbulb moment.

I’ve been stuck. Restarting, reaching the same point each time with no further insight. It’s difficult to consider options when they’ve virtually been exhausted. Thanks to the comments that alluded to a game mechanic as the key to progress, I believed I was on the right track in my last post. A hidden keyword was the only mechanic that made sense to trigger the plot, as I ruled out combat and items already. I reviewed the manual again front to back and back to front (skipping over the prologue story) to confirm. Breaking free of this cycle required me to review all the dialogue screenshots, and note down even the most mundane word that might act as a hidden word to trigger further dialogue. I tried each on a random NPC and cut ones that didn’t have the pause of a recognized keyword.

Veil of Darkness - Unspoken Curses (Request for Assistance)

 By Zenic Reverie

Discussing the current events with Deirdre

Last we left, Engatz had returned a bloody hammer to Kirill, completing the first task in a prophecy. He responded to the name Kairn with disdain, informing me that was the name of the ancient vampire that lords over the valley. Deirdre offered a token, her scarf, to Engatz in hopes that he would continue to fulfil the prophecy, freeing the land of Kairn's shadowy influence. They exchnaged further pleasantries, hoping for a continued relationship far away once these events were far behind them both (potential foreshadowing detected). On the topic of celebrating, she mentioned how we could break open a rare vintage wine locked away in her father's cellar. Before I headed out, I asked Kirill about wine, but he made no mention of his stock, only pointing me to the local tavern.

Veil of Darkness - The Story Begins

Written by Zenic Reverie

Honestly, it'd probably take about 8 months to fully recover from a plane crash.

Apologies for the delay. When last we left Engatz, he had just crashed outside a small forgotten town somewhere in Eastern Europe. Pulled to safety, he roused in an unfamiliar house some undetermined time later. Dierdra was watching over us, and what a sight to wake to. She instructed us to find her father down the hall. Of course, this meant we'd take the long way and explore the whole house first. As I left Dierdra's room (more than likely a guest room, but it's where Dierdra is found) I confirmed full combat difficulty. The game offered some tutorial screens as I made my way through the corridors of my benefactor's mansion. The first described doors that are inconsequential to the story with "There is nothing important behind this door." At least half of them had this message.

Game 120: Veil of Darkness (1993) - Introduction

Written by Zenic Reverie

Why is it always vampires?

Judging by its cover I wouldn’t have given it a chance. I’m not really a fan of horror, and Veil of Darkness suggests it’ll fall in that vein (not my pun). That is, until I saw the SSI logo at the bottom. Knowing them most favorably from their gold box series; I’d probably overlook that it was merely published by them and given the back of the box a look. Of course, I’m ignoring the fact that in 1993 I’d have been deeply engrossed in my growing SNES library. 

Guest Game 1: Circuit's Edge - Final Rating

Trickster's Note: The below post (and indeed all posts for Circuit's Edge) was written by guest blogger Zenic Reverie.

First and foremost, sorry for the negativity. I did not hate the game so much as dread playing it. A fine distinction I'm not sure I'm describing well in words. It's not bad. I just did not have fun. I'm not sure how clear that is, but I'll try to expound on it through a system developed by Trickster to evaluate graphical adventure games (a genre this dips into ever so slightly). Any parts of the game I don't touch upon were adequate.

Puzzles and Solvability
Puzzles... puzzles... yeah, I guess you could call them that. In reality, most puzzles are presented in such a way that you either have the item or skill necessary in which case the solution will be obvious, or you don't have the item or skill and you'll have to stumble across it without any idea of what you're looking for. Now, there were times that required me to pick up on certain keywords and use them in questioning others. It came down to either a trivially easy solution, up to clever investigative work, to "I hope you bought the necessary item there's no clue about buying." Once I generated enough funds to buy everything up, the game grew on me. It was then that I needed to rely on finding the correct person to ask about a subject, and the game once again became a pain. Searching for the one location to ask a specific keyword with little indication isn't my idea of a good time. Even when I was doing things right it felt like it was wrong, but that's due to the fault of the interface (although partially my own).
Rating: 5

 

Most of the puzzles are solved through dialogue, which would be fine if the characters could carry a conversation.

