Ben Jordan Case 4

Jhumjhum · Thu 10/03/2005 03:58:36

Absolutely fantastic game! Definitely one of the best games! Too good man! Much better than many commercial adventure games made these days. I dunno how do u do it everytime? Ben Jordan keeps getting better and better!

The game was so good , I didn't mind the arrow cursor problem.
The timer in the phone was getting difficult a bit coz I'm slow.

But I'm scratching my brains trying to find out how did I get 106 points? Can we please get the pointlist??

Did u by any chance think of releasing the ..er..source code (at least of Ben1) so er.. it would benifit newbies like me.

Hope the next game is really long, like Gabriel knight. I know I'nm greedy but I just wanna keep playing Ben Jordan. I finished this one in 2 days, I hope the next one is big enough so I finish it in 20 days! (without getting badly stuck!)

Sinitrena · Fri 11/03/2005 05:23:07

It is a really great game, like all Ben Jordan games. But, in my opinion, it's not the best of them: I think Ben Jordan 3 was better. It has more atmosphere which is the most important part in an adventure game. Nevertheless I liked it and I'm looking forward to Ben Jordan 5

Problem · Fri 11/03/2005 10:56:59

This game is very good. The Ben Jordan Games keep getting better. I think the story wasn't as interesting Ben Jordan 3 and the puzzles were very easy, but you did a fantastic job at character development. I liked the overall athmosphere and the dialogues. The only thing to complain about is the way the cellphone works, but I got used to it.
Take the gameplay and athmosphere of Part 3, combine it with the characters of part 4, and Ben Jordan 5 will be absolutely brilliant

GarageGothic · Sat 12/03/2005 10:55:45

Great game. I really enjoyed it. Not quite as much as BJ3, which imho had a better story, but it was very atmospheric. Perhaps a bit more background for the Horror would have made it even scarier. Overall the artwork and animation was lovely. And the characters were well written and sympathetic.

Now, a couple of bugs I came across:

Spoiler

1. Right before the blood in the shower, if you talk to Otto before talking to Alice, the English guy screaming will never be triggered. This seems to be a dead end.

2. Minor graphical glitch. When entering the full phone number, the 8th digit will disappear off the display.

3. As somebody else mentioned, it's possible to call Miggs and tell him that you can't open the basement door, even after visiting the basement.

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UP · Sat 12/03/2005 20:56:47

Well, I don't have much to add to everything before me... Still great quality, not totally as, eh, ground-breaking as I had anticipated, but still just amazing work.

About the whole game:

Spoiler

I kinda liked the not-so-puzzle-packed, but more like wandering around-thingie you had there, though maybe it missed a few puzzles, at least something in the end, some "grand finale" or something like that...

Why, oh why didn't he wear his old clothes, even for just a bit? I'm quite disappointed... It's a trademark...

[close]

Nothing else even a bit new to add...

Thank you.

Seleceus · Tue 15/03/2005 13:51:43

I, too, must add by accolades for this game. Another very good sequel to a series that appears to be improving some aspect of development with each episode.

Keep up the great work, and thank you.

Reko · Wed 16/03/2005 17:27:02

One very nice game. I greatly enjoyed both BJ3 and BJ4; once thing I'll say is I particularly like the Sierra-style dialogue system, the way the portraits are displayed animated alongside the speech seems to add a lot to the dialogue.

JB player · Mon 28/03/2005 20:48:16

umm,i have found the book in the shelf but i cant find the key,some say its under the rug in the lobby but when i try using hand on it he says he hasnt any reason to look under the rug! help! Ã,Â

BlackDragon1200 · Tue 29/03/2005 05:56:21

Good game, not quite your best (BJ3 still wins in that department) but a good game none the less.

Now for some of my grievances. One of the big problems I have had with the Ben Jordan series has been the puzzles. While I agree that it is always good for a game to be able to be finished without a walkthrough or excessive â€œtrying everything on everythingâ€ you must also make sure it doesn't just become an interactive story. I have never needed a walkthrough with any of the Ben Jordan games but at the same time I have never been stuck either. This I find as a problem as none of the Ben Jordan games have ever presented me with a challenge and the only thing that has kept me playing has been the wonderful story lines. This hasn't been a huge problem thus far but after playing BJ4 I have started to get a little worried as I have to say that puzzle wise it was one of the easiest adventure games I have ever played. This is by no means meant to be a slight against you in any way but simply constructive criticism on what has the potential to be an awesome adventure series. I play adventure games for both the storyline and the puzzle solving challenge and it pains me to find such a great series lacking so greatly in one of these departments while shining so bright in the other.

