Rather dated graphics and character movement, but a good story with a poignant ending. I loved the character of Foster (aka Bob) with his dry humour and acerbic wit: aided in this by quirky Joey. As a downunder type, I would have liked the game even more had Bob and Joey had Aussie accents (It was set in Oz afterall) A great feature with the F5 key, was control over music volume, as the music drove me nuts and I could kill the sound. Also, I have to confess to having to slow the game down for the puzzle where one has to get back before the eye wakes up (my hand-eye coord is not what it once was). Bob learns about his Outback origins and for me makes the right choice at the end going back there.
A cleverly thought out game integrating Max's dreamworld/druggefd world with his actual reality. I liked the way in which, in each new dream world, he learned more about himself, especially his little sister Sarah. The puzzles were interesting and challenging and had some relevance to that given scenario. There are Freudian dynamics hinted at throughout the game play. The only downside for me was the eccentric mode of moving the character about (using the right mouse key!) This made life difficult at times, especially when one had to move the character quickly and accurately (eg, the final puzzle: Morgan's Last Game).
The storyline is good, and good sci-fi, and based on actual events in 1912 at Fetch Rock Light. The time shifting was fun, but one ends up in information overload: there's so much text to absorb only to find much of it doesn't help with solving the puzzles. Yet despite all the info it is not clear what has really happened in 1912 . SPOILER ahead. Why did the probe go rogue, what was Magnus' role in this, how did the disc and computer key go back to the stone age?
The storyline was interesting with Victoria and her Grandfather figuring as protagonists. As a downunder person some of the FBI jargon was hard to take (I guess I've not seen enough American detective movies -- it took me longer to work out what MO stood for, than solving even the hardest puzzle: why not say modus operandi?) On puzzles, and no spoilers, the robotic spider puzzle must have been thought up by a cruel sadist. There were one or two other sufficiently challenging puzzles to tax the grey matter, and at least the nature of the puzzles had relevance to the given scenario -- not always the case with these adventure games. Too many cutscenes for my liking, but I guess this is the modern trend. Sepia Prague was gloomy/depressing (as fitting), and for someone who never experiences snow even in midwinter, Chicago made me shiver watching Victoria walking about outside in her very short skirt. Again, no spoilers, but the finale was clearly set up for a sequel and, as another reviewer pointed out, it now exists (however, note that is now priced US$11.24 on Microids). I will wait for a bit to see if GOG acquires SL2, and undercuts the Microids price.
I wasn't sure what to expect with a sequel, as I'd really enjoyed Syberia (1st). But this game has the same high quality graphics, music etc...However, it seemed rather short campared with Syb 1. Some of the pointers to solutions are very obscur having no logical relationship to the problem (no spoilers but the sequence for the train controls -- in the Youkol Vilage) lacked a logical basis so I had to rely on Kate saying "its stuck" or "that won't work" etc and went forward by elimination (perhaps its me and others haven't encountered this sort of issue). Also, why does old Boris (ex Syb1) suddenly appear in his out of control plane: convenient for Kate but lacks a logical relationhsip with that scenario. The ending, once I mastered the mammoth calling device, came at a rush. It was quite moving, but very abrupt: and poor little Youki gets left locked in the gate mechanism cage having given such stirling service on several ocassions. The interruptions from the New York office were irritating and served no purpose (we know what is happening to Kate!) and jarred with their rather crude language. Not sure what Sokal was thinking of by introducing them and the dumb seeming detective. I can see the possibility for a sequel in that Kate had been left with a ship and Kouki on Syberia Island whilst Hans has gone off into the distance. Perhaps it already exsist as this game came out in 2004.
The graphics/actor animation is good, though some of the movie clips were rather grainy. The basic theme was good, though the treatment a bit corny and stereotypic at times (eg, the characterisation of Syrus as being a retarded country bumpkin). Generally the order in which solves problems and collects inventory items is not an issue, till one gets into the final chapter: then watch out. it gets very frenetic. But one is given a chance to retry if one screws up. some inventory items stay there to the bitter end even though of no further use (eg, the hammer). But I enjoyed playing it and soloutions were reasonably straightforward. The Aussies must be very prudish to have banned this game simply because of the "rape" scene (But I'm unsure quite when that occured -- I assume today, even the Aussies wouldn't ban it with what we have today in the movies)
A diiferent experience, having got used to games such as Riven, URU and Syberia. Initially, I started very patiently wading through all the many clues (eg, photographs and brochures), to discover that most of them were probably not that impotant. The insight came (possible spoiler ahead!), when I went back and more carefully thought about the revolting gent's loo, with its voyeuristic hole and the LAZARUS grafiti with rune. Thereafter, things moved more quickly. A major downside for me was that I could not save the game. On attempting this, the screen I got into appeared right, but was not as there was no save option: so I had to restart each game from scratch (but not a big deal as much didn't have to be repeated.
I'm relatively new to game playing so don't bring the sophistication that some reviewers do (eg, their fluent use ot the gamers patoi). However, I feel that the animation is great, and I liked the character of Kate, whose NY street savvy was not up to her encounters in Europe: she grows through this movie. The cell calls were annoying at first till I saw how they revealed her growth. I was put off by some of the accents (why did Helena have a passable Russian accent and yet the old wino cosmonaut have an American one: perhaps a subtle joke!?) I'm getting used to lots of pixel hunting in these games (eg, as in The Longest Journey), though finding it annoying at times. For the most part the clues were fairly self-evident, but some were very obscur and seemed irrelevant to the plot at that point (eg, why on earth would a "telescope" key fit the door to the Voralberg estate?). Some of the dialogues drive one crazy (eg, between Kate and obessive-compulsive Oscar) but the guidance menu was useful (eg, Mission). Not sure I'd bother with the sequel: like movies and novels, sequels don't usually cut it for me. I think that the maker of this game was poking fun in many different directions and I enjoyed that.
Having been used to URU (on and off line) I found the graphics a little crude at times. But in general, I enjoyed this game. However, some of the dialogues are incredibly lengthy, which makes the journey longer than need be. Not only are some lengthy, they are unbelievably boring (eg, in the Enclave, with Yerrin). But one has to be careful in using ESC with the dialogues: if you miss something critical, April doesn't hear it or answer it, and you can be stuffed later on (eg, in the police station witjh the with the union-blighted repair men: I went round the loop a few times). The trick is to save frequently or you'll be restarting. I enjoyed April's appearance and saucy feminist behaviour. The ending seemed a bit weak, leaving me wondering what happened to so and so (eg, Emma and Micky). I would have thought the epilogue could have been much better. Very anticlimatic after such a great journey. Is there an upcoming seguel?
As a Myst fan this was a must for me, especially having read the Myst novels. Having some grasp of D'ni history and characters helps to make sense of the game. Being able to set up and move an avatar was a new experience for me. In a way, the puzzles are not as challenging as in Riven. I have since joined Uru online, which adds a whole new dimension and with several more ages to explore, plus, of couse, being able to interact with other players. This is both a treat but also frustrating as one needs other players to complete some ages: yes it is multiplayer but I guess I'm a loner so enjoyed solving the age puzzles off line on my own.