Interface and Inventory
The inventory, both items and chip implants, are limited. I understand having a limited inventory, even if I don't like it. However, implementing one forces the player to become creative with their items, like having a pile in their apartment and a separate pile down the alley. Chips aren't such a big deal as you can carry 10 even when only 4 are equippable at any one time. Inventory on the other hand is limited to 11, but that's already taken up by a space for kiam, the chip rack, the belt phone, and a banking disk; none of them felt optional, although I suppose I didn't always need the banking disk. The interface on the other hand left much to be desired. Beyond the fact that I was able to break the game just by using an item in the wrong location, I ran into many issues where I used the wrong keyword yet had no indication what were the alternatives. All but a single keyphrase (odd woman) were single words, words that the parser picked up on very well. In fact, a little too well, as when I asked about "ice pick" characters thought I was asking about a "lock pick." The limited responses to key items in the game (ice pick was the murder weapon in the beginning) didn't allow me the freedom to explore the world, to get lost in it. Instead I was playing the game the way the developers wanted. The game does have mouse support as well as a much more responsive single key menu. It does have it's quirks though, such as trying to pick up item 'E' which is also the key to exit buildings (guess which one the game always assumes you want to use). One of the best features is the ability to recall up to fifty events. These are the exact descriptions for situations of note that have passed. This may be one of the first games with an in-game journal.
Rating: 4

Hoarders 2: Using the Streets

Story and Setting
One of the most unique settings I've seen constructed in a coherent manner, wrapped in a story of taboo and intrigue. The Budayeen is said to offer up any opportunity for debauchery. It's said to be a lot of things that really don't come through in the experience of the game. Even with the in-depth back story, learning about all the characters close to Marid, I found myself lost trying to understand the connection between what I was told and what I needed to find out. I'll cover dialogue below, but I want to touch on how many of the characters are one time use and act as generic NPCs the majority of the time. The story unfolds bit by bit with many false starts (and false false starts). The small bits of information gathered at each location, with each interaction, are just enough to pull more information. The feeling of ignorance didn't lift until the final moments where the story decided to wrap itself up in a long exposition followed by an anti-climactic scene. I appreciate that it's a game that tried something different.
Rating: 5

Seems we'll have to wait a couple hundred years to confirm this game's lore.

Sound and Graphics
The music and graphics are well done. I'm easily amused when it comes to both though, so don't take me on my word. Still, I'm fairly sure it looks better than most games released at the same time. It's a bit Spartan with the number of unique locations, but given the size and scope of the Budayeen I won't knock it for reusing its graphics. Sound effects are missing altogether (save some beeps and boops when saving and loading). The main theme was quiet enough to break the silence every once in a while and leave me able to explore without distraction. Fight music was upbeat and intense, even if the fighting was not.
Rating: 6

Because I promised Trickster and everyone on this blog that I would.

Environment and Atmosphere
Dark. Violent. Lawless. These all describe the atmosphere of the Budayeen. The main street offers a wide area to explore, map, and discover; however, the rewards for doing so are small. The game is just large enough to get lost looking for a particular person who you may or may not know the identity of. The combat, and generally most of the RPG-elements seem ill-fitting with the framework of the rest of the game. Take the stats, useless outside of combat, and hidden unless a certain chip occupies one of the precious slots. Requiring rest, food, and a careful watch on the passing of time adds a sense of anxiety to leisurely exploration. Sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll are all muted in this game, a game that takes place where anything goes. Talking about sex with anyone but a hooker results in a "not with you buddy." Hookers ask to meet up later, but never tell you where. Taking any drugs results in thugs beating you to near-death. Alcohol only serves to reduce stats. Combat is a serious affair, until you get your first weapon or combat moddie. Also, outside set fights (I count three) I ran into maybe four random encounters. I even tried looking for trouble on occasion to build up some cash, ducking through alleys, and couldn't drum up any action. The option to fight random people is there, but if you attack first a cop will find out and attack you afterwards. Characters aren't even mad after you fight them. I beat down Chiri until she ran away, then called her up to have her say she was at the medical clinic where she happily chatted with me. I'd like some realism in my realistic game. The descriptions and general writing (outside of dialogue, which comes next) is enough to bump this up from the 3 I thought about giving it.
Rating: 4

If you didn't want to wait for me, then you should have told me where you were going.

