The Black Mirror

Plot synopsis:
The story largely takes place at Black Mirror, the ancestral manor of the Gordon family located in England in the 1980s. The protagonist, Samuel Gordon, is forced to return to Black Mirror after 12 years absence upon hearing of the death of his grandfather, William Gordon. Despite occurring under mysterious circumstances, William's death is considered a suicide by everyone except for Samuel.
Arriving in Black Mirror, Samuel begins his investigation of his grandfather's death. Samuel's investigation soon reveals that his grandfather had interests in the arcane, and up until his death had spent near every waking hour working to uncover the mystery of the Gordon family's curse. From his grandfather's writings and other sources, Samuel discovers that centuries ago in the 1200s the Gordon line began with two brothers, Marcus and Mordred Gordon. The eldest, Mordred, was a monster of a man, opening a dark portal known as the Black Mirror deep under where the manor now stands. The younger, Marcus, fought his brother, killing him and containing - but not closing - the Black Mirror. In his dying breath the elder cursed the younger, stating that he and his descendants would be forever cursed until five souls were sacrificed and his evil was unleashed once more. William's notes also speak of five sacred keys required to shut the portal for good, entrusted to different members of the Gordon family. Samuel then begins his quest to seek out the five sacred keys and close the Black Mirror permanently.
As the story progresses, further strange and unexpected deaths occur to individuals around Black Mirror, each one accompanied by a strange blood red sigil. Samuel travels the land around Black Mirror, visiting a local town, chapel, and sanatorium, and also at one point travels to his family's second manor in Wales to obtain a key there. At long last Samuel obtains the five keys, but moments later also discovers the horrifying truth: he is the killer responsible for all the deaths, ending the lives of the victims in his sleep; this is the nature of the Gordon family curse. Samuel enters the catacombs beneath the mansion, enters the Black Mirror, and using the five keys seals the portal. After this, unable to live with the atrocities he has committed, Gordon jumps from the top of the mansion, falling onto the same spiked fence which killed his grandfather.
The game is divided into six chapters:
Chapter I: Return of the Future
Chapter II: Back to the Light
Chapter III: Hidden Legacy
Chapter IV: Forgotten Bound
Chapter V: Confession of the Truth
Chapter VI: Look Through the Mirror

Tags: murder

Review:
Atmospheric, mildly interesting game ruined by terrible ending. I'm not really all that interested in adventure games for the PC, to be honest. I was really into them on the Commodore 64 back in the 80s, which is weird considering how much more visual and dynamic they are these days. The Black Mirror does have some gorgeous graphics and an impressively Gothic atmosphere, but it's ruined by perpetual slowness and many, many scenes of long, long conversations.Samuel Gordon (the most arrogant man in a video-game ever) is the wayward heir to the Gordon Manor (Black Mirror Castle) who returns to his rural England roots when his grandfather is killed in suspicious circumstances. It's up to you to guide him around the Manor and village, talking to people and investigating.Typical 'adventure' gameplay mechanics are involved in progressing through the chapters. Which is fine, but when the game makes you wait for other characters to do stuff for you, boy does it make you WAIT. I've had the game running for over 6 hours while other characters waste you're time doing stuff for you (or not doing it rather). And there's nothing else for YOU do to when this is going on. It's infuriating.The ending to the game is profoundly weak. A lame twist I should have seen coming is capped-off with dull, whogivesadamn cut-scene and then the end credits. When I play a game for so long I expect more than that! It also leaves many questions unanswered. Who EXACTLY killed William Gordon? Where did Uncle Robert really go? What's the deal with Samuel's long-dead lover? How did the Priest not find the secret crypt halfway through the game? Why is it set in 1981? I was impressed with the game at first but in the last third it got pretty damn tiresome and the end is no real pay-off. For serious adventure gamers ONLY.. A solid and thrilling adventure that could have been excellent but just isn't. From the start this adventure offers us a mystery that we want to solve! For a game that is made in 2003 it looks real good! Most of it looks realistic and authentic! Only the animations of the characters could have been done better! Because the main character is walking real stiff! (And yes,you can assume that he deserves it because Samuel Gordon acts like a real arrogant uppercase bastard sometimes) But I doubt it that they made the animation with that in mind! Solving problems and puzzles in "Black Mirror" can be rewarding and frustrating at the same time! Most of the puzzles are logical and certainly won't be a problem for the experienced adventure gamer! And some are illogical! You have to do certain things in order to advance without any connection to the event itself! So at first it seems that you have to wait a lot! But if you don't do anything and just wait it can take ages for something to happen! This means that you have to visit other places until you will trigger an event! All of this is nothing compared to the one puzzle that can make your head spin! And that is the "zodiac slider puzzle". This puzzle is random and changes every time you start it! (Sometimes in such a way that it is impossible to solve!) One of the most frustrating puzzles ever made in these type of games! The only motivation for me to solve this puzzle was that I was hoping for more than a decent conclusion to the mystery! Sadly I have to report that the climax will be very disappointing! You can see the big twist coming! Worse, this twist doesn't even bother to explain how it was possible only that it did! And the finale is very weak in contrast to the mystery that was introduced to us! Is it still worth your time! Well,yes! If you are prepared for the dull climax and ending and don't expect too much this adventure will be very enjoyable! This game does succeed in presenting an ambiance similar to classic horror stories! The atmosphere of this game is thrilling and chilling! "Black Mirror" is flawed but solid!. Interesting Adventure Game But With Ultimately Mixed Results. "The Black Mirror" is one of those adventure games that almost reaches greatness, but there are too many points holding the game back for it to be considered among the better entries in the genre.The main character is hard to like due to his arrogance and moodiness, but somehow you end up feeling sorry for him as he returns home to the ancestral home of his family, the Gothic mansion Black Mirror that he left many years before. Most of the other characters are clichéd like the Irish barman and the sinister German pathologist. The voice acting is inconsistent in the extreme, being generally good, but the grave digger on his own pulls down the average immensely. The actor sounds like he is falling asleep during the recording and I almost joined him on several occasions.You need to be a skilled adventure gamer to complete this one without reference to a walk-through or outside source, since some of the puzzles require outside knowledge such as the signs of the Zodiac and their correct sequence. Other sections just require you to walk in and out of locations while you wait for another character to do something for you, which is both frustrating and pointless.The graphics and interface reminded me of the first two adventures in the Broken Sword series and they are probably the closest reference point I can think of. The general background graphics are good to look at, especially in recreating the manor itself. The weather effects are very atmospheric for a 2D game adding greatly to the realism of the game. The cut-scenes are very well thought out and presented, building up to what should be a chilling conclusion, but sadly the real revelation is revealed some time before the end and so the final segment is rather a wash-out after quite a long game.It has recently been announced that they are planning a sequel though based on the ending of the first game it is hard to see where this would fit in and how it would work. This game had just enough promise for me to look forward to the release of the follow-up albeit with some reservations. With very few decent adventure games for the PC being produced these days this was a good attempt.