Techtite's PC Game Reviews!

"As it stands, this sequel is quite good, and is still far better than most of the rubber-stamp adventure games currently on the shelf. Even though it's less than what the first game was, it's still far better than any adventure game I've played since...well, since Syberia."

---from the review

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Sidebar :

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Snow, Snow, Snow. I can see the conflict of interest here. Although Syberia is a piece of pure fiction, the game's designer, Benoit Sokal, clearly wanted to make the story plausible, in its own way. Since Syberia has never been "discovered," few major villages could live near it. This means that this whole second story cannot likely include any quaint villages to explore, nor large museums, nor even a deserted mining colony. Be this as it may, I was rather disappointed at how so-so the locations Kate explored truly were. I'm sure we all had visions of where Kate's quest would take her, upon the ending of the first game. I doubt few gamers expected so much ice, snow, and Eskimos (or whoever they are). Not that the game itself is disappointing; just not as picturesque, nor exciting, as the first.

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Syberia 2

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A Techtite Review

It's always a tough job making a sequel. This problem is doubled, when it's a sequel of Syberia. That was one of the best adventure games in the past 5 years; second only to The Longest Journey, if second to anything at all. Any sequel would have a very high hurdle to jump, given how high the prior game raised the bar. Add to this the fact that most people (this critic included) didn't feel that the first story needed a follow-up at all.; it was fine as it was. This was a tough sequel, indeed.

Seeing how much Syberia 2 relies on the first game to understand the story, however, let's offer a little refresher course. Kate Walker is a NYC lawyer who was sent to the quaint little town of Valadilene, for the acquisition of an old-fashioned toy company. The elderly owner of the company recently passed away, leading Kate to search for the only surviving relative --and rightful heir to the company-- so he can sign on the dotted line. As Kate slowly follows the path of this man's life, she slowly sees all the lives he touched, and all the dreams he was able to pursue; two things that Kate's life has barely offered at all. Spoilers notwithstanding --That is to say: you need to know this for the sequel to make any sense!-- Kate does indeed find Hans, though she decides to ditch her stodgy life, and jump on Hans' train to various unknown lands. You go, girl.

What "unknown lands" are we talking about? Well, that's the mystery that many people wanted solved, and sadly, that's where this sequel's strength begins to wane. In the first game, every stop of the train led to an intriguing locale. In this game, you have: a small town that makes Valadilene look like a metropolis, a snow bank that the train gets stuck on, and a sort of Eskimo-like village under the ice. Sure, this is all so Hans can fulfill his dream of finding the lost island of Syberia --a place where even wooly mammoths still exist-- and yet you'd expect such a fictitious journey to have far more stunning locales to explore than, say, a snow-covered mountaintop.

Not that this is a negative review. It's just that when you make a sequel for a game as flawless as the first, you cannot avoid the inevitability of disappointment here and there, unless the sequel is very, very good. As it stands, this sequel is quite good, and is still far better than most of the rubber-stamp adventure games currently on the shelf. Even though it's less than what the first game was, it's still far better than any adventure game I've played since...well, since Syberia. In fact, given the almost-identical game engine, it often looks a lot like the first game, in most respects.

It also has some of the first game's charm. In some of the more enjoyable moments of the game, you're followed by a cute little pet called a "Youki," which is sort of a cross between a dog, a bear, and the face of a baby seal. This is a cute addition to one or two of the locations --not to mention one or two puzzles-- and made this part of the game all the more fun, with this "Youki" following Kate wherever she goes. It's this sort of storytelling whimsy that we wanted more of, and Syberia 2 has it.

Youki doesn't follow you throughout the game, however, which is part of my complaints with this sequel: the best moments are too short lived. I could've spent an awful lot less time on that drab snow covered mountaintop, where no less than five puzzles are needed, before you can move on. Yet in a far more ingenious moment, Kate is assisted by magic to enter the dreams of Hans, to help him regain consciousness. This dream state is a moment of pure graphic ingenuity, where a black-and-white Kate is walking among a "village" consisting of Hans' old sketches and drawings. This is a really great moment of the story, and yet it's too short. Only one puzzle required, until you're back to ice covered mountains with screen after screen of snow, snow, and more snow.

Of course, if there is one big success with this sequel, it's the lead heroine, Kate Walker. In the first game she seemed far less expressive, as explicable by how stodgy her old lifestyle was. Having been given the chance to open up more, however, Kate is now far more emotional and expressive, enhancing the mood of the entire game for the better. Every CGI video cutscene is made far more powerful, either by a tear in Kate's eye or a very well-animated gasp expression. Kate is as close to life-like as you can get in this game, without using an actual live body in the role.

To say that this all leads to a sweet finale is a hard sell for this critic, who felt that the original finale was fine as it was. However, for those of you who really needed an ending to the story, this is it, and overall, it's a very good one. While I would call any attempt at a "Syberia 3" a hard sell, I really had fun playing this game. Even at it's worst, it's still infinitely better than nearly every adventure game now on store shelves.

---Techtite