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Here is what our reviewer thought of The Blackwell Convergence . Post your own thoughts about the game in this thread and join the conversation!
Comments:
You are immediately pulled into the story of The Blackwell Convergence as you come in at the middle of the first scene. It all starts on a dark and stormy day as gritty jazz music plays in the background. This game has a film noir quality that continues throughout the game, but if you don’t like the music you will want to use the mute function on your computer since there isn’t a way to do this from the options menu. The subtitles and spoken dialogue of the characters can be turned off; however, this is the extent of the customization available. You will get the chance to play from the perspectives of two very different characters: a young medium named Rosa and her sarcastic ghost partner Joey. Each character has a very specific set of skills that will come in handy as you interact with a variety of living and dead characters. Just like a good detective novel filled with suspense, you won’t be able to put this game down until you’ve reached the end and revealed the mystery.
Game Modes:
You will need your entire screen to play this game because there is no windowed mode available. Take your time and think things out carefully because the game is entirely untimed.
Depth:
This game can be finished by a determined player in one sitting, especially with the help of the walkthrough.
Similar to:
The Blackwell Convergence is in the same series as The Blackwell Legacy and Blackwell Unbound, and is from the same developer as Emerald City Confidential.
Difficulty level:
This game requires a lot of strategic thinking and it is important to plan your next move very carefully. Even seasoned players will find themselves stumped a time or two. Players who are new to the genre or anyone who gets stuck can use the walkthrough to get the hang of things.
The walkthrough can be found by clicking here.
Reviewed by M.J.B.
Edited on 08/14/2009 at 9:22:30 AM PST
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I had not played the first 2 installments of "Blackwell", but loved Emerald City Conidential and looked forward to this game coming out.
I really enjoyed it. The story is intriguing and easy to form an attachment to the characters.
When it was over (took me about 4 hours to play) I had the emotions similar to after you have seen a really good movie at the cinema and looking forward to a sequel.
 and a half
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smart dialogue and interesting interplay between the main characters. i would buy it but the graphics appear somewhat pixellated.
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Story is O.K. but I felt the graphics weren't up to BF standards. I'm passing on this one.
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This is an awful game. I cannot believe BF even has it on their site. Really cheesy graphics and crashed everytime I clicked on anything. Took the first half hour to figure out you need to go to the cheat forum to get anywhere and then came the credits! The game wasn't over it was just done with the first chapter. LOL
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![[Post New]](/templates/wanda/images/icon_minipost_new.gif) by jaroch on Aug 13, 09 5:49 PM
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I couldn't stand playing this for even 10 minutes ... the graphics are terrible! Looks like it was written over 20 years ago. What are you thinking BFG??
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I do agree with those upset with the graphics- normally bad graphics = no sale for me, I had pixelated characters and the low resolution seems unnecessary.
I did not find them that distracting though I can understand those that do. I was so enthralled with the game I overlooked this flaw,
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I think I can contribute something to this--the developer of the Blackwell series is an indie developer and does not have large sums of money to throw at his games...thus, he uses a game engine that does not support the latest and greatest graphics, but part of the charm (for some) is that the graphics remind them of "old-school" adventure gaming. I *think* the reason that Emerald City's graphics were significantly better is because it was a project that was partially funded by Playfirst, so there was a larger budget available to him.
If any of this is way off base, Dave himself can post here and correct me. This is my understanding of the situation, based on things that I have read.
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Howatch wrote:I think I can contribute something to this--the developer of the Blackwell series is an indie developer and does not have large sums of money to throw at his games...thus, he uses a game engine that does not support the latest and greatest graphics, but part of the charm (for some) is that the graphics remind them of "old-school" adventure gaming. I *think* the reason that Emerald City's graphics were significantly better is because it was a project that was partially funded by Playfirst, so there was a larger budget available to him.
If any of this is way off base, Dave himself can post here and correct me. This is my understanding of the situation, based on things that I have read.
Thanks Howatch- that all makes perfect sense to me  
There is a feature you can turn on developer comments from Dave- I did not do that but next play I will and might be interesting what he has to say there.
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Yes, the graphics were cheesy, but I thought the plot line might have been engaging, but I grow tired of games that require a walk thru every time you get stuck...a subtle HINT once in a while would have killed you?? I walked around the first room, clicked on every thing 18 times, had the same dialog over and over, looked at everything I could think of to look at...can they leave that room and come back and come back later??? .
NO.