Dialogue and Acting
What I felt most lacking in the game was the ability to interact with the characters in interesting ways. Instead, all characters gave stock answers for certain things, even when plot related events were happening to those characters. Abdul-Hassan was kidnapped, yet asking anyone about him while that was happening just pointed me to Hassan's store. Asking about something unimportant to the plot results in an "I don't know" while something important although unrelated to the character I ask results in "Sounds familiar..." Something that's absolutely unhelpful. Instead of offering hints like, "wasn't so-and-so friends with insert store owner" or "I think I've seen them often around 15th street," I'm left to crisscross the main street searching for the lone character that knows what I'm talking about. The back story did so well at describing these characters. It feels wrong that they've turned into interchangeable set pieces. Ask Chiri about Fuad or Saied, and you get another stock, "everyone knows <INSERT CHARACTER NAME>." Thanks game for drawing me in. Lastly, before I forget again, each moddie imparts skills that belonged to someone. In addition to the skills the personality quirks spill through and at times take over. While walking down the street while Super Spy is jacked in Marid will comment on how he could really use some imported cigarettes (which I can't buy) or how he'd feel better with his Walter PPK (which I can't buy either). In addition to the random innocuous musings (Kung Fu Master say: "Dog with bone in mouth does not bite."), the personality will interrupt a conversation and replace what you wanted to say with a random positive or negative comment related to the personality. (I found Super Spy complimented women more than any other, but that may just have been my experience.) Enough of these negative comments can cause the conversation to end, and did a couple of times, before you can gather all the information you need. It was already aggravating enough trying to guess keywords, but being interrupted mid-sentence doesn't feel... bored now.
Rating: 3

He should, you were just talking about him but forgot to tell me where I could find him.

Alright, so that's 5 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 4 + 3, which equals 27, divided by 60 equals 0.45, which is exactly 45 when multiplied by 100. (Trickster's words, my numbers.) Maybe I'm jaded in my words, but it's not a bad game. I think this is a fair score.

I'm glad I played it here as opposed to on my own, as I don't think I'd have finished it otherwise. I'm looking forward to what Chet thinks of the game when he gets to it some time this gaming year. So, did anyone guess that? Well, look at that. Ilmari guessed 45 on the dot, and with that happenstance I turn the duty of guest blogger over to him.

100 CAPs for Zenic Reverie
• Guest Blogger Award – 100 CAPs – For blogging his way through the game for our enjoyment

30 CAPs for Ilmari
Companion Assist Award – 20 CAPs – For helping Zenic out throughout the course of play through
Psychic Prediction Award – 10 CAPs – For correctly predicting the score Zenic would give the game

25 CAPs for TBD
• Sponsor Award - 20 CAPs - For sponsoring the blog with free games
• Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game sale on Steam

20 CAPs for Lars-Erik
• Companion Assist Award – 10 CAPs – For helping Zenic out throughout the course of play through
• Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game sale on GOG
• Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game sale on GOG

20 CAPs for Canageek
• Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game sale on Steam
• Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game sale on Steam
• Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game on Steam
• Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game on Steam

5 CAPs for Kenny McCormick
• Confidence Boosting Award – 5 CAPs – “Don’t hate the game, hate the player! Muahahaha!”

Guest Game 1: Circuit's Edge - Won!

Trickster's Note: The below post (and indeed all posts for Circuit's Edge) was written by guest blogger Zenic Reverie.

Final Night: "I've uncovered the identity of Tamara Carter. With this knowledge I wrapped up the whole affair of who was behind the death of Kenji Carter. I'm now sitting at the side of Papa, enjoying a nice dinner as he contemplates her fate. I sit, eat, and soak in the events of the week keenly aware of how dangerous a world the Budayeen is when in the company of Friedlander Bey."

Now here's how I imagined the conversation going the first time.

So, as I left off the last post, I found myself at a dead end. Not truly a dead end, but one enough that I reached out for help. Luckily I found the issue, as the hints provided weren't precisely what was missing; in fact they were exactly what I was doing. I considered the fact that I had broken the game, or at least found a bug in the game, where I reached a piece of dialogue from such a disconnected location that I feared I'd missed a trigger in the code. In anticipation of this I visited the nurse, and used the holoviewer in her presence. I thought this was enough, but it wasn't. I needed to use the show command instead.

