Syberia is far and away the game that GameBoomers most like to write about. We are currently consolidating the eight member reviews of Syberia on this Boomer Reviews thread.

Perhaps you haven't played Syberia and want to know what it's like? Or you've played the game and want to take a nostalgic trip back into its joys and intricacies?

This is where you want to be!

Author: bigmamma1
Member #3287
Date Reviewed: December 1, 2003

There have probably been a million reviews written about this game by now, but I just have to put my "2 cents" worth in.

Syberia definitely raises the level of excellence for the Adv. gaming world to a whole new height. This is Creator Benoit Sokal's follow up to Amerzone and published by Microids Canada in 2002.

I was unable to play this one on my 64MB 500Mhz, 4Mb graphics computer. The game needs a little more power to run smoothly. The min. requirements say 64MB RAM & 16 MB video card. As soon as I got my new machine, I loaded it up-and WOW! What a game!

The story is intriguing and absorbing, carrying you into a beautiful, imaginary world that is fanciful but familiar at the same time. It's 4 different environments take you to the old world atmosphere of an 18th century mountain town in France-Valadilene-then to An old Eastern European university town-Barrokstadt-to the harsher era of 20th century Russia and the deserted factory city of Komkolzgrad and finally to the sad but beautiful old spa resort of Aralbad, complete with the beached ships of the shrinking Aral sea.

The object of the game is to move our intrepid heroine, New York City lawyer Kate Walker, through the game world to her final objective, which is to find Hans Vorelburg, the heir-and now owner of the Voralburg Automaton factory, who is an eccentric loner and hasn't been seen or heard from in years.

Along the way she meets a wonderful assortment of characters, who will be more or less helpful if she asks the right questions to the right people. Kate will find out that the superior notions and attitudes she had when she arrived at the quaint little town of Valadilene will be turned upside-down. Her friends and associates back in New York will hardly believe that her trusted advisor in the town is Momo, a shy, retarded boy who believes in Hans and shares his interest in the long extinct Wooley Mammoth. And that the traveling companion she must depend on is a wooden robot (an Automoton made of cog wheels and springs designed by Hans) named Oscar.

A few of the characters she will meet are:

Professor Pons, a paleantologist, who studies the mammoths and knows of the land of Syberia. An interesting twist; he also knows Alexander Valembois who wrote a book called "Amerzone".

The Russian barge sailers-a hilarious old couple who Kate has to try to get help from.

Boris Charov, test pilot reject, deserted in the empty space complex when communism collapsed.

Helena Romanski, world famous Russian diva long past her prime.

James, her automoton nurse, also designed by Hans. He's made of metal and can't go out in the salty air.

You learn some interesting things about Kate's busy yuppie life back home through calls that come in now and then to her cell phone: from Mom, boyfriend Dan, her boss Mr. Marson, and her best friend, Olivia.
You'll also use the cell phone to get some information needed in the game.

You will find some objects that will tell you more about the background of the story of Hans Voralburg in the form of recorded cylinders and books that are placed in hidden corners of the game.

All of the puzzles are logical and serve to move Kate through the story. There was only one in the whole game that really stumped me- where you had to mix a drink at the bar, which consisted of a series of steps to get the right ingredients together. The puzzles and tasks you need to accomplish might be too easy for really experienced gamers who want to solve tough challenges, but I found it a nice relaxing change from brain benders that have me pulling my hair out even with a WT.

Last but not least to mention are the incredible graphics. Water flows and shimmers. Leaves blow in the wind. Close ups of birds show individual feathers. Birds sing in stereo. Raindrops form puddles. Footsteps sounds of crunching on gravel, squishing on carpet, clunking on metal. Colors are rich but muted greys and browns.

The ending is...well I watched it 3 times and it sent shivers up my spine. I for one will be panting to get my hands on Syberia 2!

