Brilliant
Firstly the game looks and sounds brilliant and has a talented cast. It uses blue screen technology and live actors. Most of the environments allow for full 360 degree panning, and look believable. The music is non-intrusive and is used well to enhance the settings. The acting is excellent, and never seems wooden or amateur.
The puzzles are engaging, logical and all fit into the story line well. None of them require illogical actions (such as using an unrelated item found somewhere else) and with patientce and logic all can be solved without too much difficulty. One is ridiculously hard but still beatable in the end. I've played several games of this genre, and this is the only one where all of the challenges make sense and can be solved without huge and unrealistic leaps in logic.
The storyline is really engaging from the start, and builds up dramatically as the game continues. The plot deals with brutal murders and the occult so may not be everyones cup of tea, however no one can say that the mystery isn't intriging. I would find myself thinking about the plot even when I wasn't playing the game and was fascinated to get to the end and solve the mystery. The end is a long time coming! At 8 disks this is no Sunday afternoon time waster. It took me three weeks to complete this game first time around and never once did I become bored or frustrated. The plot also takes in real life historical events. The way that ficticious characters and events are integrated into the real life events is plausible and well done. The links never seem ridiculous or contrived.
My only criticism is of the games producers. Why was it not better marketed? Why have very few people ever heard of this game? Why do you not seem to care about it? I was introduced to the game by a friend, I have since introduced it to others and everyone has loved it! While the genre might not be the most popular, within its niche market this game could have been huge. It is a great shame that it wasn't.
If you have an older spec machine that can run the game (my current Windows 2000 machine won't run the game) then buy this game. You won't be disappointed.