The Blackwell series - A murder mystery of mediums and their monumental task of moving mourning spirits to mankinds most miraculous marvel of mystical mention - Infinity!  (Hey that doesn't start with "M"... #@&%!!!)

Following the success and critical acclaim of adventure titles The Shivah and The Blackwell Legacy, Wadjet Eye Games has released their third adventure called Blackwell Unbound.  Although this is the second Blackwell title to date, Blackwell Unbound is a prequel of sorts because the events and story take place before The Blackwell Legacy.  While the two games are connected, either title can be enjoyed without any prior knowledge of the other's plot, even though Blackwell Unbound takes place roughly 30 years before the events that occur in The Blackwell Legacy.  The games are linked but not in a way that forces gamers to play either one in any particular order.  Although, playing both games does help fill a few gaps and answer a few questions regarding the Blackwell family’s recent history.  While the games are similar in play style and make-up, players will actually get to control two of the main characters this time around - Lauren Blackwell and the family legacy himself, Joey Malone.

Lauren Blackwell is our jaded and embittered, chain-smoking heroine who happens to be a medium (a person who can hear, see, and speak with ghosts).  Joey Malone is a smart-alec know-it-all with lots of attitude and a keen eye for noticing things out of the ordinary and -- he's a ghost.  Joey also happens to be the spirit guide to Lauren Blackwell.  The two are inextricably bound to each other by forces beyond human understanding.  Between them, they bare the burden of helping lost souls find their way into the light, infinity, or the afterlife as it were.  Helping lost souls isn't easy though as some of these souls are stuck, drifting aimlessly for a reason and in many cases, they do not yet realize that they are ghosts.  It's up to Lauren and Joey to figure out how they can help.

When a string of mysterious events and murder strikes New York's Manhattan Island, Lauren and Joey are the only ones aware of the supernatural nature behind it all and only they can help those that have fallen and prevent a killer from striking again.

Obviously that's just a short description but frankly I don't want to spoil what I found to be an enjoyable story and memorable adventure game, nor do I want to ruin the mystery behind Blackwell Unbound.

Just like The Shivah and The Blackwell Legacy, Unbound has a great story and a handful of interesting characters you can interact with, and interrogate.  In fact, this time you control two main characters who both have unique abilities, personalities, and must interact with their environments differently.  Lauren, being alive and physically able, can equip and use items, consult her notes, and interrogate the other "living" inhabitants she encounters.  Joey on the other hand is merely an apparition and can't be seen by anyone besides Lauren, or another medium.  His disposition allows him to interact with other ghosts, but also gains him access to areas, locked rooms, and other locations near by that Lauren can't access.  Only together can they help a wandering soul find their way back to the light.  Although Lauren and Joey are bound to each other they don't always see eye to eye.  This awkward situation adds intrigue and friction between the two main characters but also makes them an interesting and unlikely pair of unsung heroes.

Like all Wadjet Eye Games released so far, you're not going to find a bunch of complicated controls, irrelevant puzzles, or outrageous plot twists.  The story has a flow to it that will have players wanting to find one more hint or ask one of the enigmatic characters just one last question.  As always, the dialogue is great and the story is fleshed out so that players aren't left scratching their heads for very long.  By design some of the tasks and problems are mundane yet they fit into the story extremely well.  There will be times where players might be stumped for a short while but all of the problems encountered throughout the game can be solved with careful observation, listening to what people have to say, and keeping your notes updated.

The control scheme is another aspect that hasn't changed - keeping the game-play simple by pointing and clicking to move, examine objects, and talk with characters.  There's little interaction with the keyboard except when you need to save a game.  The one new addition and only other time you might use the keyboard is when switching between controllable characters.  By pressing the TAB key you can switch between controlling Lauren and Joey.  This can also be achieved by simply dragging the cursor up to the inventory menu and selecting who you want to control.  Both characters control the same but deal with situations differently.  This is another fine example of classic adventure game-play where the controls are simple and forgiving.  More importantly this set up can be used by anyone, even the novice gamer, provided they have a mouse and keyboard.

The graphics show signs of age but they also show signs of improvement over previous adventures released by Wadjet Eye Games.  It seems that with each new game released the graphics are somewhat improved, tweaked and enhanced.  The artwork, backgrounds, character sprites and animations seem to get slightly better with each new title in the series.  Even for the low resolution there has always been a strong attention in detail and Blackwell Unbound displays the highest amount of detail thus far.  Fans of classic adventure games from the mid-nineties will certainly appreciate the quality and amount of work that has gone into this game.  Young audiences might not be as impressed by the graphics though considering the amount of commercialism and pop-culture being pumped into the next generation of gaming consoles and personal computers.  Still, the graphics are nice and detailed enough to allow gamers to enjoy the strongest attributes of the game - its story, the characters, and the dialogue.

Speaking of dialogue, the game is filled to the rim with it and voice acting plays another big role behind it all.  There are very few occasions where the player is forced to read without any dialogue to go with it.  Once again, like the earlier adventures, the voice acting is top notch.  Each character sounds believable, even if some of them are a little eccentric at times.  There are a lot of interesting conversations to be had and the voice acting does an excellent job of complimenting all of them.  Music is another area that has been improved.  It's always been another strong point of Wadjet Eye Games adventures but this is probably the best work I've heard in any of their games so far.  Kudos goes out to them for making a great sound track to accompany such a great story.

Blackwell Unbound is highly recommended to all fans of adventure games and even fans of TV programs such as "Ghost Whisperer”.  There is a lot here to like and while it's definitely a longer adventure than The Shivah, it does feel just a little bit shorter than The Blackwell Legacy.  This isn't a big deal though due to the extremely reasonable low cost of admission at just under $10 US.  Besides just playing the game, there are plenty of reasons to complete it and play through again.  Your first jaunt through the game will probably be a straight trek, but if you want, at any time you can turn on a lengthy DVD-style commentary by the author of Blackwell Unbound (and other Wadjet Eye Games), Dave Gilbert.  This commentary can be turned on or off whenever you please.  It's an interesting feature and one that you rarely find in video games.  Dave gives players a lot of info regarding the development process and ideas behind some of the locations and the background story behind the series.  If that weren't enough, gamers are also treated to a blooper real, some of the recorded voice over direction, concept art, additional and alternate music tracks, and an interview and commentary with the graphic artist for Blackwell Unbound.  All of these extra bonuses and features are a real treat to look at and listen to.  It's a great idea to include all of these extra goodies in a game and I wish more developers would follow suit by providing gamers with great additional content at no extra cost.  For these reasons, Blackwell Unbound proves that substance is just as important as style.  When compared to other recent adventure games the overall presentation of Blackwell Unbound is second to none.  It is also easily one of the best Adventure games to come along in a while and will hopefully bring back a set of high standards for other developers of adventure games.

Presentation	A+
Gameplay	A
Graphics	B-
Sound	A+
Innovation	B