I'm fairly certain that one day archaeologists will uncover primitive point-and-click adventures made by the Egyptians out of brass, papyrus, and scarabs. (Everything is better with scarabs.) It's an old genre, and you either love it or you hate it. It's probably one of the easiest games to make, but it's also one of the hardest to make well, so it's understandable that it's gotten a bit of a bad rep. But every once in a while a series comes along that shows the others how it's done and rewards your loyalty with something special. In this case, it's mysticism, mystery, and mediums in The Blackwell Convergence from Wadjet Eye Games.
Rosangela Blackwell is a writer. Or, at least, she would be if publishers would stop rejecting her work. And the ghosts of New York would leave her alone. Because Rosa, as it turns out, is a much better medium than a writer, and together with her begrudgingly helpful spirit guide, Joey Mallone, she's started to investigate bigger and bigger cases. Fortunately for her career, New York has no shortage of drama, and it isn't long before Rosa senses a connection in a string of seemingly unrelated murders. Unfortunately for her, she might not be ready to find out what that connection is.
Although technically the third in a series of games centered around the Blackwell family, The Blackwell Convergence does a decent job of providing you with enough background information on the two main characters that you can play it without having played the others. Rosa, as mentioned, is a medium, and can see and speak with ghosts. Joey is Rosa's spirit guide, and can do most of the standard ghostly things you would expect, including passing through doors. You can swap between them at any time by clicking on the initials that appear at the top of the screen when you move your cursor close to it.
The game plays like any point-and-click adventure. If an object can be interacted with, the name of it will appear when you move the cursor over it. Left-clicking on an item, person, or place will cause your character to move to it and interact, if possible. Right-clicking examines an object or person and tells you more about it. Throughout the game Rosa will discover various clues she'll jot down in her notebook. You can refer to this in conversation to find out more information on a specific topic, which in turn helps open up new locations and scenarios.
There's actually not a tremendous amount of puzzle solving to be had, and most of them boil down to going to the right places and talking to the right people, aside from a few easy item puzzles. The emphasis here is on story, which The Blackwell Convergence carries off with aplomb. Once you've explored an area as Rosa, investigate as Joey, who has a drastically different opinion on nearly everything. The dialogue is snappy, the characters interesting, and the atmosphere top notch.
Let's get one thing straight. This game is so pretty I want to stand under its balcony in the rain, holding John Cusak's stereo over my head blaring '80's rock ballads until it agrees to go to the school dance with me. I've always been a fan of pixel art, and Blackwell Convergence swings for the fences with it here. The attention to detail and depth of colour in not only the characters themselves but every scene is absolutely amazing. It's also pretty easy on the ears too, with a wonderful soundtrack and voice acting. (And if you don't think the voice acting is wonderful, or just prefer your adventures silent, you can turn it off in the options.)
Analysis: Admit it. You heard "point-and-click" and that vein in your forehead ticked a little. The Blackwell Convergence does fairly well on the items front by keeping your inventory uncluttered until you actually need the item you pick up. Where it does falter, however, is Rosa's notebook. Early on she expresses concern over its safety. Halfway through the game I wanted to set it on fire. A big chunk of advancing the plot is achieved through discussing the contents of Rosa's notebook with people, which can be frustrating when that ultimately boils down to choosing the same dialogue option over and over in conversation until it seems to have exhausted itself, and then repeating it again with someone else.
What's clever are the various mechanics inside the game that inject a little variety into the genre. Rosa's computer will become very important to you as you use it to check e-mail, search for addresses, and "Oogle" for information. Joey can be used to eavesdrop on people or to disrupt certain bits of technology. Or keep vicious animals occupied with his tie. While you're still ultimately doing a lot of walking back and forth, the game is adept and injecting enough new concepts into the old point-and-click formula that it doesn't feel stale.
Part of what makes Blackwell Convergence such a pleasure to play is its stellar cast. All of them are interesting and distinct, but for me, at least, it's Rosa herself who really stands out. Game heroines are a tricky bunch, and are frequently either portrayed as insufferably perfect hard-cases, or fragile, "adorably" shy and pure do-gooders. Rosa, by contrast, is refreshingly... well, normal. She's a little bit awkward, doesn't have a comeback for every situation, tells a few corny jokes, but is gutsy and dependable when she needs to be. She's just a regular chick who happens to hang out with condescending dead guys, and by keeping her qualities mortal like the rest of us, Wadjet Eye has given us a heroine we can relate to.
