Gabriel Knight is truly the last great point-and-click adventure. It contains all the charm of a detective story, with the delightful idiotic humour of the LucasArts brand titles (such as Monkey Island and Grim Fandango) as well as innovative interface (and camera-control).
I've seen the DaVinci Code and I still prefer this game over Tom Hanks' brilliant performance.
Gabriel Knight attempts to do something that has probably never been attempted so successfully. The game's emulation of reality is quite stunning, since it is done to a degree that does not upset the drama of the series. The game is luckily not tube-like experience since the player's perceptiveness decides how much of the plot unfolds to him/her. This also encourages replay.
The game's voice-cast is absolutely fantastic. Tim Curry and Charity James are probably the most memorable of the bunch, but the rest are brilliant all the same. Even though the graphics are half a decade old by now the atmosphere is simply perfect. What's nice is that for once a company made a 3D adventure-game where the atmosphere isn't ruined by shoddy physics.
Additionally the historical setting of the plot and the sheer amount of detail is enough to make anyone fall in love with this game. A strong plot keeps you in its grips even if the climax isn't as surprising as one might expect. However, for new-comers to Jane Jensen's brilliant trilogy, it's a ride they wont soon forget.