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Gray Matter [Download]

Platform : Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 7 |
Rated: Teen
3.3 out of 5 stars 122
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Download size: 5600 MB
Download time: 14 minutes, 56 seconds on broadband, 9 days, 11 hours, 33 minutes, 20 seconds on dial-up
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Gray Matter [Download]

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Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Since losing his wife, neurobiologist Dr. David Styles has become a recluse, rarely leaving his home, the Dread Hill house. One day, Samantha Everett, a street magician, appears at Dr. Style's doorstep just as he is seeking a new assistant.

What if you could REACH BACK IN TIME?

Samatha's first task is to find six people and form "The Lamb's Club", of human guinea pigs for Dr. Style's test at Oxford University. The experiment starts off innocently enough, but then a chain of inexplicable incidents begin to occur, one after another.

Are these experiments as innocent as they appear?

What is the true aim of this paranormal game?

  • By the renowned Jane Jensen, creator of the Gabriel Knight series
  • A dark story told in the gothic novel style in eight epic chapters
  • Play as Dr. Styles and Samantha
  • Innovative gameplay that combines science and the supernatural

System Requirements
Minimum Specifications: OS:Win 7, Vista and XP Processor:1.83 GHz RAM:1 GB Hard Drive:6.5 GB Video Card:256 MB graphics card with Shader 2.0 Additional Info:DirectX: 9.0

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Customer reviews

3.3 out of 5 stars
3.3 out of 5
122 global ratings

Customers say

Customers like the ease of downloading and installation of the game. They mention that it's easy to install and the graphics are lovely and nostalgic. They also describe the quality as great, fun, and the best adventure game to be released in a while. Customers also appreciate the well-developed characters and attractive protagonist. They find the entertainment value clever and amusing.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

58 customers mention43 positive15 negative

Customers like the quality of the video game. They say it's the best adventure game to be released in quite a while, it'll be fun to play again, and worth the play. They also mention that the mini game is cool and the stage magic elements are lots of fun.

"...of its generation and the second is probably the best full-motion video adventure ever made, so I was really looking forward to Gray Matter--her..." Read more

"This has to be one (if not THE) best adventure games I've played.Pros:- Story lines were first rate-..." Read more

"...The play environment is fully realized -- your character walks around furniture in rooms and it is really great to see that kind of detail to game..." Read more

"...The Good:Lovely graphics, not spectacular, but reminiscent of the GK games. In fact, Sam's bedroom reminded me a LOT of Grace's bedroom in GK3...." Read more

25 customers mention20 positive5 negative

Customers like the graphics in the game. They say they are lovely, amazing, and nostalgic. They also appreciate the beautiful autumn scenery and atmosphere.

"...The Good:Lovely graphics, not spectacular, but reminiscent of the GK games. In fact, Sam's bedroom reminded me a LOT of Grace's bedroom in GK3...." Read more

"...Setting everything to high looks awesome, but my computer couldn't handle it at a playable rate...." Read more

"...I'm giving it 3 stars for beautiful graphics but the fun factor just isn't there." Read more

"...2D, and not just modern 2D, we're talking 1993 2D. The cut scenes are are PATHETIC at best. No 3D technology is required or used at all...." Read more

16 customers mention13 positive3 negative

Customers like the characters in the video game. They say they are well-developed, interesting, and attractive. Some say the characters are invisible.

"...a couple of times, and the characters are reasonably likable. My only complaint here is that it was somewhat predictable.Fun puzzles...." Read more

"...The voice acting was OK. The main characters were priety good, so I really don't have many complaints. The music choice was interesting...." Read more

"...Creative storyline (I liked the mystery)- Good Voice acting- Graphics were well done- Creative and well-thought-out puzzles-..." Read more

"...Beautiful game! Fun, not too difficult, great story, awesome characters!..." Read more

8 customers mention6 positive2 negative

Customers like the length of the video game software. They say it's long enough and quite short, but always logical and keeping them on the edge.

"This is an adventure game (not a hidden object wannabe) and is very long...." Read more

"...Gray Matter has a good story to it. It's long enough. The puzzles are more on the easier side, but they are still enjoyable...." Read more

"...Cons:- Too short (but not by a whole lot)- The ending was too short-..." Read more

"...so, point being it was a great length for a game I think. I stayed every entertained thru the whole thing." Read more

6 customers mention6 positive0 negative

Customers find the download and installation of the video game software easy. They say the download went perfectly and the installation went smoothly.

"...Amazon download was almost flawless (See notes at end of review)- Felt guilty about the cheap price-..." Read more

"...I had no problems with download or install, just to add a counterpoint to those reviewers who did have issues...." Read more

"...I just beat the game some time ago, I LOVE IT!the game is easy to install, no problems with it. (uses Windows Vista)..." Read more

"...Note: The game went a lot faster when I figured out that you can double click on an object to send the character running..." Read more

6 customers mention6 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing witty, clever, and amusing. They also appreciate the creativity and attention to character. Readers also like the fact that the dialogue is not so wordy that it gets in the way of the story.