She was so excited to get a snake!

The earrings delivered to the nurse freed her of ethical obligations as she revealed Tamara Carter was now going by the name of Arissa Lockhart. I get a good description of her new appearance before I head out to the best place for information, Chiriga. When I arrive, I just so happened to run into none other than Arissa. In fact, I think I've seen Arissa here many times throughout my journey. I'm sure there was another trigger in all this that allowed Arissa to open up, but when I confronted her about "Tamara" she confessed that was her true identity.

A notebook I could have found if I knew where you lived.

She confessed to killing Marco Herrera after he threatened her. Of course, the sole reason she was in his presence was to confront him about killing her father. Abu Salah seems to be the main killer behind all this, or at least the one who employed the other Herrera brother. Arissa flitted off to procure the notebook tucked in her apartment. She promised she'd call when she had it. I tried to finally rest for the night, but was awoken once again by my belt phone. "Meet me at my apartment!" Arissa invited. Great, not this again.

At this point I'm fairly sure it would be entirely expected.

Inside the apartment I found it obscenely disordered. The only thing of note was a note addressed to me from Abu. "Meet me at the warehouse where Manny died, I have the girl and the notebook," it said (paraphrased). Thus began the ending sequence. Upon arrival Abu Salah launched into a monologue where he laid out the entire plot. The notebook is one of Friedlander's workbooks where he details many of his dealings. He fears keeping such information in a computer because it's so easily infiltrated. So, this notebook came into the possession of Kenji Carter who felt the need to blackmail Papa.

Oh, and did I mention Arissa was strapped to some torture contraption?

Abu decided that he could control Papa with such information, and set out to retrieve it from Kenji, killing anyone who got in the way. Kenji and Manny were in cahoots with Abu at first, but instead of giving it to Abu were about to sell it back to Papa. The McDix were roman numerals all along, and the connection to Mack Dixon was a red herring. 1409 was the combination to the safe in Arissa's apartment that contained the notebook, a fact completely irrelevant to my interactions. Strangely 1409 is said to be the birth year of Papa... is this a different measurement of time or is this game based in the past? With the back story completely wrapped up to this point Abu levels his pistol at me, and the fight of the century begins.

Just kidding, he was a pushover.

Abu slumped to the ground, dropping the notebook. Arissa pleads to be released, but the only thing immediately available to interact with was the notebook. Picking it up, or attempting to, causes Abu to revive just enough to activate the torture device. As it whirs to life, a timer starts to countdown. Seems it needs about an hour to reach full torture potential.

Oh! You mean this black key I've been carrying around for half the game?

Dangle it in front of the lock for the next 58 minutes? Sounds like a plan...

I'm really not sure how it takes an hour for me to cross the room.

Injecting such tension when there's really none seems par for the course. The game enters its final moments with the grace of a hippo in heat. Saving Arissa causes her to collapse into my arms whimpering. Then in a strange turn she suggests we meet up later on so she can properly repay me. I'm fairly sure that won't happen though as the game appears to be wrapping up. Last step is to report to Papa.

Maybe if Marid asks nicely he'll be able to question her.

Papa is pleased I kept Tamara alive for questioning, and returning the notebook is what this whole sordid affair was about. To summarize the rest of the exposition, it's a rough life to live in the shadow of Papa, but Marid may come out of it a little better with the knowledge of what happens when you cross Friedlander Bey. After all this an epilogue scrolls by, a letter from the project director to Lt. Hajjar. It reads as an advertisement for the author's next book.

In fact, it ends with one.

And that concludes the adventures of Marid Audran for this blog. I'm fairly sure this is the only game entry for this series. If there is another, I won't be jumping at the chance to delve into it any time soon. This game just did not click with me in any way. Thank you for reading through the posts, and I hope you found something to enjoy about it. Sorry to have dragged it on for far longer than it deserved. I'll leave it up for comments to decide if I should wrap it up properly with a PISSED score.