This game , I rate with a well deserved 5*****

Author: bpegasus69
Member #898
Date Reviewed: May 5, 2004

Hi to my precious Gameboomers:

It has been so long since I wrote a review, however, I just finished Syberia, and I was so very moved that I do not know if there could ever be another game that could move me as this one has. I see there are so many reviews before mine and so maybe it is a useless endeavor to write another one, but this game is a diamond that we shall not quickly forget.

Kate walker, Esq, sent to a place called Voralberg to purchase a toy factory, found herself in the company of metal figures that had souls deep inside their manmade personna.

I found myself so indulged, even though I could not sit at the computer for long periods, I found myself not being able to wait to get back to the computer and continue this beautiful game. The story was so poignant that it had to have played to every human's heart. And as I am very soft hearted anyway, I found myself crying at the beautiful ending. I had left the story for only 30 minutes at a time and then I just had to go back and find out how Kate got the train to go forward. Knowing you all as I do, I can say as many others must have that it is more than a game it is poetry.

I do not know the writer but I do know that they came up with the best game ever written for the computer in the Adventure category.

As soon as my grand daughter is old enough I am going to sit down and make her play the game with her grandma so that she can see what life should be like.

It has an ambiance of such sweetness that it is very hard to review it or even tell another person how it affected this little old grandma. If people would tell their children stories with this beauty, I believe they would think different of this life we are living and maybe become more productive citizens. This softness plays out in such a way that we can all learn what we should do in our daily life.

I do not think it would be worth much if I went through the game as it is for reviewing it for other gamers. I felt the most important part of this beauty should be felt by each human being that would get the chance to experience it.

If you have not played Syberia, please do so. It will make you look at life in a different way, a soft way that someday you might be able to use in your own life or that of your children.

I am not the best reviewer but I can tell you that every word I write, comes from inside my heart, as does everything I give to you, my most treasured friends.

Love and Hugs,

Nancy

Author: DocPaul
Member #948
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2002

I too am a lover of the first person game, but I enjoyed Syberia anyway for several very good reasons.
1) Although it was third person, it was still mouse-controlled. None of that keyboard stuff. I really think that, because of the way the developers integrated the cell phone calls, they really had to go with a 3rd person perspective.
2) The graphics were absolutely outstanding. The level of detail and sharpness, combined with the sheer artistry and ambience of the scenes made it worth buying. My only criticism was that during a few of the cutscenes, especially those of the train rides, the sky would be pixellated some. That may be because my video card is capable of only 24 colors, though.
3) The story was very good. One of the best that I have enjoyed in a long time. I also enjoyed the developing and changing relationships between Kate and her mom, boyfriend and girlfriend. It made the game more realistic and reminded us that there was more to life than just the quest for Hans. It made the game far richer and more three dimensional. I wish that we could have had some choices in the matter, though. Do we want to get mad or glad at Dan, and so on. I also enjoyed slowly learning about Hans's life through encounters with people he knew and through various documents to be read. It is a long time since I have played a game that offered as rich a variety of documents and encounters to fill out a game.
4) It played virtually error-free. I played many evenings over the course of the past month and never once had a lock-up or error. Never once got kicked out of the game. I am on an XP machine also! I am sorry to hear that others have.
5) The music was magnificent. It really added to the mood and tension.
I would rate it at easy-medium hard. I only needed help from a walkthrough at two points early on in the game.
Overall, this is, in my opinion, one of the best games to come along in a long time and one of the best games I have every played. am really sorry that I have finished it.
Paul
P.S. Another thing that I liked about the game:
You could not be killed. I hate having to replay chunks of a game because I did not save before being unexpectedly sent to the great beyond
without warning.

