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 We’ll soon have
a full review of Jack the Ripper by the erstwhile Ray Ivey, but
in the meantime we thought we would share some thoughts
from our hands-on experience with the final version of the game.
You play as James Palmer, a reporter for the daily newspaper New
York Today. A rash of murdered and mutilated prostitutes triggers
your nose for news and through some investigative reporting you soon
deduce that it is decidedly possible that the London serial killer
known as Jack the Ripper has set-up shop in the seedy bowels of the
Low Side of New York City.
 Jack
the Ripper is played
entirely from a first-person point-of-view, except for third-person
cut-scenes. It covers a twelve-day period
from November 16th, 1901 to November 27th, 1901. The game does mirror
some of the real-life events of the infamous 1888 London murders:
prostitutes are found butchered with some of their vital organs missing
and the reporter assigned to the case (that’s you!) soon receives
packages full of unwelcome surprises courtesy of The Ripper.
Each day features a series of events and puzzles that must be completed
and there is a clear distinction that some duties can only be accomplished
during either daylight or evening hours. Once you have successfully
completed a day, night falls and you then begin the next day fresh
in your newspaper office.
 None of the puzzles are
extremely taxing as Ripper is more concerned with propelling the
player forward to enjoy the experience rather
than letting the player stew over a puzzle for days. The few more
difficult puzzles – escaping from a slaughter-house and a nifty
little puzzle in the Pinkerton agency that I won’t ruin for
you - are entirely in keeping with the atmosphere and time period
of the game.
 The characters are a motley
crew, such as you would expect from a game set in the slums of
1901 New York, but most memorable and
the best realized character is easily Abigail, a cabaret singer at
The Red Chapel. She sings two beautiful songs that were composed
especially for the game and they are wonderful melodies that add
immensely to the atmosphere. Ambient sounds are also very well done.
For much of the game you find yourself in back alleys and streets
that are devoid of much of the characters populating the main avenues,
but the sounds of the street – the rumbling subway cars, the
murmur of pedestrians – add a nice touch
 The developers, Galilea
Multimedia, have done a wonderful job
of recreating the gritty look of turn-of-the-century
New York. If you have played any of their previous games – The
Cameron Files: Secret at Loch Ness
or Pharaoh’s
Curse: Cameron Files 2
- then you know what to expect graphics wise. For Ripper they have
integrated real-time 3D characters and items onto 360° pre-rendered
environments and the effect is very realistic. If I have a complaint
here, it is that the graphics are at times so detailed that I often
wished I could interact with more items or been able to close-in
on and read the numerous posters and flyers scattered about.
The entire game is mouse-driven as looking around, moving, character
interaction, map access and inventory items are all easily controlled
by moving your cursor and then either right or left clicking. Movement
between areas is done via a map of the city and new areas are open
to explore once you find new information and then drag and drop it
on a stickpin on the map.
 Now, I admit upfront that
I am a Ripper aficionado - and in fact highly recommend that anyone
playing this game then read Patricia
Cornwell’s excellent Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper
Case Closed
- so my personal opinions would probably be a little harsher than
the average persons. But overall – except for a few anachronisms
that I’ll let you discover for yourself – Galilea, much
to their credit, has done a masterful job of creating a game based
on violent subject matter that is actually subtle in its presentation.
 When I first saw this
game almost two years ago, it featured some first-person shooting
scenarios and I’m thrilled to announce
that they have been removed. Yes, there is a gun in the game, but
do you use it? I’m not telling. Nor will I spill the beans
on whether or not the identity of the Ripper is revealed or if he
is finally captured. You’ll have to turn the lights out and
find out on your own.
Now if you’ll excuse
me, I have some liver on the grill and it smells quite tasty.
System Requirements:
- Windows® 95/98/2000/ME/XP
- Pentium® III 500MHz (Pentium® IV 800MHz Recommended)
- 64MB Ram (128 MB
Recommended)
- 16 MB Direct3D® Compatible Video Card (32 MB Recommended)
- DirectX®7 Compatible Sound Card
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