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Ratings | | x1 | x6
Release Date 1 July 2006
Release Type Commercial
Content Advisory Occasional, mild | None | Strong
Operating System Windows
Setting Contemporary
Genre Drama
Story Original
Play Length Medium Length Game
Language English
Graphics 320x200, 32-Bit Colour
Downloaded 7,189 All Time; 1 This Month

About

Russell Stone works as a Jewish Rabbi at a poor synagogue in New York City. He is a devout man with a problem. Membership is way down and he lacks the funds to keep his synagogue open. Things are looking very bleak, and he has grown progressively more cynical and bitter with the passage of time.

Just as he is on the verge of packing it all in, he receives some interesting news. A former member of his congregation has died and left the rabbi a significant amount of money.

A blessing? Or the start of something far more sinister? Can Rabbi Stone just accept the money and move on? His conscience says no. Step into his shoes as he travels all over Manhattan in his attempt to uncover the truth.

Features rabbinical conversation methods, a unique method of fighting, an original score, and three different endings!

Demo: FREE!
Full Version: $4.99

DaveGilbert Writing, character animations, coding
Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator Case 1 Deluxe Receptionist (Voice)
Bestowers of Eternity - Part One Creator
Blackwell Deception Design, programming
Blackwell Epiphany Writing, programming, voiceover directing
Blackwell Legacy, The Coder/Designer/Writer
Blackwell Unbound Design, coding, writing
Eyes of the Jade Sphinx
Gemini Rue Voice Directing & Casting
Hard Space: Conquest of the Gayliks! Pragmatic Puzzle Suggestions
He Watches (DEMO) QA/Testing
Kathy Rain VO Recording & Direction
Limey Lizard: Waste Wizard! Voice, Testing and Support
Mind's Eye Tester
PMX: The Magic Hat Beta testing
Primordia Publisher, Voice Actor (Hansel Rossumbuilt, Scraper)
Reality-on-the-Norm: Cold Storage Testing
Reality-on-the-Norm: Stuck at Home Testing
Reality-on-the-Norm: The Postman Only Dies Once Author
Reality-on-the-Norm: The Repossessor (2014) Original story & design
Resonance Voice acting direction
Shardlight Producer
Strangeland Publishing & Voice Work
Tea For Two: A Detective Logan Case Voice Acting
Technobabylon Almost certainly some stuff
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow Publishing and voice direction
Two of a Kind design/dialog/coding
Unavowed Writing, design and programming
Whispers of a Machine Voice Direction
Zombie Attack (BAKE SALE) Bake Sale Organizer

vel Music
A Gunshot in Room 37 Music
Recess 2 Everything else
Recess talkie Creator
The Hamlet Team Captain, writer and some other stu
Who wants to live forever? Just about anything else

ProgZmax Character portraits
Hard Space: Conquest of the Gayliks! Delectable Design, sprites, and BGs
Indiana Jones and the relic of the Viking Sprite Concept
Kuma Story Script Consulting and Beta Testing
Kuma Story DEMO Script Consulting and Beta Testing
Limey Lizard: Waste Wizard! Creator and Designer
Reality-On-The-Norm: The Affair of the Weirdo beta testing
Red Flagg - Don't Call me Blue REDUX Special Consultant

Snedig Backgrounds
Blackwell Legacy, The Backgrounds

Awards & Reviews

Image by 4KbShort

AGS Awards 2006 Winner

AGS Awards 2006 Winner

Best Dialogue Writing
Image by 4KbShort

AGS Awards 2006 Nominee

AGS Awards 2006 Nominee

Best Animation
Best Game Created with AGS
Best Non Player Character
Best Player Character
Best Programming
Best Story

AGS Panel Rating

Other Players Rated


28 votes

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Comments

Showing 5 of 7 comments


By voodoo_heart on 29 August 2006

I really liked this game - the story was philosophical, thoughtful, and adult. The multiple endings are a great touch - I wanted to see the other endings so much I replayed the game as soon as I finished. Loved the rabbinical fight scene.


By DaveGilbert on 6 August 2006

I'm happy that everyone is enjoying the game. Regarding the long intro, I have two words. The first is "Press", and the second is "Escape."

Thanks for playing!


By SuperScottishHero on 2 August 2006

Brian, just because you couldn't work it out doesn't mean that there wasn't logic to things. I beta tested for Dave and it didn't take me too long to work out how the fight system worked, without any prompting from Dave.

This is a truly excellent game and you shoudl check out Dave's website for the special edition


By evillawngnome on 2 August 2006

THe story is really well done. And the music is fantastic. That said, this game has some serious playability issues.

First of all, the clues in this game need to be reworked. And as has been previously mentioned, its not clear that you can USE clues on other clues. Not that this really helps directly, the only thing this did for me was eliminate one clue in my inventory to make room for the next one. And THAT made it possible for me to advance the story: It wasnt that i didnt have the clue, it was that the clue wasnt showing in my inventory. Its a very shady system.

Secondly, the dialogue system is very interesting, but there is absolutely no way to get "good" at it. This is PAINFULLY clear at the end of the game - or, what i presume to be the end: I could NOT find a series of responses to satisfy Rabbi Zelig. There was no clear way of knowing when i was supposed to "fight" and when i was supposed to ask a question. Further frustration comes from the long intro to the game. If you die, you cant immediately load up and get back into the story, you have to wait through the intro EVERY TIME.

I think what shines in this game is the story and the gameplay IDEAS, but at the core, this game is frustrating and slow. Some time spent on the flow of the story midgame, and a total overhaul of the endgame fight sequence would bump this up a few notches.

Despite my unending frustration with this game, i would encourage the designers to keep working, there is obvious talent here.


By KingMick on 31 July 2006

This is one of my favorite AGS games ever! The storyline is EXTREMELY well-written, great endings, overall a very enjoyable experience--this is one of those that you keep to play again later.

A few things that could be better:

Include in a game manual something encouraging the player to use the clues on different things, including on each other. I had a hard time coming to the realization that the clues in Shivah are a lot like the inventory in other AGS games.

Graphics could be a lot better--they were pretty decent for 320x240 resolution, but a game with a story as good as this one relies a lot on the mood and better graphics would contribute to that. A remake of this game with better graphics would be well worth the download!

Soundtrack: Some of the music is a bit tiring, but some is very good. I understand it is all original composition? I'd love to have the music available separately.


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