Author: lasanidine
Member #1862
Date Reviewed: July 1, 2002

Syberia by Ben Sokal and Microids

Minimum System requirements:
Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP
Pentium II 350 MHz processor
16 MB compatible Direct 3D (dirextX7) 3D graphics card
64 MB RAM
400 MB free on hard disk
16X CD Rom drive
DirectX compatible sound card

I believe that Syberia will be one of the most reviewed games for some time and I hasten to put my oars into the rapids…

Firstly, and most importantly, let me say this: Thank you Microids not only for an excellent game but for the respect that the company and its personnel showed to the adventure gaming community. In this day and age when the rush to put a new game to market is such that the patches are practically published along with the game, it is refreshing to play a game that has no bugs or glitches, and does not freeze up if you click on the wrong place and does not try to lengthen the game by forcing us to hunt pixels. It is true that you need a powerful machine to play this game but you must understand that a gem needs a proper setting to bring out its beauty.

Benoit Sokal must feel like a doting father at a beloved daughter's wedding. He has loved and nurtured her, helped to form her character and now on his arm she would face the challenges of the outside world. Will she be loved and cherished? Will she be successful and understood?

The congregation is awed. They remember the first bride, Amerzon, who was beautiful and mysterious, whose appeal never faded and who is still one of the favorites of most of us.

The present bride is gloriously beautiful. She shines with an inner glow that highlights the perfection of her features and underscores every little detail of her charms...

What I mean is there is no need to talk about the talent that went into this design, it is self evident. The graphics are rendered with great care so nothing is lost in the translation from paper to the game (since my son is in a similar business I am fully aware of the long hours and hard work it takes to make it so).

However, life is not perfect and somewhere in the back pew there is always someone who looks beyond the trimmings of the wedding and talks about the attributes of the bride. Sooner or later the honeymoon is over and we have to see if the bride can fulfill her responsibilities. Can she cook? Can she sustain interest? Can she continue to charm?

The Syberia story line is very interesting and not unexpected, it centers around another obsessive dreamer like the one we already know from Amerzon and it fully explores the reality which marks such a person as a crank - until the dreams are brought to fruition. I do not want to give away any of the details in case some readers have not yet played the game.

Most of the story is served up at the beginning. There is not much mystery and it takes only a very little detective work to unravel it and, since it is concerned with automatons, we soon learn to operate the gadgets. We look for keys and wind up things again and again, we talk to people and let me tell you they are not reticent...

There is a finely tuned humor running through this game like a golden thread in a fine fabric and it shows the delicate touch of one who is not only familiar with, but understands, the human foibles that make meeting with these people so interesting. They are all represented here - the sublime, the ridiculous, the pompous and the pathetic. A very nice touch.

It is always a pleasure to have a strong female protagonist, and it is even more entertaining to watch one evolving and developing into her full potential (that is why April made such a strong impact in TLJ). We are certainly not disappointed here, Kate Walker is intelligent but needs to develop more self-assurance, everybody is yanking her chain and at first she is apologetic. Her obnoxious boss treats her like dirt, her tiresome mother and her whiny selfish fiancée completely ignore the importance of her job and consider her as an extension of themselves to use as needed. Than there is her inane friend who is about as appealing as a fly buzzing around dirty dishes. These things combined with all she has to do to complete her mission help to forge her malleable character into the steel backbone she needs to do so.

I enjoyed playing this game very much. It is true that I missed the 360 degree freedom and would have liked to play with some of the gadgets more than just winding them up. I would have like to poke around more than was possible. At places the game was a little too linear. I have felt that I was being led around by the cursor and most of the puzzles, perhaps because of their very nature, were just too easy. Kate was forever forced to do favor for favor and really learned the meaning of what lawyers imply by "Manus manum lavat" (Hand washes the hand), not to mention all the walking the poor girl had to do. There are four interesting places to visit and plenty to see. The music and voice acting are excellent although the prose could have been improved a little. The game ending is satisfying and full of promise of things to come (at least I hope so). The menus, inventory, options are easy to manipulate and the presentation of the cut scenes at the end is another very nice touch. The small grey manual with the light grey letters is hard to read.