Session Time: 0 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 13 hours 00 minutes

Guest Game 1: Circuit's Edge - Teetering on the Edge

Trickster's Note: The below post (and indeed all posts for Circuit's Edge) was written by guest blogger Zenic Reverie.

Night... I've lost track: "I'm out. That's it. No more leads. I ran around searching for Abdul-Hassan the past few nights. Now my final bit of information lies with Tamara Carter, and a single bullet found in the Herrera apartment where Marco was found dead. Will I ever unravel this web of connections?"

Well, I suppose I've wasted enough time being lazy.

Truly sorry about the delay. I've been procrastinating on this game for a few reasons. Mostly I'm not having fun with it, and that's partially due to the game's asinine way of presenting itself. In fact it's gotten to the point where I'm stuck. We'll get to that and the official request for assistance soon enough. So, on to the game. While exploring I accidentally left the game running for a number of hours. I'm not sure how long, but I discovered two things. I can't die from starvation or exhaustion, and the task to recover Abdul-Hassan has a time limit. A hidden one. Oh how I detest timers in my games, especially hidden ones. I restored my save (did I mention there's only one save), and set out to solve what I originally assumed was a side quest.

Finally a response to showing someone the ransom note.

I wandered through the night, reviewed my notes, and decided the best place to look for a lead on that bullet was Crazy Abduls. Before I got to that though I found I needed to solve the case of the other Abdul. The ransom note didn't mention a date or place to drop off the money. I started down my list of usual suspects and hit upon Saied. When I showed him the note he broke down crying. This exchange reminded me that the manual mentioned them being involved... maybe I should read it over again. Still, it wasn't all that helpful on the surface; however, at the mention of cologne I realized I might have a lead. There is a fragrance shop; maybe they could identify the scent.

I'm not sure how anyone could identify a single smell here, but like most logic in this game let's put that aside.

The shopkeeper identified the flowery aroma as that from tiger orchids. They're in short supply at the moment, but there's only a single "odd woman" that purchases the cologne made from these flowers. Next stop, the flower shop. There I learned the tiger orchids are imported from Brazil, but are currently held up by customs at the docks. The docks are another area outside the Budayeen described as the type of place I would hang out in if I wanted to get jumped. A cab ride later I looked up the address the florist gave me for the warehouse; it was completely locked up, although the description helpfully pointed out a high window.

Not sure why I couldn't just use my lock-breaking skills.

To bypass the security system I once again used the Phantom moddie (cat burglar skills). In a more traditional adventure game this would have required rope, a grappling hook, and clippers to disarm the security system. Instead I'm asked to answer what skill chip should I use this time? The description of Alpine Jack when equipped is that he wishes he had something to climb, and was eager for colder climates. Fairly obvious I needed it to scale something. Inside the warehouse it was too dark to see what each package was, yet still light enough to make out two from Brazil. I grabbed both and made my escape. In the moonlight I identified one package as tiger orchids, and the other as Cuban cigars. I took the tiger orchids back to the fragrance lady, who would create a new batch of cologne and call me once the "odd woman" picked it up. With the down time I followed up on my other lead.

Is explosive a colorful term, if not then how was there a bullet left to examine?

Well now I know the gun, and it's obvious from the description there's only one in the whole Budayeen. Every street dealer I've spoken to has only redirected me towards Abdul's shop when asked about a magnum. Seems this lead is going nowhere for now. I tried to sleep off the night's events back at my apartment, but was rudely awakened by the fragrance shop owner. She told me the woman picked up the cologne, but didn't leave her name or address; however, there was a number on the order form. The number was to Muhammad's Glass Shop, and the first place I was stumped. I called, left my name and number, and rested for the night... no call back. So, I paid him a visit instead. I asked him about the tiger orchid, "go see the florist." I asked him about Abdul-Hassan, "He's behind the counter at Hassan's store." I showed him the ransom note, "not interested". I asked about scent, aroma, flowery smell. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. With no other description and at my wit's end I asked about "odd woman."

How could I give a description when I was never given one?

