GK3 went gold November 3, and started showing up in stores across North America around November 18. I have heard that some stores in the UK already have GK3 on the shelves, and some fans in Australia have already purchased their copies. According to the Official GK3 Site, the German version is set for release on November 27, the French version on November 29, the Italian version on December 1, and the Spanish version on December 1.

I thought those of you who have not yet played GK3 might appreciate some spoiler-free comments from a fan of the series. I am about half-way through Day 2 of GK3, and I am thoroughly enjoying the game. It didn't take long for me to get used to maneuvering the camera, and I really enjoy the freedom to zoom in on anything I want from any angle. I rarely use the preset cameras, but I've left the cinematics (computer control during cutscenes) on so I don't miss anything crucial to the story.

The interface is very intuitive, for the most part. There's a nice inspect feature that lets you zoom in on something without having to walk over to it. There is also a think icon, which yields both hints and wry comments from Gabriel and Grace. It's great to see Gabe and Grace interact again, and the Mosely/Gabe banter returns as well. The voice-overs have been good, particularly Charity James as Grace, and David Thomas as Mosely.

The tone of the game reminds me of GK1 - dark themes, but light and amusing at times. The time block format reminds me of the Laura Bow games, where certain actions trigger the clock to advance. There are also a few time changes within time blocks. Overall a nice system, although I had a little trouble getting the first block to end. I was pleased to see that the traditional save feature exists, with a few enhancements. There's also the option to save at the start of each time block, and a quick save feature. Another neat feature is the screenshot key, which allows you to take a screenshot at any point in the game.

Sidney looks like a great new tool, much more fun than the library. :-) There is an extensive database of info from the library, which I haven't really explored yet. You can scan in information about suspects, translate various languages, make fake IDs, and even read Grace's email.

I'm very happy with the graphics, though having played few 3D games, I can't say how they compare. There are shadows and lighting effects that change as the time of day advances in the game. The modeling of the church is impressive, and I believe quite accurate from the photos I've seen. Sound effects are good as well, changing direction and intensity based on your camera's location. Robert Holmes and David Henry have done a terrific job with the music. There are several themes that sort of build at different points in the game, with slight variations in key, time, and rhythm, very much like a movie.

I won't be posting any hints until I've finished playing GK3. I bought the strategy guide from Prima Games, however I haven't really looked at it since I don't want to spoil the game. You can order the guide for yourself, or check out Prima's Fast Track Guide online at Gamecenter. WARNING: The Fast Track Guide is a walkthrough.

As I mentioned in my impressions of GK3 above, the music includes some really great themes. My favorite so far is the Opening Theme, which I have extracted in MP3 format, for your listening pleasure: gk3main_title.mp3 (4.7 M)