All through the game I felt I was in a wonderful storybook world but I did not experience the degree of drama Amerzon offered, nor did I get the rush of adrenalin one likes to experience when one finds oneself at a threshold of a grand adventure.

This game is a definite keeper, I will play it again, more than once, and I am looking forward with great interest to the next installment of a marvelous world with the Microids trademark.

One more thing, we have been truly spoiled by a series of good games. We want and deserve the best and it is more than time that the game market researchers take a good, hard look at who has the money, time and know-how to play these games and that we want quality.

I played this game with Win Me
HP Pentium III 600 Mhz
128 MB Ram
Creative Sound Blaster PCI 128 Legacy Device
Nvidia Riva TNT 2 Pro

Author: Lundar
Member #1295
Date Reviewed: June 27, 2002

SYBERIA REVIEW

HISTORY
Syberia comes to us from Benoit Sokal and his team under Canadian developer/publisher Microids, the same creative and talented team who previously gave us Amerzone as well, an excellent creation that captured the adoration of many adventure fans. Many fans who had played Amerzone earlier eagerly awaited Syberia, eagerly awaiting another example of an adventure game done right. If you have played and completed Amerzone, you will be excited to know that Syberia includes some references to this earlier game for you as you play and solve some of the puzzles within this game. Amerzone was a unique game but when you see the graphics, music, story and so many other elements within the game come together, it is evident that Syberia was everything that Amerzone was and beyond. Syberia was worth the long wait and it is the testament of a grand adventure game that leaves its impression upon the player long after the game is completed. Syberia will no doubt win many awards as it is a winner in every category and one of those rare adventure games that does everything right.

STORY/PUZZLES
You will become intrigued by the small village of Valadilene where this magical adventure begins, situated within the snowy mountains of the alps and the mysteries surrounding the Voralberg family. Kate Walker, New York lawyer, has come to this peaceful village in hopes of buying out the Voralberg Manufacturing Company for an american toy company and her law firm, but will this village lose the heritage of the factory that has been so apart of its history and founding? A factory that produces life-like automatons, (mechanical beings that are better than robots) created by the Voralberg family for over a century. Little does Kate know how her life and world will be turned upside down as she undergoes an adventure she never thought she would take. Your journey will also have you undertaking adventure within three other areas, Barrockstadt, Komkolzgrad, and Aralbad. Having completed Syberia, my memory of the experience is still so vivid in my mind! The story is filled with creativity, suspense, mystery and so much more. The interface is so intuitive and easy to use as well. The puzzles in this game are so logical and reasonable and the conversation engine is magnificent as well. In fact, I did not even use a walkthrough once through this mesmerizing and enchanting adventure that is an estimated 25 hours of gameplay in length. Although I did come close to using one, I found that I solved the problem or confusion to a puzzle that I had by thinking on it further or exploring completely all the areas available to me at the time. This game is not intent on frustrating the player but allowing for puzzles that can be solved if given enough time and thinking. Puzzles range from finding the key to operate a mechanical device or in one occasion trying to distract some red cuckoos that are blocking your path. If you look carefully enough through the scenes that you have been in you will usually find the answer to a puzzle that you need to figure out.

GRAPHICS/ANIMATIONS
The graphics and animations within Syberia will make your eyes water with the intensity of beauty that shines through. In the first area that you begin in, Valadilene, you are witness to many varieties of animations such as: pools of water from the current rainfall on the streets reflecting the buildings above them, a drip of water falling from a street lamp, birds fluttering before you as you approach them or water flowing gracefully on the river nearby. These types of graphical touches and animations will allow the player to feel as if they are REALLY there in that cozy and mysterious village at the start of the game. The environments in this game are sizzling with a rare vibrancy, color and mesmerizing detail that few games can produce. I was stunned in one cutscene that showed an airship gliding through the cottony white clouds in the sky as the suns beautiful rays beat down upon the earth in a scene that was so peaceful and majestic and a testament to the power of the Syberia artists. More splendid and vivid scenes await you in your journey throughout the game. Of special note in this game is the intense and vibrant detail seen within the characters, not many games can boast about the level of detail with the in-game character models. Other environments will have you visiting a grand university, a long abandoned mining facility and a mysterious resort area that holds many surprises and climatic moments. Each of the four environments found within Syberia has its own unique animations and art that will leave the player in awe and wonder as to what Benoit Sokal and his team have created for us to play in. Syberia treats us to a special world that welcomes us with its warmth, peaceful gameplay and vibrant color that you will not want to leave after you have spent much time here!