"...Not that both are always likable, but are well written. This extends to the most of the characters in the game...." Read more

"...This is actually clever and amusing or low-budget depending on your mood, I think.The plot is refreshing (see publisher's descript.),..." Read more

"...I like the fact that the dialog is not so wordy that it gets in the way of the action...." Read more

"...Finally, she has, and the writing demonstrates her creativity and attention to character...." Read more

51 customers mention35 positive16 negative

Customers are mixed about the storyline. Some find the story compelling, while others say that the biggest plotlines peters out. They also mention that the puzzles are good and the classic adventure is used.

"...and wanting to keep playing until it was over because the story was so wonderful and I had to find out what was going to happen next...." Read more

"...Pros:- Story lines were first rate- Creative storyline (I liked the mystery)- Good Voice acting-..." Read more

"...This is actually clever and amusing or low-budget depending on your mood, I think.The plot is refreshing (see publisher's descript.),..." Read more

"...The game has some unique puzzles as you as the character Sam must do magic tricks. The tricks are not complicated but exceedingly fun!..." Read more

19 customers mention7 positive12 negative

Customers are mixed about the ease of use. Some mention that it's interesting, not too hard, and the tricks are not complicated. They also say it'd be a good point and click game. However, others say that it is tedious, repetitive, and only moderately challenging. They say there were a few parts that were not intuitive and that the ending was too short.

"...using the tricks, but a couple were backwards, and one was impossible to figure out and I just ended up clicking randomly.The cut-scenes...." Read more

"...The tricks are not complicated but exceedingly fun! You set up the trick and a cutscene goes through with it...." Read more

"...magician who uses a trick book to solve puzzles, which are unbelievably easy. She's in no way a believable character...." Read more

"...The ending was too short- Puzzles not terribly difficult - but I don't mind trading some difficulty for creativity-..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

haffastrider
5.0 out of 5 stars Jane Jensen's Story Carries the Day
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2013
Platform For Display: PC DownloadVerified Purchase
Gray Matter is a wonder for those of us who have missed Jane Jensen so dearly. Her pacing in the Gabriel Knight series was always impeccable, allowing for one to be creeped out without freaking out as some of the other "horror" adventure games might do, and while that is slightly lacking in Gray Matter, for the most part, fans won't be disappointed.

I'd like to preface this with the fact that I'd probably give this a 4.5 star for reasons I'll get into, but I am not able to do so.

The Good:
Lovely graphics, not spectacular, but reminiscent of the GK games. In fact, Sam's bedroom reminded me a LOT of Grace's bedroom in GK3. These are not blow you away graphics, but graphics that are nostalgic. That is not to say they are bad; they're not.
Good story. It kept me engaged, made me go huh! a couple of times, and the characters are reasonably likable. My only complaint here is that it was somewhat predictable.
Fun puzzles. None were too awful and none were too easy. They, for the most part, made sense.
Interesting premise.
Simply put, it was enjoyable and intricately linked to the classic adventure games that I enjoy so much. No first person shooter stupidity, no blood and gore, just an engaging story that made me want to keep playing.

The Bad:
It has a few problems, but nothing too terrible. Some people are having issues getting it to work, but that wasn't a problem for me.
The magic system is kind of wonky. I liked the idea, and even enjoyed using the tricks, but a couple were backwards, and one was impossible to figure out and I just ended up clicking randomly.
The cut-scenes. I really, really tried to enjoy them. I did. They were incredibly important to the story, but seemed cheap. I'm sure the graphic novel homage was intentional, but they just irritated me.
David's voice seemed forty years older than his character.
One of the biggest plotlines kind of peters out. There are a few parts of the story that after you finish you go, hmmm, what the Hell?

None of these things ruins the fact that this is a great entry into the adventure game genre by an artist who has been missing for far too long.
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Ed C
4.0 out of 5 stars Another great game from Jane Jensen.
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2013
Platform For Display: PCVerified Purchase
I enjoyed Jensen's legendary Gabriel Knight series. The first is one of the best point-and-click adventures of its generation and the second is probably the best full-motion video adventure ever made, so I was really looking forward to Gray Matter--her first big adventure in many years. I was not disappointed.

Gray Matter revolves around two playable characters, Samantha Everett and Dr. David Styles. Getting lost in a rainstorm, Sam's bike breaks down in front of David's house, who, as it turns out, is looking for a new assistant. David is a tenured professor who was disfigured in an accident and had become a recluse. He mostly keeps to himself and his research, and through his own personal despair, tends to be hard on everyone else. Sam lies and says she's a student of the local University. In reality she's is a street magician who aspires to be a great stage act. She's generally kind, but due to her hard life, doesn't tend to trust people and is willing to use trickery to achieve her goals. Some of her puzzles, in fact, involves her craft and slight of hand to just that. I really like both of them. Not that both are always likable, but are well written. This extends to the most of the characters in the game. Each of them have their own distinct personalities and motives as well.

