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(More customer reviews)It was a story about Beno?t Sokal's "Syberia 2" that got me interested in playing the game and so I picked up "Syberia" knowing full well that this was a two-part game.So for me it was pretty much one giant adventure and since the original "Syberia" is available at a reduced price nowadays there is no reason not to go back and start at the beginning.There is a recap of "Syberia" cinematic available at the start of this game, but why anybody would skip the first half of the game and miss out on being introduced to Oscar and the other automatons of Hans Voralberg, the eccentric inventor who longs to see the fabled Syberian mammoths before he dies is beyond me.
At the end of "Syberia" our heroine, Kate Walker, the New York City attorney who was sent to Valdeline to close a deal on the Voralberg Automaton Factory had decided to turn her back on her job and family to join Hans Voralberg on his automaton train heading through a frozen wasteland towards the legendary island of Syberia.The first stop is the town of Romansbourg where Kate will end up acquiring a few more companions for the trip, although not all of them are wanted.Hans' failing health will be a problem throughout this journey, but if Kate does get Hans to Syberia alive then nothing else matters.
Players control Kate Walker through the standard adventure game interface consisting of an inventory screen, a document screen, and Kate's cell phone.Fortunately, since Kate has turned her back on her employer, Marston, and her mother (No more calls from Dan the annoying and cloying now ex-boyfriend!), the cell phone is reduced to a minor part of the game.However from time to time we see a cinematic where we learn that Marston has sent somebody after Kate to find her and bring her to her senses and back home (the last two not necessarily in that order).So we keep waiting for this guy to show up and either cause trouble or give Kate some help (I actually liked the way that element played out).
The strength of this game are the graphics.My nephew, who knows a lot more about what is available in the realm of computer games, assures me that these are cool graphics.There are some nice renderings of water throughout both games and I like the attention to detail here where people walking across snow leave footprints.We even have real time snowfall in this one as well.There are also strange mechanical gadgets at every stop along the way and a lot of things built out of mammoth tusks in the last part of the game.The cinematics are pretty impressive and you have the option of going back and watching them over and over again to your heart's delight.The music is also quite good, especially when you get to the key moments of wonder in the story.
The weakest part of the game is finding some of the hot spots.A couple of times in each game I missed some tiny object on the floor I was supposed to be picking up and several times it took a while to find whatever I needed to find to insert a key or throw a switch.So be prepared for some moments of frustration as you know you are missing something and keep going in circles for a while.But there is almost always a point like that in any of these games (I spent three days ranting and raving while trying to find Brad and give him what he needs in "Phantasmagoria").
As you would also expect the puzzles in "Syberia II" are a standard mix of fairly straightforward efforts in logic (I almost want to say "real world" solutions but we are playing a game looking for living mammoths on a mythical island) and those that require hit and miss trial and error for extended periods of time.A big helpful hint would be to take notes of things you see in terms of diagrams and drawings.Unlike "Syberia" there are not a lot of manuscripts and other things that you can pick up and put in your inventory to read later (however, the few you do have are pretty interesting in terms of the story).So a pattern that you see can be the clue to how things have to be arranged down the road.You will also find the quirky uses for things like a Russian doll (you will carry this one around for a long time before you use it), a fish skeleton and a flask of water.
I really think you have to consider the two games as one big one."Syberia" was a bit more interesting simply because this is where we find out what is going on and what Kate is doing.In "Syberia" the goal was to find Hans Voralberg, who was pretty much a mythic figure.Then, once we found he was a real person, the goal then became to find Syberia, which is the focus of "Syberia II."But then the whole idea that Kate was undergoing some sort of rite of passage here was never a major part of the story's appeal.Basically the mystery ends with "Syberia," but the adventure continues in "Syberia II."Kate Walker does have a character arc over the entire adventure, but it is Han's quest to find the reality represented by the doll of the mammoth with its rider that is the driving force here.
Final Note: There were a couple of points in the game (outside the monastery and on the back porch of the cabin) where there were lines of color on the screen and the game crashed.Do not panic: all you have to do is go into your options and reduce the detail level to low and everything will be fine.
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Syberia 2Product Description: In Syberia II players pick up directly where the classic first game left off, for a more amazing, immersive adventure. Join Kate Walker and expert automaton designer Hans Voralberg as they search for a place that every scientist says does not exist. Travel on trains into realistic arctic landscapes, solving mysteries as you pursue a legend to the ends of the world.
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