I don't get the ending. Ramirez is Beni???

This means that the entire game introduction with Doba, Carrie and Beni is a fabrication by Dormeuse and that Dormeuse has used her powers to befuddle Ramirez' mind into thinking that he was Beni.

Is that it?

Also, does this game really deserve an A- ? I would probably have given it a B. (I don't like the ending. Also, some of the puzzles combine trial and error and wandering around and that was not enjoyable for me.) I think URU is way better than this, and more deserving of an A grade.

Hey Benedict --

Serious Spoilers (spoiler warning just out of habit)
@
@
@
@
@
@
@
@
Yes, Dormeuse has apparently fallen in love with Ramirez -- at least, as much as is possible for a computer generated being to fall in love -- and has figured out a way to lure him back into her world and keep him there for awhile. She may want to test him again, or she may just be hoping that, second time around, he will fall in love with her during the trials. So the whole starting setup was all Dormeuse-generated, and Beni has really been Ramirez all along, not realizing it.

I thought the ending was bittersweet, and it surprised me. I liked it.

If you are comparing Sentinel to Uru: Complete Chronicles -- Sentinel isn't nearly as long, but then Uru: Complete Chronicles is HUGE, and represents a large team effort over several years and is a compilation of the main game plus expansion packs.

I like the idea of Dormeuse falling for Ramirez, and their dialogue was more than captivating, but I feel that somehow the writers did not develop this clearly enough. As for Dormeuse luring Ramirez back, it just doesn't make sense. Either:

(1) Ramirez never left the tomb. He was kept there, put to sleep then awakened and then she brainwashed him so he thinks he is Beni.

OR

(2) He left. But he came back again, because Dormeuse hypnotised him to do so. And she brainwashed him when he arrived. Hence the whole scenario about Beni's sister being held hostage.

Whichever the case, things could have been made clearer or developed more at the ending.

It feels like a bad detective film - When they unmask the killer at the end you do not recognise him because the light was not bright enough.

As for the game grade, I think it would be clearer if a numerical grade is given for our games instead of ABC or D. It would give a better comparison of the overall quality. If we use ABCD, each band covers a quarter of a 100 and it becomes 75-100 for A. So A- or A does not really reflect on how good it is. Uru could be 95 because it is a team effort and long development period. But Sentinel should probably be in the range of 75 to 80. Isn't 75 a clearer grade than A-?

I think it's more probably the second possiblity. I like the idea that Dormeuse could have hypnotised him to return someday. It's also possible that she controls more of the area around the tomb than anyone knows -- so that anyone getting within, for instance, ten miles of the tomb can be under her influence if she chooses. It's not out of the realm of possibility for Ramirez to return later in life just to have a look from a distance, not realizing how much of the surrounding area she controls.

I think the amazing part is that she lets him go at all. Maybe she never has, and your first choice is the right one. I did wonder how she keeps him from starving to death during his tests and trials.

Yes, the developers could have developed the end a bit more fully. Still, in terms of the "typical" adventure game ending -- which is often short and abrupt -- it's not bad comparatively.