This game doesn't get mentioned in discussions of the best adventure games even half as much as games like Grim Fandango or King's Quest VI or [insert game here,] and that's a shame. Because The Last Express is not just an amazing game, but the only game of its kind. Unfolding nearly in real-time, with a voice cast including native speakers of English, Russian, Serbian, Arabic, French, and German (if I remember correctly,) and using a strange and beautiful rotoscoping technique for much of the animation, it feels, looks, and sounds like no other game.
The soundtrack alone justifies paying $6 for this game. It has great replay value, too, since every passenger has their own schedule and you never know what sorts of conversations and encounters you might miss while you're in another area. It's not too difficult, though a couple short action sequences will take at least two tries for most players. There are just a few of these, though, and even the most action-averse shouldn't have trouble with them.
The plot, too, is one-of-a-kind. There's no single, central plot, but instead a medley of intertwining subplots set against the backdrop of the days before the outbreak of World War I. Every passenger on the train has their own motivations, and the ways in which their stories connect makes for some really wonderful moments. There are spies, rebels, secret lovers, murderers, and a bevy of other unique and captivating people to get to know.
After finishing this game for the first time, I watched the ending cinematic five or six times. In my opinion it bests the endings of favorite like Grim Fandango or Full Throttle. It's unexpected and explosive and final and uncertain and deeply sad, and totally in keeping with the rest of the game.
If you want adventure, mystery, tragedy, romance, humor, and history--or if you're just sick of stupid plots and bad accents in games and movies today--pick up The Last Express. Really.