MUSIC/SOUND EFFECTS
The sound effects of rain outside, birds chirping, as well as the ambient music that guides your hurried steps will amaze your ears! The music and atmospheric sound effects will leave you breathless as you play this game. Just wait until your ears listen to an opera scene within the game as you witness how the musicians have done an equally stellar job. The music evident within the game is the kind you never want to stop and could keep on listening because it moves the heart and soul of the player. The ending cutscene is a perfect example of this, as you may even shed a few tears from the power of what is happening as its moves and touches your heart!

VOICE ACTING
The voice acting is superb, filled with frenzied emotion, radiant energy and true effort. It is a genuine and rare example of how excellent a game can become when those designing it, care about giving players a genuine and exciting adventure experience, such as with great voices for the characters. Many recent adventure games have had horrible voice actors for its characters, such is not the case here, as you will delight in the professionalism evident within the voices. Just wait until you meet the automaton Oscar, or even Kate Walker herself as she experiences the conflicts between the world she left behind and the one she is being pulled towards and you will see the beauty of the games voices at work.

AN ADVENTURE WITH MEANING!
It is not everyday that brilliant creativity, stunning design and rare talent can come together to form the core of a masterful adventure game, that defines Syberia in exact detail! Benoit Sokal and his teams finely crafted game even speaks to our own society, heart and ways of living by making us ask ourselves, "Are we happy with the type of life we lead and the people that surround us?". If given the opportunities to re-examine our priorities and find out what more we are capable of, would we take it? You will find the answer to these questions and more as Kate Walker undergoes conflicts with the world she came from and the world she now finds herself in. The game attempts in many ways to mirror our own lives and reflects on the very things that are readily important within them. It is about the inherent need that drives us to examine our present lives and make the choices and decisions that will make us happy! It is this inherent meaning spread throughout the core of this game that left me stunned and amazed in playing it. As a result of this, I am so very ready for the sequel that will appear next year! Thank you Benoit Sokal and the rest of the Syberia team for an excellent game. You have created a game that is a rare masterpiece which has captivated me with its beauty and presence like only a few rare games can accomplish! When a game has this much impact, and impression upon a players way of thinking and playing, there is no doubt that Syberia is a classic in every sense and deserves your purchase and every honor befitting it!

Grade: A+
-Classic Adventure Game-
-Recommended Purchase-

Author: MacDee
Member #57
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2002

Do I recommend this beautiful 3rd person game to someone who loves to play lonely 1st person games? You bet!

I did grow impatient with the dialogue, but the scenes, the music, the animations made it all worthwhile. Syberia is one of the most beautiful games I have ever seen. The story tugs at your heart. You will find yourself becoming Kate Walker, and you most certainly will fall in love with Oscar.

The cut scenes will make you ohhhh and ahhhhh. You will want to play them over again. One viewing will not be enough to drink in all the detail.

The telephone calls annoyed me though. Most of them were empty, not needed to progress in the game. They mostly filled you in on Kate’s life back in the states.

This is a game not to be missed. The dialogue in no way is as tedious as it was in The Longest Journey. So for those of you that don’t like moving a character around and talking to every character you meet, I say……grit your teeth and bear it. Syberia is a spectacular game!

