The Last Express

The Good
The atmosphere is second to none. The storyline is deep, tense and interesting. The voice acting is superb - best I've ever heard.

The Bad
Some of the fight sequences are a little unintuitive. The stop-motion animation might put some folks off. Sometimes the time drags as you wait for events to unfold.

The Bottom Line
This game had a hard time being widely accepted, as it came out at a time when the gaming industry was hyping cutting edge graphics, and more thoughtful (but less graphically exciting) games like this were basically ignored.

This is a beautifully crafted game that takes the player back in time to an earlier era. The story takes place in the last days before the Great War changed the face of Europe forever. You are a rogue American adventurer named Robert Cath, and all the action takes place aboard the Orient Express on its final trip from Paris to Constantinople (modern day Istanbul).

Players will first notice that the game uses a sort of stop-motion comic-book style of animation. This is the game's only serious hurdle. Some folks dislike it, others don't mind it at all. I thought it added to the game, as the Art Nouveau style of the graphics lent the requisite old-fashioned air to a game set in Europe in the early years of the 20th Century. Had it been made using a more modern style, I feel it would have lost something. As it is, the visual choice that the developers made seems perfect for the period and serve to draw you deeper into the story.

Another choice the developers made was to make all the game action take place in real time. Again, this choice may be disliked by players who want fast-paced excitement all the time. At certain periods you have time to just drink in the atmosphere of Europe on the brink of war. This is part of the game's allure. It's a game for people who like to change into a robe on a winter's evening, set a roaring fire in the fireplace and curl up in an overstuffed armchair with a well-written historical novel.

The game presents players with a traditional adventure story, and a rich and deeply involving one at that. The action starts in a Paris train station, and you are soon aboard the Orient Express. As you board the train you have no idea what the next 48 hours will bring, but you will be called on to perform deeds that will determine the very future of Europe. As the story unfolds, you are torn between your allegiance to yourself and your responsibility to save Europe as it plunges into chaos. You will experience adventure, the temptation of riches, love, and tragedy as the Orient Express takes you inexorably towards your destiny.

This game is probably the best game I have ever played. I have owned it for 8 years and I think I've had it on my hard drive all of that time. In terms of atmosphere and story it is unmatched. I am not ashamed to say that it is the only game I've ever played that has made me weep for the characters. Emotionally engaging, deep and ultimately unforgettable, for me this is the perfect game.

If what I've written above appeals to you, you will love this game. Although it was written for Windows 95 it plays perfectly on modern Windows XP systems.

The Good
What I really like about this game is the fact that I feel that I AM a character. Unlike any other game I can think of, the character actually means something and interacts perfectly with other characters. And it's not like other games where time doesn't pass by unless you do something. No, just like in real life, time passes by regardless of whether you do anything or not, and characters just interact with each other. It just feels too real, and the characters are really deep and each has its own story. The train is beautifully remade, and you can just chill out, do nothing, go talk to people, overhear their conversations, listen to a concert by its passengers, steal things, read people's diaries... and most importantly find out who killed your friend who was on the train before you jumped in. 100/100 Job perfectly done.

The Bad
The animations might be a little primitive, but considering the year the game was made they're excellent, and after a while, you'll get used to them.

The Bottom Line
JUST BUY THIS GAME!

The Good
If there’s a rare compliment in the gaming business, it’s this one: this game has style. Last Express has deserved it in many ways. To film footage of live actors, then turn it into beautiful Art Nouveau graphics – that’s style. To make the locations, the wardrobes, the conversational topics historically accurate – that’s style. To let the multicultural passengers of a train talk in their native tongues and use subtitles – that’s style. Jordan Mechner and his crew manage to create characters that are not only credible, but also interesting; and that’s the foundation of the whole game. Slowly uncovering the background and motive of every passenger on board of the Orient Express proves to be considerably more exciting than one expects at first. I know very few games in which the actors, locations and places have been picked with that much care. Unfortunately, I know many an example in which the actual gameplay doesn’t live up to the look.

The Bad
Beneath its artistic veil, Last Express is a disappointingly simple game. You can count the puzzles on one hand, and they are not the “think”-type, but the “search” one. Not “How do I distract the conductor to search the rooms undisturbed?”, but “When is he going to leave at last, dammit?” Even worse, the puzzles obstruct the plot; you want to progress, but can’t, as something has to be done first. I wouldn’t have needed puzzles in this game. I would have enjoyed it as much, probably even more, as interactive movie. Yes, I know this term is dreaded. Rightfully so due to bad experience, but not because the concept wouldn’t work. Last Express is the best hint we’ve received so far that it would work, and be astonishingly thrilling. Because it is fluent like a movie, yet involves you like a game; it’s not the actors of a film that unravel the mystery – it’s you! Last Express has learnt from the movies how to fill persons with life, how to create atmosphere, how to tell a story. All it would have needed to learn from games is the freedom of choice, nothing else. Forget about puzzles; trust in man’s strongest drive, curiosity. Discovery means satisfaction; give him things to discover! Why annoy him with stupid action sequences when an exciting animated fight alone would be reward enough? A truly excellent interactive movie does not need to force challenges; it should be a challenge in itself.

The Bottom Line
The Last Express is weak as a game. That said, it is a milestone of computer gaming, as it marks an attempt at style in a business that’s uniform, at development in a business that doesn’t get ahead. As close to a truly thrilling interactive movie as anything, it fails only because it tries to be too much game, when it should have been more movie.