Okay I have some good news and some bad news about this Ben Jordan game from Grundislav Games. The good news is that this is not the last Ben Jordan game. The bad news is that this game is the last one that has been completed which means we have to wait for the actual last game concerning Ben’s eighth and final case, which will also be bad news for Ben Jordan fans because we love these games so much. So without further ado… “It’s Christmas Eve in Rome. What should be joyful becomes a tragedy as a priest is murdered in cold blood. Ben receives a call from the man accused of the crime, begging him to go to Rome and clear his name. Seeing this as a chance to prove his career choice to his disapproving family, Ben calls up his friends and starts another investigation. Some lives will be lost…”
If you want to see the breakdown read on…
Well the graphics have improved since the first incarnation of the Ben Jordan series. Truth be told I didn’t see Case 1 until Grundislav Games made a deluxe version of it. Case 7 is more in line with the graphic styling and other bits of the deluxe version of Case 1. Also like Case 1 Deluxe this one has speech. The speech is slightly (very slightly) cringe-worthy, but nothing that spoils the game. Although it is a little cringe-worthy the voice actors still do an admirable job of adding speech to the game. As always the music is superb. If I ever get around to making my great adventure game, maybe I will get a chance to hire the guy (or guys?) that do the music for this series.
The interface is pretty much the same as the rest, except the icons are much, much, better, and you get to turn on and off subtitles or voices. There’s also a nifty “developer commentary feature” which once I get finished with this case I will gladly listen to. The one only little gripe I have about the game is the fact you can’t control the volume of the music and voices. Sometimes the music simply overpowers the voices (this is why I turned on both speech and subtitles). The lip-sync with the voices are great though like Case 1 Deluxe. Also some of the character portraits have various expressions which is a nice touch.
So basically Ben wants to show his family his line of “work” is legit, and goes to Rome on the phone call of a guy named Renzi who’s been arrested for murder. Renzi wants Ben to come and clear him of the murder. While the phone call doesn’t really mention anything paranormal, it’s clear that there’s something odd than just a straight murder. Ben calls up his friend Simon who is just champing at the bit to get away from his family on the Holidays. Ben also calls up Alice, who says she can’t just get away and may join them later.
— Several bleary-eyed hours later —
While this is a decent entry in the series, the ending sort of seems anti-climactic. I realize the “cliffhanger ending” was needed but I didn’t feel I got my time’s worth out of this game. On top of that this game presented some elements I felt bothered me as a Christian. It didn’t exactly offend me but it’s more of a tone off-color jokes have. There were two instances that were plain wrong, I will say them here but first disclaim that they may be spoilers. However I’ll try to put them in a context that doesn’t give anything away.
— possible spoilers next —
Firstly was concerning an item Christ supposedly used to exorcise demons. Nowhere in the Bible that I’ve read said He needed any kind of item to do that. I believe priests are supposed to have used some holy items (cross or whatever), but Christ didn’t use items for anything like that. Secondly is a comment by one of the characters about an eye for an eye being in the bible, which is also false. That’s from something called The Code of Hammurabi, which was an ancient law code enacted by a Babylonian king. I think a few readings of the Bible would have been in order, however that would probably be a long undertaking, so it might have made sense to at least ask those who’ve read the Bible. Other than that the game is ok.
— end of possible spoilers —
All-in-all a fairly enjoyable episode. However while the quality of artwork and music and general game play, to me this wasn’t the best in the series. I think you should play this only if you’ve played the others (that sort of comes into play here, no pun intended). Since they are free, you can simply play them any time you wish.
Name: Ben Jordan Case 7: The Cardinal Sins
Developer: Grundislav Games
Price: Free
Platform: Windows
Where you can get it: Here!
Tags: Adventure, Ben Jordan, Case 7, game, game reviews, games, Grundislav Games, Indie Flux, IndieFlux, point and click, point'n'click, Uhfgood
I found the whole amulet idea particularly disturbing. It seem that Grundislav’s knowledge about Christianity is lacking. (see this thread for an example: http://bj4u.livejournal.com/4561.html ) However the old ‘eye for an eye’ rule does appear in the Old Testament. I quote from wikipedia:
“The phrase “an eye for an eye”, Hebrew: עין תחת עין, ayin tahat ayin, is a quotation from several passages of the Bible (Leviticus 24:19–21, Exodus 21:22–25, and Deuteronomy 19:21) in which a person who has injured the eye of another is instructed to give his or her own eye in compensation. At the root of this principle is that one of the purposes of the law is to provide equitable retribution for an offended party. It defined and restricted the extent of retribution in the laws of the Old Testament”.
Of course the rule was later abolished by Jesus. However as Cardinal Genovese is a religious fanatic it is perfectly logical that he refers to the old law.
Goury – I stand corrected then. I’ve read through the Bible several times however I don’t necessarily remember everything I’ve read.
Thanks for the comment!
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Indie Flux review of Ben Jordan Case 7 by Grundislav Games | IndieFlux.com