Author: mszv
Member #3093
Date Reviewed: September 26, 2002

Observations on Syberia

We have many glorious reviews of Syberia on this forum. Instead of doing another formal review, I decided to share some of my observations with you.

The game is beautiful, immersive, and it has a compelling story. It is one of the best games I have played. This concludes the “great game” part of my comments.

-How the game looks – an interesting observation
Let’s look at the game visuals. The distinctions between the images that move, such as Kate, the game protagonist, and the images that do not move, the backdrop, were often very subtle. I did not notice the distinctions in the interior space, nor in the exterior spaces where Kate was closely surrounded by buildings. I did notice the distinctions in the exterior spaces when the horizon line was far away, when you are looking off into a distance. In the distant exterior scenes, it’s as if Kate is walking through a landscape frozen in time. It’s an eerie effect; the moving figure and the backdrop are very sharply delineated. Try it yourself. The best way to see this is at Aralbad, the spa town. When you are there, make Kate walk to the boardwalk towards the gazebo. Now stop before you get to the gazebo, and look around. It’s windy outside, but is anything moving? The water is moving, but everything on the boat, and on the shore, is perfectly still. You can also see this if you turn around and look at the hotel - what’s moving in the wind? It’s not as obvious in the snow scene, but obvious in the windy late fall scene. You can notice the same effect when you are in Barrockstadt, by the river, and are viewing what looks like ruins from a distance. Obviously, this is because of the technology. If the designers made everything move, we’d have to run our game on an expensive commercial machine, not a home personal computer. What’s interesting is where you do and do not notice the breaks between the moving figure and the backdrop.

I think that in the interior scenes you have more to look at, and it distracts you from recognizing the break. You also don’t expect inanimate objects to move when there is no weather. There’s something else going on, but I can’t figure out what it is. You don’t notice the lack of movement in the cut scenes, the short animated scenes embedded in the games, because the movement in the animated scenes is so fast that you don’t have time to focus on the background. In a first person game, nothing moves except the viewer (there are exceptions), so you simply don’t notice a lack of movement.

-Places
The model for the interior pool at the Spa in Aralbad appears to be the Hotel Gellert in Budapest.

-Art
The statues in the factory town of Komkolzgard are a wonderful fantasy on 1930s socialist realist art, popular in Soviet Russia. You can see the focus on industrial progress, the ennoblement of the factory worker; these are emblematic of Soviet socialist realist art. What’s great about Benoit Sokal, the game developer, is that he takes it to extremes. The statues are so huge, so iconic, and so funny. I love it that one of the statues is carrying a sickle – Soviet communism anyone? I also love the way the train has to go between the statues’ legs, what is that all about? The factory is also amazing. The exterior of the building looks like a factory, but is also reminiscent of a church or a mausoleum; the door Kate goes through is enormous. It’s a peon to the Soviet Communist heroic ideal of progress.

-Accents
In my version of the game, Borodine, the city director of Komkolzgard, has a Scottish accent, whether an authentic dialect or “movie Scottish”, I cannot tell. Why is this, I wonder? Was Borodine an early socialist who became entranced with Communism and moved to Russia?

-Where is Kate from?
Kate, the protagonist of the game, is supposed to be American. I suppose she is American by way of being a French expatriate. There weren’t a lot of European French people who settled in the US. Kate looks French. Put her down in a side street of Paris, and she’ll fit right in. Given that Benoit Sokal is French, I’m not surprised.

