Ben Jordan

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Ben Jordan - Paranormal Investigator
developer Grundislav Games
Publisher Grundislav Games
Designer Francisco "Grundislav" Gonzalez
First title Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator Case 1 - In Search of the Skunk-Ape (2003)
Last title Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator Case 8 - Relics of the Past (2012)
Platform (s) Mac OS , Microsoft Windows
Genre (s) Adventure

Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator is the title of a series of adventure - computer games , which since 2004 by Francisco "Grundislav" Gonzalez using the game engine Adventure Game Studio is produced. Eight Ben Jordan games have been released so far , with each game depicting a single criminal case of a paranormal nature, which is solved by Ben Jordan - the main character. The games met with international recognition in many cases. The specialty of the game series lies in the fact that all paranormal cases are based on carefully researched, existing legends and folklore.

action

Although each case in the series has a self-contained plot to investigate, the author has indicated that all games are linked by an overarching story arc. Attentive players would thus be able to pick up elements of the plot that will play key roles in future cases.

Case 1: In Search of the Skunk-Ape

Ben's first case begins with a phone conversation between him and his disappointed mother about his recent decision to become a paranormal investigator. He is about to give up his dream when he receives a call from a game warden in the Florida Everglades telling him that a Bigfoot-like creature known as the skunk monkey is being held responsible for some murders and disappearances. Desperate for a case, Ben agrees to come to the Everglades and investigate.

Upon arrival, Ben is informed by a ranger named Ernie that the ranger who called him has become the youngest victim of the skunk monkey. After some initial questioning and investigation, Ben meets a forester named Rick, who agrees to go with him to look for the skunk monkey in the forest. Ben finds the beast's den and discovers some cocaine packages hidden in a deep hole in it.

During the night, Ben and Rick chat around the campfire and become friends. Later that night, however, they go in search of the skunk monkey, and when they are caught by the beast, Rick decides to shoot it. Rick reveals that he only wanted to find the skunk monkey for his own financial gain and is promptly killed by the monster. Ben runs away and at some point finds himself in front of the hut of a man named Jed. Upon entering the hut, Jed reveals that he is controlling the skunk monkey to guard his drug stash. Ben manages to intervene in the monkey's control mechanism, which leads to Jed's death and the skunk monkey to return to the forest.

Case 2: The Lost Galleon of the Salton Sea

In Ben's second case, he is called to a small town called Dunesberg in the middle of the California desert. A woman named Annie Roberts tells Ben that her husband, George, went to find what is known as the Lost Galleon and hasn't returned in two weeks. Ben sets out to find out more about the Lost Galleon and George.

When he drives to the Salton Sea, Ben already finds some treasure hunters. Ben uses his ingenuity to locate the galleon. He goes on a scouting dive but passes out from something in the water. When he wakes up, he finds himself in the ship prison with George Roberts. The latter explains to him that the captain's ghost is holding him captive. Ben and George break out of the cell and meet the ghost who tells them that they are his prisoners on the galleon. However, Ben manages to build a "ghost box" that captures the ghost and forces it to be brought back to Dunesberg, where George is reunited with his wife.

Case 3: The Sorceress of Smailholm

Ben's third case takes him to Smailholm , Scotland, where he is supposed to solve the murder of two girls. People in the village suspect it is the work of local witches and have arrested a young woman named Mary Blaine, who is accused of intercourse with a local suspicious witch and was found at the scene.

This game marks a turning point in the series as a rival investigator, Percival Quentin Jones, is introduced who keeps questioning Ben. The game differs in that it has a fork in the story. How the game ends depends on whether the player is performing a key action.

In the more obvious ending, Ben is caught by the local constable but manages to escape. Mary reveals that she and everyone else in the village are actually witches and that their leader is a vampire witch named Zortherus. In the end, Ben is saved from being sacrificed by Percival Jones, and Zortherus is killed by Ben, causing the rest of the witch sect to rapidly age and die. Much remains unanswered in this ending.

In the less obvious (but fan-preferred ending), Ben releases Mary from prison and they fall in love. Ben discovers that the girls who are alleged to have been murdered never really existed and that the whole story was just a hoax intended to lure Ben to Smailholm so that he could be sacrificed. This time it is Mary who rushes to the rescue of Ben, but she is killed by Zortherus in front of Ben. The enraged Ben manages to escape and kill Zortherus.

Case 4: Horror at Number 50

Ben is back in Percy's London office when a man named Randolph Miggs walks in and says he's looking for Ben. He tells Ben the story of number 50 in Berkeley Square, a building with a haunted past that Miggs now owns and has converted into a rare book store. He says that there is a spirit known only as "The Horror" that has not been active for a long time, but has recently made itself felt again. Ben agrees to investigate.

