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| 20 NOV 2002 at 4:49am |
STooGE4444, EastCoastDoom...Schattenjger
Posts : 2099
Joined: 15 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Last Express Review
I just finished the Last Express and think that it was a good game. Normally I don't like first person Adventures because for some reason I can't concentrate. This time I just stuck to it, and it went well.
Some might think that the graphics are very strange, and that they are sub par. Since the animation is frame by frame with some intermediate frames missing, it does take a little time to get used to. Although I normally look at the mouths for lip-synching, I did not really pay attention to it and got used to the animation it very quickly. The static backgrounds that are not animated do look nice and warm. The objects among the backgrounds are crisp and easy to see also.
The interface is very intuitive. For your inventory, you simply click on a portrait of yourself in the corner and select what you want to use. To move around the environment, you move the mouse pointer in the direction you want to go, and the mouse pointer turns into an arrow that points in that specified direction.
Gameplay regarding story is very good. The story has to be the best thing about this game. I don't want to tell the story otherwise I'll spoil it.
However, moving around in the game confused me several times. I really had no idea of what I was supposed to do and this was not at the beginning of the game. Something that would have been nice would have been a little bit larger viewing area. Also, there could have been a couple less fight scenes, not that they were hard but repetitive.
The sound in the game was superb. Storms brewing outside, the kid running around, people chatting in the hallway, the examples are endless. The music was very good too. Especially during the concert. I have to say that was an experience. I was sure that I was doing it right but I wasn't sure. I was just listening to the concert and waiting but it never ended. Just to be sure I checked a walkthrough and it said that I had to wait. And I did for like 20 minutes(realtime). I thought something was broken. But it wasn't. That music in the concert was very nice and soothing.
The game was not difficult at all. I randomly started up the game last night before I went to bed and got through 2.66 CDs out of 3 and finished the rest this afternoon. I think I spent a total of less than 5 hours on it. It was short but well made.
A fun time.
~rbeeler SVT &&Name's STooGE$$$$ Valpurgius TNT; it's not PLURAL&&[img]http://www.riseaboverecords.com/sleep/image/sleepfront.gif[/img]&&151.Generally speaking Sludge Doomsters are Angry, Gothic doomsters are sad, funeral doomsters are barely breathing, death doomsters are dirty, drunk and dribbling, Stoner Doomsters don't care, drone doomsters are out of it and traditional Doomsters are permanently pissed off, mainly with other doomsters
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| 20 NOV 2002 at 6:34am |
bleepnikPrivate Detective
Posts : 544
Joined: 13 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Thanks for the review
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| 20 NOV 2002 at 7:38am |
STooGE4444, EastCoastDoom...Schattenjger
Posts : 2099
Joined: 15 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Oh...and tell me what you guys think of the game too..
~rbeeler SVT &&Name's STooGE$$$$ Valpurgius TNT; it's not PLURAL&&[img]http://www.riseaboverecords.com/sleep/image/sleepfront.gif[/img]&&151.Generally speaking Sludge Doomsters are Angry, Gothic doomsters are sad, funeral doomsters are barely breathing, death doomsters are dirty, drunk and dribbling, Stoner Doomsters don't care, drone doomsters are out of it and traditional Doomsters are permanently pissed off, mainly with other doomsters
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| 20 NOV 2002 at 2:09pm |
Agustín CordesGuild Master
Posts : 5696
Joined: 23 OCT 2002
Location: AR, Buenos Aires
Status : Offline | Great, great game. A very nice review also. You finished the game pretty fast! I remember it took me a while longer.
Congrats, Stoogie!!
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| 12 NOV 2004 at 2:39am |
| Deleted User | Good review Stooge!
I finally found and played The Last Express, full of dust in a used bin -4$.
I was so thrilled by the ending that I've waited one day to think objectively about it...
On the negative side, I find that the gameplay and puzzles aren't really good, as the navigation (as you mention it) is a little bit frustrating and that most of the time, you just wander around in the train waiting for something. Also I personally do not like to do some hotspot hunting during timed puzzle, and the inventory using could have been automatic.
Paradoxically, the game's use of real time brings some pretty exciting moments and dilemmas -when everything happens at the same time or if you're breaking in a cabin during somebody's lunch for example.
I agree with you about the incredible good sounds and soundtrack, plus a special mention to the voice-overs: I played the game in french, and the voice acting is simply the best I've heard ever in a game . (I must add that having played the game in english, I would have missed a lot!)
The first five minutes of gameplay I thought the game was ugly and outdated, but soon enough I "got" it and I was under the impression of reading a comic book. Final verdict: great visuals. The cutscenes and story are really impressive and have a cinematic feel, and I got some "suspension of disbelief" or whatever at many key moments.
DEFINITLY A MUST-PLAY
puzzles 6/10
the whole game 8,5/10
edit: I used some walkthroughs several times, because of missed hotspots and items.
Also, I do not like the fact you cannot directly save your game.
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| 12 NOV 2004 at 2:51am |
| Deleted User | Originally Posted By stooge4444 (20 NOV 2002 4:49am)
Especially during the concert. I have to say that was an experience. I was sure that I was doing it right but I wasn't sure. I was just listening to the concert and waiting but it never ended. Just to be sure I checked a walkthrough and it said that I had to wait. And I did for like 20 minutes(realtime). I thought something was broken. But it wasn't.
You waited for 20 minutes during the concert?! I kept "dying" because of the lack of time . I was running around the train to do everything!
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| 13 NOV 2004 at 7:45pm |
| Deleted User | Wow, the tribute-review in the Inventory #19 is for sure a flattering one (96%) .
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| 14 NOV 2004 at 3:25am |
SusanGuild Master
Posts : 5485
Joined: 13 OCT 2002
Location: 0
Status : Offline | I enjoyed the music very much in this game - especially the end credits. There is an official soundtrack ... but good luck finding it. :-/
I miss my Bubba: 1986 - 2006.
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| 14 NOV 2004 at 11:44am |
LexIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 24
Joined: 30 OCT 2004
Status : Online | I thought this game was wonderfully crafted and ahead of its time. The fact that it was presented to run on various different systems was also clever.
I tried it because I had been so impressed by Prince of Persia, also from Jordan Mechner (a genius).
The problem is that (as his games demonstrate), it takes time and effort to create a really well rounded game, which then limits output. [smiley=bowdown.gif]
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| 6 DEC 2004 at 1:38am |
MikekellyPrivate Detective
Posts : 612
Joined: 25 JUN 2004
Status : Offline |
I enjoyed this game - a great review too.
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| 26 DEC 2004 at 11:33pm |
HolmqvistIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 23
Joined: 2 JUN 2004
Status : Online | I love this game!
It's one of my favorites.
I think the graphics are really neat, I don't mind the animation, and there is really no way they could have made them fluid, It wouldn't have been released yet. They had much to do as it was.
It's true that it doesn't take very long to beat this game, but the many ways it can be played makes up for it! You can do a lot of things that are not neccessary for completing the game, and you can do different things to solve the problems. And you are likely to see a few alternative bad or good endings before you get to the final one.
It feels real and instead of as many games giving you an illusion of having a choice, here you have a choice.
/ Jacob
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