Poesta on 10/5/2009 at 10:04

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I got him now, he just won't appear if there are other guards in there or something. Still need 600 more loot, I'll snoop around some more.

Poesta on 13/5/2009 at 19:09

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I just finished it using the walkthrough. Well, I completed all of the objectives; the mission doesn't end.

Sticky Fingers on 4/8/2009 at 22:28

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IIRC, there's a few safes in this mission, but it's been a while since I played it.

A search of the many Benny's Dead threads revealed only (http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75858&highlight=benny%27s) this about safe opening. Hope this helps.

The Phantom on 11/8/2010 at 18:07

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Getting back to this classic after seven years, I'm surprised how little this mission has aged.
Here's a summary of how I experienced playing through Benny's Dead again.

The introduction is well done, describing events after the destruction of Soulforge and the events of Garrett ending up in Moth, investigating Benny's Dead. First some bit of scouting through the narrow streets of the city, avoiding the patrols, entering some buildings, providing a good bit of thieving. Nice use of brick and stone textures throughout the town.
Also compliments for the writings, and the use of English. They're interesting to read (like the Sewerman's diary), giving a good impression of the town by telling about the problems that plague it, and on a personal note also expending my vocabulary.

The sewers, and the enemy that haunts it, is one of things I remembered from this mission and what makes it a memorable experience. It is the most Thiefy and atmospheric sewer I've ever seen in a FM. An old-looking system of tunnels with a confusing layout and several points of entry, which you enter with a feeling of tension after having read the Sewerman's log.
With the bogeys roaming about, and the the soundtrack the place really gave me the creeps. These scary little children make an excellent enemy, one of my all-time favorites in FMs, and I enjoyed observing their behaviour and reading their background.

Cakewalk difficulty didn't gave me any problems. Extra Spicy was more of a challenge, with avoiding the guards and the ko limit. I was glad that once I reached the Hotel I was able to cause some mayhem again. Strange though that the player is allowed to kill everyone except cops. And a pity the ko limit also concerns the bogeys. I don't expect them to visit the local apothecary because of headache ;) Anyway, there's nothing that gave me much trouble, except finding the last bit of loot.
Too bad the mission isn't ghostable because the ending prevents this.

Regarding the ending, it isn't such a bad plot as many people believe and is rather original. Garrett, hired to investigate the dead of Benny, is actually walking into a trap, killing Benny himself and becoming the perpetrator. The appearing face from one of the Seers is rather cool (even though the voice acting isn't very clear). Unfortunately the execution doesn't work out very well. The player's is obligated to kill a guard without him knowing he has to do so, making the ending quite illogic in my opinion. The way the room is magically blocked is a bit silly and can easily make the player believe it's a bug and start all over. Also, while playing on Extra Spicy, the game didn't end after this sene because I hadn't found enough loot yet. And when I completed the loot requirement later the game didn't end either, which made a forced 'Mission complete' necessary.

Beside this, other negative points for me were the maps on which north isn't compass-north, the lack of secrets and the fact that luring the bogeys into attacking the cops tricks the objective 'Don't even let the cops see you', even when the cops don't actually see Garrett (I would've liked to see them fight eachother).
Nevertheless Benny's Dead remains a fine mission that stood the test of time very well. It features a variety of settings, that follow eachother in a linear way but each provides some alternative routes to take. Definitely worth playing :thumb:. Really nice work, Gingerbread Man, especially for the time it was created.

The story doesn't entirely satisfy but that's probably because things would've been explained in the next chapter. Sadly it was never released.


A shame really because the story deserved a continuation. There are several elements that deserved more explaining like the Seers, Spidermellon Patch, and Yellow Spider gang. And I would've loved to see more Bogeys in action.

GBM, if you read this, can you tell us why you never continued the story ?

Stats
Difficulty: Extra Spicy
Time: 2 hours 35 min 29 sec
Loot: 2169 out of 2209

Nightwalker on 7/7/2011 at 02:59

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That ending has always been very buggy. If you try again from a save, it might work properly.