-Native peoples, or how I can tell it’s a European game.
Benoit Sokal, the game developer, exhibits what I would call a magic romanticism towards indigenous tribes of the Americas, and the far northern hemisphere. You can see this in Amerzone, his first game, and again in Syberia. The native peoples, a South American native tribe in Amerzone, and an Inuit tribe in Syberia, have something of a magical relationship with the land, which is beyond symbiotic. They possess a natural “but mysterious” secret that is lost to western industrialized people. I have noticed the same thing happening in a game not done by Benoit Sokal, “The Longest Journey”. In “The Longest Journey”, April Ryan’s guide (April is the protagonist) has a quasi-Aztec, pre Columbian civilization look to him. He also spouts a weird mystical rant about the confluence of the universe (sorry, weird to me). Benoit Sokal was much subtler in his approach, particularly in Syberia. The dialogue about the native peoples is there, but the magic romanticism doesn’t seem as overt as it was in Amerzone. This seems very European to me, particularly the focus on Native American peoples. In the US, there is less reference for native peoples, particularly on the part of US non-Hispanic folks for pre-Columbian civilizations in Mexico, Central and South America. Non-Hispanic folks in the US do not tend to regard Mexico, and Mexico’s past civilizations, as mysteriously exotic, likewise for native Inuit (Eskimo) natives.

Did Benoit Sokal want to make a movie?
I wrestle with this idea. It’s a fine game, and the game lovingly demonstrates Benoit Sokal’s expertise in drawing; no one is better at using his sketches and the power of his imagery to create a magical world. However, I’ve rarely seen so much attention given to the “cut scenes”, the animated shorts in the game. The cut scenes look exactly like they are part of a wondrous animated film. In playing the game, I kept getting the impression that my goal was not to solve the puzzles, and complete the game, but to move me to the next cut scene, where we would see the “real” game, the story as played in a movie. Movies are the perfect way to advance a story. You don’t have to deal with the annoying aspects of a game that take away from the story, the puzzles, gameplay, repetition, elective dialogue. I also thought the game music was very cinematic.

This ends my observations on Syberia.

Author: MVWINTER
Member #2592
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2002

I know I’m a little late with this game , but Syberia was only recently released here in the UK –

So here are some reactions to this game - Because, really so far I’m truly amazed by this game –

To begin with, I had the same doubts, as expressed in an earlier post, that criticized the couple of un-necessary dead ends, where you were lead to believe something happens – a hot spot – only to be greeted by the same audio response, at that time it did get slightly annoying due to its repetition and the fact that it did nothing for the overall story. But besides that early issue and the only other
miss-step of having relatively too FEW characters to interact with at the very start (giving the game a slight deserted feel and failing to provide a good enough welcome/introduction for the player to this gameworld EVERYTHING ELSE about this game is to be cherished, even with the harsher start (although its no where near as bad as it may sound, but if we must be pedantic that's the main area were improvements could help, in the future with acclimatizing the player and introducing the story in an EVEN BETTER way than it was done) - still back to the overall brilliance of this title !!!

The most remarkable feat achieved reminds me a bit of ZORK NEMESIS – and it is it’s astonishing ART DIRECTION – of such high quality and high imagination that its enough to drive the story – so where ZORK NEMESIS was designed by an Oscar winning art director – SYBERIA is on the same level and JUST as good !

The places you end up visiting are so vivid and so imaginatively constructed that I ended up looking forward to the next stop (with great anticipation) – AND SYBERIA melds this imagination with JUST the right kind of story / premise (a very adventurous trek / journey that builds and fosters just the needed level of ADVENTURE) so for me, this is turning out to be THE most fantastic ADVENTUROUS ADVENTURE that fascinates through its imagination (taking you places you’ve never been, seeing really amazing sights – which stand in testament to this game’s art director - in a similar fashion to ZORK NEMESIS which also gave you these truly exotic concoctions of elements; ruins, temples, ice stations etc. to visit and explore – well thought out places of depth and fantasy)

That would be MORE than enough as it is – but the way they combine the 3d characters with their environments is probably the best yet (almost completely integrated , so they really do seem to belong together) Add to this a story that unfurls slowly and satisfactorily (even though I haven’t finished it yet, so I hope the ending will not let me down) and puzzles that flow with beautiful ease, as they are almost completely organic to the story – NO unrealistic leaps here, everything, no matter how mad, seems logical within the confines of this construct.