When he arrives at house number 50, Ben discovers that he will not investigate alone as Miggs has brought in four other paranormal investigators, including Simon Booth, an English ghost hunter, Alice Wilkins, an American parapsychology student, Otto Schneider, a mysterious German and Madame Tilly Rosenquist, a famous English medium .

The five investigators work together and eventually hold a séance to contact the ghosts. This puts Madame Tilly in a coma. Simon discovers a door that leads into a series of rooms that are inexplicably larger than the entire house and shortly afterwards disappears without a trace. Ben finally manages to get into a locked room on the top floor. He, Alice and Otto are able to banish the spirit that has taken possession of Madame Tilly back into the spirit world. Finally, it is revealed that Simon survived and is safe and sound.

The fourth case was the first in the series to use a technique called rotoscopy , which was also used in many Sierra games in the early 1990s. This game is also significant for the series as it introduces the characters Alice Wilkins and Simon Booth, both of whom play important supporting roles for the rest of the series.

The real house number 50 in Berkeley Square is London's most infamous haunted house. As in the fourth case, it is currently in use by an antique book dealer.

Case 5: Land of the Rising Dead

After the events at number 50 in London, Ben Jordan goes home only to have nightmares about Mary again.

One morning he receives a call from his friends Simon Booth and Alice Wilkins. Simon has heard of a series of murders in Osaka , Japan, which the police refer to as "ghost murders ". The group decides to investigate.

Upon arrival in Japan, it becomes apparent that there is more going on here than just arbitrary murders. Ben becomes friends with Inspector Yoshi, the chief inspector on the case. At some point, Ben finds out that all the murder victims are famous businessmen in town. As the game progresses, Ben investigates some mysterious murders in a nearby village, participates in a crazy Japanese game show and ultimately solves the ghost murders.

The game ends with a bitter aftertaste, however, as Alice is in a coma after being poisoned and Ben struggles with his feelings for Mary, while Simon constantly suggests that Ben and Alice should be a couple.

This game is different from the others in that the alleged paranormal phenomenon turns out to be false.

Case 6: Scourge of the Sea People

Ben, Alice and Simon decide to go on vacation to Greece. Although they originally planned to stay in Athens , the way there is closed due to a public holiday, so they go to a smaller village called Agia Anna on Evia instead.

There, Ben examines an underwater civilization of human-like beings known as sea people. A fisherman who lives in a tiny house by the sea helps him go out to sea so he can work on the case. Ben also meets Professor Quincy Sanbourne, author of the Paranormal Investigators Manual and teacher at Oxford University . Sanbourne reveals that he has many friends in the Oxford Criminology Department and that he doesn't know anyone named Percival Quentin Jones there.

While at Agia Anna, Simon finds out that Ben is working on a case while on vacation and is very upset about it, which leads to an argument. It soon becomes clear to Simon that the case is legitimate after two campers disappear from the beach, leaving only grinding marks that lead into the water. With the help of an oracle, Ben makes a potion that allows him to temporarily breathe underwater.

After finding the hideout of the sea men, he takes the potion and goes underground. He finds the dead king of the seamen, whom he brings back to life, and it turns out that the murders are not the doing of the already extinct seamen, but of evil beings called Phorkids . The king explains to Ben how to kill the last Phorkid. Together with Alice and Simon, Ben lies in wait on the beach at night. While they are talking, the Phorkide appears and tries to kill Simon and drag him into the water. Alice distracts the Phorkid and Ben kills her with a trident that the King of the Mermen gave him.

After the excitement, Ben and Alice are chatting and kissing on the beach, whereupon Simon shows up and notices that it is finally time for them to realize their feelings for each other.

Case 7: The Cardinal Sins

It's Christmas Eve. A priest named Thomas Ryan is murdered in Rome. Ben, who is back home with his family, is criticized for his 'career', which is why he leaves the room angrily. When he receives a call from an inmate, Alessandro Renzi, he decides to show his family what he can do. He travels to Rome with Simon and Alice. Alessandro Renzi denies having killed the priest and claims to have been possessed by a demon.

In Thomas Ryan's Church, the priest Eamon McNamara denies having ever heard of him. It was only when Alessandro Renzi hanged himself the next day that Eamon confessed that Vincenzo Bianchi, a priest from St. Peter's Basilica, threatened him with bad consequences if he told the truth. As Ben sneaks into Bianchi's office, he finds a holder with a hexagonal recess and a notepad. He notices that the mark on Renzi's suicide note and a symbol on the notepad are identical. Percival Quentin Jones is on vacation in Rome, meets Ben and explains that Sandbourne doesn't know him because he started his vacation shortly before he was hired. He also identifies the symbol as the sign of the Knights of Saint Anthony .