So what's the downside to all this shining praise? Well, the game is short. Like, "Where the heck did my afternoon go?" short. Time really does fly when you're having fun, and I emerged from The Blackwell Convergence a little bewildered to discover I should have started supper several hours ago. I wanted more, not because I felt the story was lacking, but because it had done so well. It has a story to tell, and does so. There was a nearly two year delay between the last game in the series and this newest, and had the game been any longer, I suspect we'd still be waiting on it.
Is it fun? Oh yes. Do I recommend it? Absolutely. With a strong story and some of the highest standards I've seen in a point-and-click adventure, the Blackwell Convergence is a rare treat. It may be short, but Wadjet Eye Games doesn't scrimp when it comes to quality, and will leave you eagerly awaiting the next story in the series. Give the demo a try and decide for yourself. Any game where the creators thank coffee in the end credits is a game I hold dear to my heart. It's nice to have developers who understand you.
Windows:
Download the demo
Get the full version
Mac OS X:
Not available.
Try Boot Camp or Parallels or CrossOver Games.
Walkthrough Guide
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The Blackwell Convergence Walkthrough
Intro: New York City, West Side
Watch the cutscene. Click door. No luck.
Switch to Joey using Tab or clicking the J button in the dropdown menu.
Examine (right-click) the shiny object near the door to discover a paper clip. Click to blow it under the door to Rosangela.
Switch to Rosa. Click the paper clip in your inventory, then the door.
Click the desk to find an obituary. The information in the obit will be stored in your notes, accessed by the top menu.
Click the sheet from the middle window to pull it down.
Switch to Joey. Click the ghostly hand on the left side of the center window. After conversation with Rosa, click hand again to go outside and talk to ghost.
Consult notebook to confirm that he is the man from the obituary. Convince him to come inside and talk to Rosa (by pretending his wife or a potential business partner is inside).
As Rosa, select a conversation option that insults him. He will get defensive and pull himself together. Watch the cutscene.
Meet Frank Lyons
Back at the house, examine the calendar to discover you are late for an art opening.
Click the computer and do a web search for "Park Gallery" to find the address of the art opening.
Click the elevator then the Park Gallery location.
Talk to Nisha until she introduces you to Monique. Talk to Monique and get her business card - plan to meet tomorrow to hear her ghost story.
Try to leave the opening, Nish will ask you to stay. Select stay, and you will get drunk and have a strange cutscene at the portal.
Wake up the next morning at your apartment. Examine Monique's card in your inventory to get her address.
Go to Cube Star Films. Talk to Monique about actor until you get new location - Gothic Bridge, Central Park. Talk about cat.
Leave and go to Gothic Bridge. Talk to ghost as Joey to confirm identity as Frank Lyons. Continue talking until he mentions a new location - "The Minetta".
You can attempt to talk to him as Rosa, but he will just think you are his co-star running through the lines.
Return to Blackwell Residence and do an internet search for "Minetta". It is a pub near your place.
Go to the Minetta and question the bartender. He's never heard of Frank.
Return to Cube Star and talk to Monique until she tells you about Frank's apartment.
Run Through the Script
Return to Frank and talk to him as Joey. Talk about the Minetta until he mentions the Joe Gould fund.
Go to your residence and do a web search for Joe Gould fund. Return to the Minetta and question the bartender about Joe Gould.
Examine the big portrait of Joe Gould on the wall behind you.
Return to Cube Star. At this point it should be raining, and the cat, Isla, will come inside. Talk to Monique about Isla.
As Joey, play with Ilsa. Then switch to Rosa while the cat is playing, and examine the cat to find Frank's address on its ID tag.
Go to Frank's apartment. As Joey, enter the apartment. Examine the papers on the table - it is the script for the film.
Now you know how to finish the lines with Frank. Go back to Frank and talk to him as Rosa. Give the following responses:
Ask him how he knew.
Tell him he's dead.
You aren't going.
Repeat yourself.
Tom.
Once you've gone through the lines, Frank will realize he is dead. During cutscene at Portal, discover that Frank was murdered - didn't die of heart attack.
The Countess and Claude
Cut back to Joey - cutscene with scary Countess ghost. Back at apartment, Joey tells Rosa about the Countess.
Next morning Joey tells Rosa a portrait of the Countess was at the gallery. Return to gallery and look at the painting. Notice the lighthouse.