Can I get any help?
Not without leaving the game.
The characters have an awful lot to say, couldn't at least a little of it be helpful and steer you on once in a while?? I think game developers continually lose sight of the fact that this is supposed to be relaxing, and fun. Getting stuck is neither of those things. It is in the writer's own interest to keep the players engaged and playing, AND enjoying it. Every time I have to close the game and go somewhere else to get a hint, my evaluation of that game drops. Considerably.
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4 minutes is all it took for me to know I would NEVER play/buy this game, no matter how good it was. It is like giving yourself crossed eyes for the fun of it. HORRID. My eye sight is still blurry. I can't believe that any developer would think this look is acceptable.
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Just wondering- if anyone has looked at the walkthrough to compare graphics-- are they the same as shown in the walkthrough or some of you getting worst?
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govegril wrote:Just wondering- if anyone has looked at the walkthrough to compare graphics-- are they the same as shown in the walkthrough or some of you getting worst?
I did check this out. Because the photos are so small they look fairly normal. I checked the game to see if it could be played windowed, or if the resolution can be changed, but there is no option for either. From the time this game opens with the Big Fish Spash, it is pixilated. It looks like it is supposed to run at a much lower resolution. This is not normal IMO. I can't see a game developer releasing a game that looks this bad and is so hard on the eyes.
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I agree KICK156- nobody needs to jump through hoops to play a $7 game. MY PC they are pretty much like the walkthrough but It seems some of us are getting it worst than others and a problem 
You are right about the splash screens- the low res shows up at the start even there.
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I've played all of Dave's games...I find the stories great and with 3 minutes to go my only complaint is it's a bit on the easy side so far.there are a lot of fans of the Blackwell series, Mostly because of the main character interplay. 
Edited on 08/13/2009 at 9:57:31 PM PST
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good grief. I just messed with my computer's graphic settings for over 1/2 hour before it dawned on me to check the forums. The graphics on this game are SO TERRIBLE it looks like they made it in 200x400 pixels and blew it up to 1280x760. It it so pixelated I can barely read the words let alone see objects. There are no options to play in a windowed version which may have helped. I believe this game was originally made for a CRT type monitor and doesn't work well with flat-panel monitors. The reason I think this is because even the BFG screen that comes up at the beginning is terrible. This is FAR BELOW the BFG standard of games. Doesn't BFG have a QC department that checks games out before release? I am truly annoyed now as I have completely screwed up the graphic settings on my computer trying to get this game to be visable. HORRIBLE!!!! I wouldn't take this game if it were FREE.. And as far as "old-school adventure gaming, that's just BS. Even with the oldest of games, you could SEE them. This game just was NOT designed to be played om flat-panel monitors.
Edited on 08/14/2009 at 12:56:18 AM PST
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by Shegsy on Aug 14, 09 5:24 AM
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For me the main irritation is not being able to turn the music off, i can put up with the graphics but not the music.
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After finding out I needed to change the setting to make the game play I was playing for all of 5 minutes when it said my 60 minutes were up didn't even finish the first scene. oh well I'm not gonna buy it that's for sure.
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I have played both previous episodes of Blackwell, and at the very begining I was taken aback by the low grade graphics, however I was able to off set this by the amazing and engaging stories, I am so excited by the next in the series, I can not wait for this to download, I do find from time to time I need a hint from the walkthrough, but love how challenging it is and seldomn use it. for those dubious, try one of the others so you understand the story, and play it like a book, with ilustrations rather than graphics and enjoy it for what it is x
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Long time BFGer, first time poster. I like this kind of game but often find them too tedious. One night got me about halfway through (guessing by the walkthrough screens which I only needed to glance at once) (edit - 2nd night I needed more hints) and this one is about the right difficulty level for me. I prefer more puzzle work and less dialogue but at least the latter can be sped up. I have no technical problems on my laptop running XP other than the exit issue and a weird ticking sound once that didn't stop until I exited and restarted. In the past BFG has always helped me with technical problems so I hope others can get help if they care to. The graphics remind me of the 80s which is one of the many things that charm me about it, along with the witty dialogue and irreverent characters (distant cousins of Sam & Max!) It's short but as I don't have a lot of time to play sometimes that's better for me, as if I take a break from the long ones I forget too much of the plot. I'll likely get the other two -- can anyone who liked this one and played all three tell me if they liked they others as much? Thanks!
Edited on 08/16/2009 at 1:59:43 AM PST
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