Spoiler

(though I also would have really loved to have found a little more history on where the horror came from and why he/she hated the bell)

[close]

JB player · Tue 29/03/2005 09:22:23

helloooo!? still cant find it!!

BlackDragon1200 · Tue 29/03/2005 11:44:17

Quote from: JB player on Tue 29/03/2005 09:22:23
helloooo!? still cant find it!!

Spoiler

The book has a lock on it. Maybe you could force it open with something?

[close]

JB player · Tue 29/03/2005 18:17:27

i gave blood in a jar and lighted candle to madame tilby (correct name?)
but whats the deep personal thing!?

sunshinegold · Tue 29/03/2005 19:57:06

Quote from: JB player on Tue 29/03/2005 18:17:27
i gave blood in a jar and lighted candle to madame tilby (correct name?)
but whats the deep personal thing!?

Have you spoken to Percy lately

JB player · Tue 29/03/2005 20:16:33

hmmmmm....simon is gone and otto and the other girl are researching and tilly is in coma...i went to my room,got a call from percy...now what?

JB player · Tue 29/03/2005 20:25:09

oh,also got my window open

Neil Dnuma · Tue 29/03/2005 20:27:50

Do not double post. And check the thread in the hints section.

JB player · Tue 29/03/2005 20:29:37

but i cant edit,im only a guest

Nightfable · Wed 30/03/2005 05:44:36

Oh yeah! 107 out of 107 pts!Ã,Â 8) This game was great, it creeped me right out! I love it!!

2ma2 · Wed 30/03/2005 12:09:19

It was very good! I've seen these Jordan games here and there and thought I had better check one of them out. You managed to deliver and maintain a lovely tounge-in-cheek horror feeling throughout the story. The puzzles were a tad easy though, and why oh why are we not allowed to look where we want to look directly..

Nice to see a rich gallery of characters, albeit the relationship between them get's a bit tossed in your face sometimes. Other times it gives more depth, but mostly it's a bit of "I know where this is going"-kind of set up. But hey, most games don't even try, and other games overdo it more and are praised for it's depth (like a specific series of japanese rpgs.. ho-hum

)

Big kudos to all small but atmospehre enhancing animations. I have been away from the scene for quite a while now, so perhaps it is a part of what's expected now, but I really enjoy all tiny things, like the german turning from his computer. Simply great!

Storywise it is quite smooth but stunted here and there. I like the fact that you take a seclosed area and alter it in order to enhance the exploration value. It's something I loved in "Colonel's Bequest" and you do not often see it. Other times it's uncertain what I have to do to get things going further. I had problems getting the meeting in the travel room going, and I don't quite know exactly what made it trigger.

107 points baby

Keep it up! I'm definatly playing some more Ben Jordan I tell you that!

ildu · Thu 31/03/2005 16:40:49

Wow. Just finished the fourth case and I'm stupefied in awe. I played through all previous cases yesterday and finished the fourth one today.

My likings in order:
1. Case 4: Great story, very good set of characters, a simple small play area (which didn't affect my judgement other than positively. It's weird how compact this little game is. It's long enough to get a good resolution and a full adventure, and it's short enough not to get bored with the areas and the story. I think the restricted areas made this game rock. In any other story, I'd be bored with the same rooms time after time, but in this it didn't bother me at all. You set a premise for companions in future episodes and you definately captured the atmosphere. Great.

2. Case 3: Good story, although the whole witchcraft in medieval village doesn't usually rock my boat. It was more of a dialog-oriented game than the first two cases, where much was done just combining items (which I love). The game had lotsa twists that worked well and alternate endings.

3. Case 1: A good enough story for a first case. Really liked the puzzles although the game was pretty short. Not so challenging graphically as the following cases. I liked the premise more than in case 2.

4. Case 2: Although this had a long and puzzle-filled plot, it didn't do it for me. It was all over the place at times, such as having too many characters introduced too quickly. Also, I didn't go for the story too eagerly. A good game to follow-up case 1 anyhow.

Anyway, congrats on the great game. Almost shopworthy.