Talk to Claudia about the portrait until she gives you new location - Roosevelt Island Lighthouse. Also discuss the investors to learn about the Meltzer Foundation.
Go to the lighthouse - nothing there.
Head to Minetta to find Claude. He's not quite drunk enough to talk about his art yet. Discuss Joe Gould to discover a connection between Joe Gould and Joseph Mitchell - the reporter linked to the Countess!
Return to Cube Star and talk to Monique about Joe's death and the Meltzer Foundation. Turns out they invested in her as well!
Return to your residence and do a web search for the Meltzer Foundation. Find their address online.
Head to Meltzer Foundation. Exhaust all conversation options with Paul Meltzer. At the end he will give you a business card with their email address.
Leave, then choose to have Joey stay behind and eavesdrop. Stay until they say the email password:
TENNIS53
Return home, logout of your Bmail account on the computer, and log into Meltzer using:
login: PAULM and password: TENNIS53
Read all emails.
Afterwards, Joey should suggest you head to gallery. Return to gallery for opening.
Talk to Claude. He won't talk to you unless you understand art. He'll stand in front of several paintings and ask you what you think. Select the responses that are thoughtful questions about what the work represents. If you choose correctly, he'll ask you to step outside with him. Explore all conversation options, and warn him about Countess.
John Goldwater
The next morning, return to the Roosevelt Island Lighthouse. Talk to the man standing there. As Joey, examine the coffee mug the man is holding to learn about Gold Tech.
Return home and do a web search on Gold Tech to find out about John Goldwater, who died at the lighthouse. The man was probably his father.
Return to the lighthouse and talk to Martin Goldwater again. He'll now talk to you. Talk about Joe Gould, and his son John until he tells you about Lazarus Technology.
Return home and look up Lazarus on the internet to get their phone number. Click the phone next to the computer to call the company.
Meltzer Foundation Connections
Go to Park Gallery and talk to Claudia. Learn about her windfall.
Go to Meltzer and discuss how they have profited from each death. Leave room and have Joey eavesdrop. Overhear Paul call Charlie "Scooter" Recall from emails that Charlie sent an email to Paul reminding him that his email password is his childhood nickname.
Return to home. Log into Charlie Meltzer's Bmail account with
login: Charles and password: Scooter.
His email account contains the names of all the people who have died! While you talk to Joey about what to do next, your name appears in his inbox. Rosa is next!
The Countess
Countess appears in the Blackwell residence. While Joey struggles with her, leave the apartment and enter the trash room down the hall.
When the Countess and Joey go into Nisha's room, return to your residence.
Examine the picture of your aunt which is shaking on the wall.
When the Countess and Joey return to the apartment, use the picture of Rosa's aunt on the Countess.
Breaking the Link
After cutscene, you'll be at portal with Joey, Countess and Madeline. Agree to help.
You and Madeline will be at a floating island Diner - the link between the Countess and her victims. Inside are Joe Gould and Joseph Mitchell!
Talk to Joe Gould until you get his essays. Take the paper clip off the essays. Joe really wants a cigarette.
Talk to Joseph - he will give a cigarette to Joe if they don't have to be around each other.
Use the paper clip on the kitchen door in the back. The creepy voices from your dreams!
Click the center oven - there is a strange glow inside. Click the strange glow to talk to it. It is a part of the Countess. She doesn't want to move - its warm in the oven. Try to take the light, but your hand goes through it.
Joe enters the room.
Return to the main room to talk to Joseph Mitchell. Tell him Joe is in another room, and he will give you cigarettes for him.
Return to kitchen and give pack to Joe. Talk to him about the cigarettes, and he will give you one.
Use the lit cigarette on the light in the stove - the warmth is a good enough substitute for the oven to get the Countess part to come with you.
Leave the diner and talk to Madeline.
Cleaning up the Mess
Seems like the Countess was pretty upset at Charles. Head to the Meltzer Foundation to check on him.
Talk to Paul, then head to roof. While Countess is struggling with Charles, use cigarette with ghost fragment with the Countess.
When Countess and Joey are fighting, have Rosa pick up Joey's tie.
Occasionally when they are fighting, the Countess brings her hand back to wind up a spell. When her hand is back, have Rosa use the tie on her hand.
While Rosa has the Countess's hand, switch to Joey and click the Countess to strike her.
Watch the final cutscene. Congratulations!
Posted by: eileen
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August 2, 2009 7:11 PM