All of this really reminds me of the FEW absolute best adventures of old (my favorite being the 3rd person perspective genera of SIERRA / LUCAS/etc.) – AND SYBERIA is WAY UP THERE with the top 5 as far as IM concerned.

So yes there are a couple of issues (mostly with the start and the ‘dead spots’) but the writing the superb voice acting (especially KATE’s) who’s voice can be sweet/annoyed/humorous and whatever else is required of her, while never sounding like ‘she acting ‘ – complete naturalness, all things combined with the above points and SYBERIA is a JOY!

AND here’s is some good news – BOTH SOFTWARE FIRST and GAMEPLAY (the two of largest online retailers in the UK have SYBERIA in their TOP 5 – at software first it was NO 1 – (now relegated to no 2) – SO I HOPE it continues to do well – IT deserves success !

As for the people that didn’t really like it – just persevere with it! – it unfolds beautifully (or it did for me) – and the numerous ideas and allusions that permeate this adventure , insinuations to the BERLIN WALL and the gradual move from WEST to EASTERN EUROPE along with the call to actively enjoy live and give up a bit of the ‘limited’ work obsessed view some of us may share with KATE in this day and age
(KATE is an workaholic who undergoes a change) is just ONE of a number of beautiful subtle notions that give real depth and context to this superb fantasy, so amazingly conveyed throughout this adventure.

Hi Becky

The "player" reviews here at Gameboomers are so useful for getting a "sense" of a game.

I appreciate them very much - and thank you very much for giving us a place where we can post them

Cheers.

Mad

I've been re-reading them all, doing some compiling and condensing, and you are absolutely right -- they are a fantastic resource! Cheers to our many talented reviewers and commentators and to those (especially you, Mad) who encourage them.

i have played syberia 1 demo and i like whgat i have played , but few questions is it a long game i heard it can be done in about 5 hts , i mean broken sword and longest journey they are long games , also i have seen the 1 and 2 collectors eidtion for £13 do u get anything with it paart from the 2 games ?

Hi Dave and to GameBoomers

There is no way I could have played Syberia in 5 hours. I'm not even sure I could if I played with the WT in hand.

Part 2 continues the story from Part 1, and both are favorites of a great many people here. Enjoy

davech, I played the originals and passed them along to my regret later. About a year ago I bought the set you mentioned. Though I felt #2 was a little short of being as good as #1 it was not by much. Of course imagine what the expectations were for number 2. The first set a high bar. So if what you read above interest you by all means buy them. Between the two you should have better than twenty hours of game time. Dave at Interact, link top of page, has the pair for ten dollars US and ships everywhere very reasonably. Interact easily is the best place to buy games. Enjoy.

thanks for help all , but usa pc games can';t play on a uk computer anyway right ?
How much beter is the 2nd game to the first one is it short ??

Hi davech, you can play PC games from anywhere in the world on any PC. It's only consol games that are specific to regions as the machines are chipped differently in different parts of the world.

Davech -- welcome to GameBoomers!

There should not be a problem getting USA PC games to play on a UK computer.

Davech, PC games aren't coded regionally like the console games are. You can indeed get the game from here, or at least, I have played many games from the UK

Nice topic Becky! I enjoyed very much both games! They are on my top 5 list. I didn't find any of them short but i have to admit i was very sad when they were over! One of the few games that almost made me cry

I loved playing both games. As a matter of fact my daughter wants me to load them up and play them again. We've done that before but it's been awhile and it's time to go back...

Its funny you mention a trip back through, I NEVER replay games, but have recently been motivated to do just that with this game, I miss games this AWESOME, I have been in a real game funk, and replaying it one and two, RIGHT NOW!!!!!

Marcia

davech1987, InteractCD or Amazon has Syberia 1 and 2 in a jewel case for US$9.99.

It'll work on any computer, so it is a bargain.