The odd woman was none other than Madame Mimi, the local fortune teller. Before I left Muhammad's, I forked over 150 kiam for a finished crystal ball she was expecting. I figured she would feel better about talking with me if I did her this favor. Her building was just down the street. Her place was decorated in books on various occult subjects. She sat at a table with a crystal ball, which had a slight crack, and a pack of tarot cards. Showing her the new crystal ball elicited no reaction. I had to hand it to her to begin the exchange, which ended as quickly as it started. At least she repaid the 150 kiam. So I sat there staring into the new ball. Asked for my palm read, my fortune told, my tea leaves interpreted... nothing worked. I asked about tiger orchids, nothing. I asked about... I think you know where this is going. I searched through my notes for that one keyword that would allow me to continue. Aroma, no. Scent, no. Ransom, no. Abdul, Tamara, "odd woman;" no, no, no. Cologne! That was it.

Well that's helpful, another dead end it seems.

These random quips are so rarely fitting.

"Very close to death" obviously meant the cemetery just outside the Budayeen on the opposite end of the street from Bill's taxi. As soon as I arrived I saw a man. A man I had seen before. This time Marid recognized him immediately as the one who assaulted him at Kenji's place. A heated fist fight followed. With the help of my Kung Fu Master moddie and steelfists I beat him down until he ran away. Left behind in the aftermath was a radio direction finder. It was damaged beyond repair, but I took the frequency it was set to and entered it into my own. It lead me to a locked warehouse.

An explosion? How am I possibly going to do that?

After all the different ways I've picked locks, circumvented electronic locks, and bypassed unknown security alarms, I now needed to blow a door open with explosives. Seriously? Well, this line seems to have dried up at this point. I took stock of my possessions once more, and reviewed my potential leads. Tamara seems unrelated to finding Abdul at the moment, and the bullet doesn't seem to be much help either. Only thing left are these Cubans. Maybe they belong to the smoke shop just around the corner from Marid's apartment.

What? No. These are cigars. Here, just let me light one up.

Turns out I was carrying around plastic explosives. That takes care of that. Back to the warehouse! This should be simple: 'use' plastic explosives on warehouse. Yeah, not that easy. The game helpfully informed me I didn't seem to have all the parts I needed. Well, how the heck should I know how to use this stuff? I looked through everything I had and noted a wire and a countdown timer. Seemed logical, but once again I was told I didn't have everything I needed. I stumbled back into the street trying to drum up a clue. I started asking everyone about the terrorist. Eventually the clue about the smoke shop owner reading about him hit me over the head as I entered the Maq'allah's News stand.

If he's so infamous, why haven't I heard of him?

Luigi Casolari, now there's something I could use. Maybe there are some designs at his apartment. I hopped on the cop's computer terminal only to find they had no record of him. No record? Really? This game really hasn't covered all its bases. It's so constricting. Asking anyone about Luigi results in the same response as asking about "terrorist." That is anyone except the mortician. Luckily I kept the morgue pass around just in case I needed it. His only belonging was a moddie called the demolitionist. With that chipped in I instantly knew the missing item was a detonator. Crazy Abdul easily furnished one from off the menu. This game really makes very little sense. He got upset at me for inquiring about a .357 magnum, but happily sells me a detonator. The hypocrisy is outstanding.

You're not going to use it for anything illegal, right?

Well, that took care of that door puzzle. Inside the warehouse I found my assailant from the cemetery. It turned out the man wasn't Tamara Carter after a sex change. It was Alejandro Herrera. I didn't get the chance to ask him about his brother or Tamara. He jumped me immediately. With nowhere to run this time he quickly fell. As he drew his last few breaths, he admitted to the kidnapping, but it was his boss' idea. He then claimed to have killed Madame Mimi, although I wasn't aware of that at all. At the end, he half-warned half-threatened that his boss would get me.

I wonder if I had English 101 daddie in place if I'd have understood his yammering. I didn't care to check.

After a full night I returned to my apartment and found Papa's muscle men hanging out. They passed me a note and money. The note congratulated me on the good work finding the boy, and encouraged me to continue my investigation. Mahmoud Hassan was equally pleased, and rewarded me with a portable holodisk viewer and a static pistol (an electrical weapon). A holodisk viewer, what use could that be? Hmmm, maybe there was something more to the message Tamara had left. It turned out no, but the game surprised me in a completely new way. In such a way I didn't expect. I mean, for all its faults in strict linear progression with no outside the box thinking possible, this one response blew me away.