Much of the gameplay revolves around Sam in her quest to find a secret circle of stage performers. She's also tasked with running errands for David. Her first assignment, find students as subjects for this next experiment. She hears rumors about David around campus and begins looking into the secrets surrounding his past. Meanwhile, David is focused on his research, but eventually discovers that Sam isn't what she pretends to be and looks into her history as well. Their troubled past are slowly reveiled, why she's running and why he can't let go. By the end, you'll find that both of their goals are intertwined.

The gameplay overall is good. Other than Sam's use of magic to solve problems, the gameplay is the usual fare for modern point-and-click games. Basically, take everything that isn't nailed down, then try to figure out what to with it, and talk to everyone about every topic that comes up. As usual, the game is broken into chapters, where everything in a given chapter must be finished to proceed to the next. In each chapter, you are given goals and are free to work on them in any order. However, progress of some task involves completing others first. For example, at one point Sam needs to get into the library to use a computer. Problem is, she isn't really a student. So she needs to "trick" another student into giving her a card. Unlike some games that leave you in the dark about that you need to do, Gray Matter can display your progress for each goal. The game map also highlights points that still require attention and darkens those that are no longer needed to finish the chapter.

The artwork is standard for adventures this days, 3D characters with pre-rendered backgrounds. They are nonetheless well done. The cut scenes are of the minimalist low-budget sort that also has become common, like an animated shoryboard. Budgets for adventures aren't what they used to be in their heyday, so they put their time and effort elsewhere. I be honest, I'm OK with that. I would rather have most of the game look good and have passable cutscenes than to cut somewhere else or not even have the game at all.

The 3D rendering and effects are a bit more intensive though, such as rendered shadows, but can be adjusted depending on your computer's capabilities. Setting everything to high looks awesome, but my computer couldn't handle it at a playable rate. I was able to turn the settings down to a playable framerate, but still looked decent overall. My biggest problem here was setting the resolution. The game supports the native resolution of my high-def widescreen monitor, but the game was only playable at the lowest graphic settings. Most lower resolutions, however, wouldn't format properly. Rather than setting the display to fit the format for a given resolution, the game kept it in widescreen and padded the top and bottom with black bars. Then, to maintain the dimensions, my monitor padded the sides with black bars, making the display a small island in the middle surrounded by a sea of black. I found this really frustrating as other similar games never ended up like this, regardless of the resolution.

The voice acting was OK. The main characters were priety good, so I really don't have many complaints. The music choice was interesting. I liked the general feel it gave to the game and cutscenes. My only issue is that most of the game used the same looping track. I wish there were more variation in the ambiance, like different music for different areas. Or at least make the main loop longer. Also wanted to point out that the band featured in the game, the Scarlet Furies, turns out to be a real group, which you can find on Amazon.

I've played many adventures, old and new. Some have good game writers, some have good characters writers, but few this days have both. Jensen is not just an excellent writer, but a *game* writer. Adventure games are a marriage of both gameplay and story. First, and foremost, adventure games are games--they are meant to be played. A great adventure demands more than just a great writer, or even a great character writer, but also a game writer. Other forms of storytelling are linear, were the writer ties all of the plot threads together into a single string that is followed from start to finish. And indeed, I've played other adventures that were exactly like that, where the only "game" was picking each piece in the *exact* order the writer had in mind. A game writer doesn't tie all of the plot treads in a single string, but spreads them out for the players to find and tie together on their own; a great game writer can tell a great story regardless of which way the player weaves the pieces together. Adventures are also heavily weighed on character. Most adventures tell their story through the player's character, where everything and everyone you interact with in the game world is through this character's perspective. Games that hinge on the depth of the character takes a great character writer.
2 people found this helpful
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Christopher
3.0 out of 5 stars Soringly Disappointed
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2011
Platform For Display: PCVerified Purchase
I was really looking forward to this game for the last two years since I heard about it, but much to my dismay this game left me a little disappointed in Jane Jensen, the game's designer. Jane was one of the most talented game designers back in the days when Sierra still existed as a prominent game company and well known for their graphic adventure games and great storytelling. Jane designed so many of my favorite games back then, such as her famous Gabriel Knight series (GK 2 was the best!) and King's Quest 6! I remember those games always left me anxious and wanting to keep playing until it was over because the story was so wonderful and I had to find out what was going to happen next. But unfortunately I did not get the same excitement with this game; in fact, it felt so much more like a chore to get through it. I'm giving it 3 stars for beautiful graphics but the fun factor just isn't there.
5 people found this helpful
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