Line #42 VideoGame/BlackDahlia


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6	[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Black_Dahlia_Coverart_7219.png]]
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8	''Black Dahlia'' is an AdventureGame released by ''Take 2'' in 1998. The story begins in Cleveland in 1941, where a brutal serial-killer known as "The Torso Killer" terrorises the population. The main character of the game, Jim Pearson has recently been assigned to the COI - "Co-ordinator Of Information"- unit. Jim's first mission is to investigate a complaint from a businessman who claims that one of his former employees left subversive propaganda at his factory. During the investigation Jim learns about The Black Dahlia; a mysterious artifact that according to legend will grant whoever possesses it the power to rule the world. It soon becomes evident that The Dahlia is somehow linked to "The Torso Killer".
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10	''Black Dahlia'' is easily, in terms of scope, one of the greatest adventure games ever made; featuring a huge cast of characters and a complex, epic plot that spans over several years. A comparatively more believable storyline than ''VideoGame/{{Ripper}}'', Take 2's other noted InteractiveMovie AdventureGame, although it doesn't boast as illustrious a cast list, with "just" Creator/DennisHopper and ''Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind'''s Creator/TeriGarr.
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12	This game [[SimilarlyNamedWorks should not be confused]] with [[Literature/TheBlackDahlia the novel]] by James Ellroy, or with the latter's [[Film/TheBlackDahlia film adaptation]]. It is also not related to the 1946 FilmNoir ''Film/TheBlueDahlia''.
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15	!!The Game provides examples of:
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17	* AlternateHistory: Did you know [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Torso_Murderer The Cleveland Torso Murders]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Short the murder of Elizabeth Short]] were really the fault of ThoseWackyNazis trying to unseal some SealedEvilInACan?
18	* ArtifactOfDoom: The Dahlia is an ancient gem implied to have been blessed by Norse gods, which will give the user the power to warp reality to their whims.
19	%%* CIAEvilFBIGood: {{Averted}}. Winslow's an arrogant glory hound, whereas you're just trying to do the right thing.
20	* DownerEnding [[spoiler: Both of them, although if you do the right thing, you at least get the satisfaction that you saved the world]].
21	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Alice cheerfully shoots herself dead after Dick takes control of her mind]].
22	* DreamingOfThingsToCome: At one point, Jim gets a vision of himself wearing an SS-uniform. This foreshadows the really bad ending to the game, where Jim [[spoiler: Actually, Winslow in Jim's body]] has [[spoiler: turned America into a fascist dictatorship]].
23	* FauxAffablyEvil: [[spoiler: Dick Winslow]], who continues to act chummy and cheerful towards the main character even after being revealed as a monster.
24	* FedoraOfAsskicking: Jim sports a fedora for the majority of the game.
25	* GrandTheftMe: At the end, if you choose to shoot [[spoiler: Dick Winslow]] instead of the dahlia, the ceremony will be completed and [[spoiler: Winslow]] will use the dahlia's power to transfer his soul into Jim's body.
26	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Real-life historical figures Eliot Ness and Elizabeth Short (the historical "Black Dahlia") both appear in the game, with their names kept intact. Their roles however, are pretty minor.
27	%%* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Detective Merylo
28	%%* JurisdictionFriction: Invoked very heavily
29	%%* KavorkaMan: It's hard to say if Winslow is an example of this trope, or if he is TheCasanova.
30	%%** Al King, however, is definitely one.
31	%%* MotorMouth: Private Benjamin J. Schwartz.
32	%%* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Dr Heinrich Eisenstadt
33	%%* MoreThanMindControl
34	%%* NotSoHarmlessVillain: [[spoiler: Winslow.]]
35	* SerialKiller: "The Torso Killer" is a madman who butchers over half a dozen people and leaves their body parts scattered around.
36	* ShapeShifter: [[spoiler: Winslow]] near the end of the game. Although, whether he always had this ability or if he gained it by possessing the dahlia is left unexplained.
37	%%* SolveTheSoupCans: Most of the game's puzzles qualify as this.
38	* ThoseWackyNazis: Von Hess is a Nazi who seeks the Dahlia for his own power. [[spoiler: Well, for ''Dick'''s own power.]]
39	* WolverinePublicity: Dennis Hopper and Terri Garr are both labeled as the stars on the box, despite the fact that they only appear in minor roles.
40	* YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler: Winslow]] murders Von Hess for failure to secure the Dahlia, in the scene that establishes the former as the game's true BigBad.
41	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Happens to Al King, who is killed by [[spoiler: Winslow]] in a particularly brutal fashion.

Context VideoGame / BlackDahlia