The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief review: not exactly masterful

I didn't know what to expect when I first started playing The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief; I knew the game was a point-and-click adventure, and that I would be able to see the story from both sides--as both cat and mouse--but that was all I knew. What I wish I knew right from the start was that the entire experience would be tedious and not enjoyable, with only a few redeeming factors that aren't enough to make The Raven worth playing. (You're right, you don't have to keep reading this review.)

I like a good adventure game, but it's hard to get invested in an adventure game when the controls are so bad that the character you control decides to walk in a circle or back and forth down a hallway when you want him to move to the side or anywhere besides the same stupid hallway. Every ten or so minutes, the controls got in my way and took me out of the story, leaving me with one question: Why am I still playing? The answer is simple: I received the game for review and needed to finish it to feel comfortable writing this here review. In addition to the bad controls, the static camera was also problematic as it occasionally didn't change when my character moved off-screen, forcing me to spin the left analog stick like a crazy person until the game realized its misstep. Also, the brightness level seemed low and it wasn't a problem with my TV.

Now, I did play The Raven on PS3 and not PC, so I can't comment on the PC version, but, assuming it's a true point-and-click adventure, I bet my control problems would not exist on PC, when using a mouse and keyboard.

Speaking of the differences between PS3 and PC, I have a feeling the PC version may actually be somewhat challenging, whereas the PS3 version is an absolute cakewalk. The reason the PS3 version is so easy is because every object and person you can interact with shows a magnifying glass on screen when you get close enough to interact with it/them, making it impossible to miss anything or do any kind of actual investigating--which left me rather bored. Throughout my entire 12-hour playthrough, I never came across a single puzzle that left me scratching my head for even a second and that just isn't what I want or expect out of a point-and-click adventure.

Ok. I have been pretty down on The Raven so far and that's not going to change, but there are a few decent parts in the game; both the story and voice acting are, overall, good and, while there are plot holes and questionable edits, I did find the story somewhat interesting; however, the ability to play as both the one investigating the crime and the one committing the crime felt like more of a gimmick than a fun twist (and also a way to try and hide the rehashing of a lot of environments). That said, the story does lose a bit of believability in the end and there are moments when I wondered how an inspector (and others) could be so stupid. The voice acting and audio in general is good--there are characters from different parts of the world with different accents and they all sounded natural--but there were long pauses of silence during bits of dialogue that left me wondering if my game had froze, only to see everything go back to normal after fifteen seconds as if nothing had happened.

No one hates a bad review more than me. I go into every game hoping for the best, but it is impossible for every game to be great or even just good, and, sadly, The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief falls onto the bad side of the scale. The Raven may be a better experience on PC, but, having only played the game on PS3, I can't recommend the game regardless of platform, even if you're a big fan of adventure games.

The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief  (PSN - $29.99 / PC - $24.99)