Who's eyes? Tamara's? Was there more to the vid... no wait, this is wrong.

Well, I broke the game, and reached another dead end at the same time it seems.

Against medical ethics, but a nice bribe would be nice.

Okay, obviously I skipped over something. It seems the code for this item wasn't programmed correctly, and doesn't check my location. Based on the conversation I figured the person I must be "speaking" with in the above screenshots was the nurse from the medical clinic. I confirmed this by visiting the clinic and asking about Tamara Carter, and received the response that the nurse was terrible with names, but might recall if I had a picture. In any case, I followed the trail of emerald earrings from the jeweler to a street dealer, to a dancer named Lily. The street dealer described her as a blonde, maybe. A couple of other dancers claimed Lily had some new emerald earrings. Asking anyone about Lily seems to produce only an unhelpful "seems familiar" phrase. I thought this was definitely the next step. But, when I finally found Lily, something must have been lost in translation because she didn't know anything about any earrings.

Yes, you, earrings, have?

I wonder if accessing the conversation with the holoviewer at my apartment messed up my game. I wonder if there's a completely different Lily I should be stalking. I wonder why the hell am I still playing this game? Well, at least it isn't Les Manly. In any case, I'm officially requesting assistance. If I can't make heads or tails of what I need to accomplish next, then I'll use said assistance, but I have a feeling I'd be stuck here for quite some time without it. My only leads are Tamara and a mystery magnum. Lily sure isn't providing any assistance. Specifically, I'd like to know if I'm doing something out of order, if there's a different Lily, or if I should be tracking down that magnum. I feel like I'm all out of options though and Tamara seems the best lead for explaining what's been going on.

Session Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 12 hours 30 minutes

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: I've written a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no points will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of Zenic requiring one. Please...try not to spoil any part of the game for him...unless he really obviously needs the help...or he specifically requests assistance. In this instance, he has made a request for assistance! Thanks!

Guest Game 1: Circuit's Edge - Success Brings Much Confusion

Trickster's Note: The below post (and indeed all posts for Circuit's Edge) was written by guest blogger Zenic Reverie.

Night 4: "I found the star sapphire! With it safely back in the jewelers hands, he eagerly parted with his Japanese language chip. I feel like this is my first quest completed. My reward, however, is about as helpful as any other lead I've received: near zero at current. My immediate leads are a bullet, a ransom note, and a black key. I learned Tamara is Kenji's daughter, and suspect she's behind the killings. Based on the holodisk I believe she is a he now, and exacting some kind of revenge or covering her trail. I'm not sure how I'll track her/him down."

Apparently it means 300 kiam and a Japanese chip to you.

Here we are once again, following another night of clues in the hope it leads somewhere. I chose the most obvious to follow, and headed for the Shimaal Mosque. I was fortunate to arrive at 12:30 am, and only had to wait another 30 minutes. Waiting in deadly silence at a Mosque in the middle of the night somehow unsettles Marid. To kill some time I asked Bill about some random things in my notes. "Tamara" generated something interesting. "Tamara Carter?" he said, "Never met her." Well, that was a bit of a surprise. The same Tamara that was involved with Manny is the daughter of Kenji. Well, it's almost 1 am; I suppose I should wait inside.

Which Carter are we talking about now?

Back in the Budayeen no one seems to know who Marco is, and no one has ever met Tamara. I started asking around about the cop computer since I have a password. Chiri suggested I might find Marco in that computer if I could learn his last name. Hmmm, where could I find a police computer? The police station possibly? At the very least I could ask Hajjar, although I was certain he would just brush me. I was right, Hajjar was no help, but in the corner was a computer, accessible through the action menu. Good job interface.

Officers only... good thing I picked up this badge.

From the computer I learned that Tamara was last known to stay at The Red Dunes Apartments, and confirmed Kenji Carter was her father. I asked around about Red Dunes, but no one knew where it was. My map revealed no current business by that name; however, a place called The Sahara seemed close. My hunch was correct. Just my luck though as she no longer lived there, and left no forwarding address. Cycling through my notes I realized I never paid Guido a visit. He might be interested to learn his hired hand had been severed.