Ben suspects that Bianchi is a member of this association. With Alice and Simon's help, he sneaks into Bianchi's apartment and steals a cross with a hexagonal shape on the lower edge. He puts the cross in the holder in Bianchi's office and thus opens a secret passage. In it he finds relics that come from each of the places he has been. Bianchi enters the room and says that these relics would be used for the Great Task and forces him at gunpoint to get the exorcism amulet of Jesus, which he tried himself, which, however, released a demon who took possession of Renzi. Ben discovers a Latin inscription that says that the amulet must not be touched with bare hands. He uses a glove to take it. Bianchi says that he will kill him anyway, whereupon Ben destroys the amulet and thus releases a demon who kills Bianchi. At night, Simon and Ben are kidnapped by Cardinal Genovese, who works in St. Peter's Basilica and is also a member of the Knights of St. Anthony. Alice also disappears, although it is unclear where to go. Simon is killed by one of the Cardinal's henchmen, who then throws Ben into the wine cellar.

In the wine cellar, Ben discovers a directory with data on the knights. He discovers that Percival Quentin Jones is also a member. Immediately afterwards he appears personally and knocks Ben out from behind. The seventh case is the only one with a cliffhanger .

Case 8: Relics of the Past

The last game in the Ben Jordan series was released in August 2012. It completes all open arcs and thus brings the series to an end. Ben Jordan works with Percifal Jones, a former member of the Order of Saint Anthony. He identifies himself as Jordan's Guardian Angel and tells him about his encounter with Jordan's grandfather in Transylvania. Together they bring down Cardinal Genovese in the Notre-Dame Cathedral, who wants to usurp world domination through a ritual.

characters

The Ben Jordan Games have received numerous praise for their high profile figures. Especially in the later parts of the series, some characters gain a remarkable depth. Each of the figures has a portrait based on the structure of the games by Sierra, which was revised from the fifth case onwards.

Ben Jordan

The series' main character is Ben Jordan, a young man from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in his early twenties who recently graduated with a degree in international relations. But his dream is to become a paranormal investigator. Ben is curious, courageous and generally sympathetic, but unfortunately he seems to be unlucky to lose people who are close to him. Because of this, he is wary of getting too close to people and gets angry more easily than before. At the end of the sixth case, Alice and Ben realize that they have feelings for each other and kiss. At the end of the seventh case, Jordan is knocked out by Percival Quentin Jones, his fate is unknown.

Percival Quentin Jones

A professor of criminology at Oxford, he met Ben Jordan in Smailholm, where he was investigating the murders of the two children. He was rude and condescending to Ben at the time, but his attitude quickly changed once the case was resolved and he was very helpful during Ben's research into the horrors of house number 50. Not much is known about Percy, but his final remark at the end of the fourth case suggests that he is hiding something. During the sixth case, a testimony from Professor Quincy Sanbourne reveals that he may not be working in Oxford after all. At the end of the seventh case, it is revealed that Jones has apparently been a villain all along and is a member of an evil religious order that calls itself the Knight of Saint Anthony.

Mary Blaine

A young Scottish lady who lives in the village of Smailholm. Ben met her while she was in jail on the charges of being a witch and killing the McBees' children. In reality it was all just an elaborate plot by the villagers, who were all witches and wanted to lure Ben over to sacrifice him. If the "good" ending of the third case is taken as part of the real story, Mary fell in love with Ben because of his kindness and compassion towards her, and Ben fell in love with her too. Unfortunately, she was killed by Zortherus, which hit Ben hard.

Simon Booth

An English ghost hunter from Birmingham . Simon is an outgoing, personable guy. He and Ben met outside number 50, Berkeley Square, and quickly became friends. He was nearly killed by a Phorkid during the sixth fall, but was quickly rescued with the help of Ben and Alice. He is killed by members of the Knights of Saint Anthony at the end of the seventh fall.

Alice Wilkins

A young lady from Sacramento , California studying parapsychology at Harvard. Curiously, her name also appears on a tombstone in Ben Jordan 3 . But that was resolved in the seventh case: Alice Wilkins, the oldest resident of Smailholm, was Alice's great-great-grandmother. She was also present in house number 50 and made friends with Ben and Simon. At the end of the sixth case, Alice and Ben finally realize that they have feelings for each other and kiss.

reception

Case 1: Adventure Gamers magazine praised the first part of the game series for the interesting story and soundtrack. The shortness of the game was criticized, which resulted in a lack of elaboration of the game world and the characters.

At the AGS Awards, an annual award ceremony of the AGS community, Horror at Number 50 was recognized in 2005.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 50 Berkeley Square The Most Haunted House In London (walks of london) ( Memento of the original from January 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.walksoflondon.co.uk
  2. ↑ AdventureGamers.com: Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator. Retrieved March 6, 2019 .
  3. ↑ GameSetWatch.com: Adventurers Get AGS Awards, International Chamber. Retrieved February 12, 2017 .