Manny's dead? Marid, do you want a job?

Apparently Guido isn't too broken up about Manny's demise. Asking about Marco and Tamara met with the same lack of information. Instead I got a job to visit Persian Rugs to collect some money, a job Manny was in the middle of before he died. Sounds safe, let's do it. Persian Rugs was closed at the time, so I took a nap. I awoke with a start as my phone went off. Mahmoud, the owner of Hassan's (a shady operation dealing in import/export of any item desired), asked me to come over immediately. When I arrived he said everything was fine; however, the young boy that normally tends his store was strangely absent.

What more can you tell me about Abdul's disappearance?

Would it kill anyone to date their time sensitive messages?

Persian Rugs was still closed, so I rested until it opened. Abu Salah was quite amiable about the situation and happily retrieved the 1,000 kiam he owed Guido. On my way out I ran into a man that looked familiar somehow. Like I'd seen him before, briefly. Almost like I could make the connection, but Marid could not.

You look familiar. Have you ever killed Kenji Carter before, or hit me over the head in his apartment?

Do I need to whip out the ransom letter and smell it again?

I returned to Guido, and found him in a good mood. Seems getting his money will do that for him. He let drop that Abu isn't on the up and up (but who is in the Budayeen). He went on to say Abu recently hired two heavies, brothers, Marco and Alejandro Herrera. He suggested I should break into his shop and check it out. Guido gave me my 10% cut for delivery of the cash, and bid me well. Back at Persian Rugs I found the lock easily broken with an electronic lock breaker I bought during one of my spending sprees. In the back of the shop were notes about various people in the Budayeen. Among them the name McDix was crossed out, and the numbers 1409 written above. Next to that were scenes of medieval torture, and a black key. I noted the connection to the plot, and stored the key safely on my person.

This database sucks. Why isn't the information just cross-referenced?

With a new mysterious key, and the number 1409 appearing once again in connection with McDix, I've reached a new level of lost. I figured I could look up Marco at the police station now. The information they had was about as close to useless as I expected. Next, I tried to look up Alejandro Herrera; however, before the readout came up, a scripted event occurred. An officer who knew me kicked me off the computer and took my badge. I guess I can't get back on that computer now.

Another way you say?

Back at my apartment I sorted through all the junk on the floor. I grabbed my Data Terminal and Uplink Cables, jack in my Rad Hacker moddie, and dial up the cop computer. It asks for my remote login code: Gravity. With that out of the way, I now had unlimited access. Alejandro Herrera was living at the Medinah, and that's where I'll find Marco as well. When I arrived I found the door locked, and the landlord happily took my 100 kiam "bribe" without offering to open up the door. I picked up The Phantom moddie back at my place, swapped it for the Hacker I had left in, and deftly picked the lock back at Marco's place.

Are the bodies wearing name tags?

Well, there goes Marco. I carefully looked around the apartment. Clenched in the corpse's fist I caught a glint of light. The star sapphire! I pocketed it quickly. Before heading out I fished out a bullet slug from the wall. I quickly took the gem to the jeweler, and collected my reward. The 300 kiam is nice, but the Japanese daddie goes right in once I returned to my apartment. Now for my prize...

Sorry, I didn't catch your name... first and last please.

If I'm to believe Tamara has had a sex change, then this is probably not her, although I might be mistaken by the clues. The holodisk has her saying, "one last look before the new me." Her landlord mentioned her saying there were big changes in her life before she moved out. However, I can't think of any other female voice that would be speaking Japanese on Kenji's machine. Maybe her voice hasn't changed yet. In any case, I tried the apartments I've visited, and I can't enter any of them anymore. Seems I'll have to set this line aside once again. Abdul-Hassan is still missing with no leads as well. My one follow up is this bullet slug I retrieved from the Herrera's wall. Maybe Crazy Abdul can identify the gun this exact bullet went to, and suggest who owns it. Nah, that's probably too crazy for this game, but it's what I'll try next time I start out.

Session Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 9 hours 00 minutes

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: I've written a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no points will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of Zenic requiring one. Please...try not to spoil any part of the game for him...unless he really obviously needs the help...or he specifically requests assistance. In this instance, he's not made any requests for assistance. Thanks!