If you have ever wondered
what the effect would be if the gifted development teams from Syberia
and Post Mortem were to pool their talents, well, look no further
than Microids’ Still Life.

Imagine the serene, snowcapped
landscapes of Syberia II,
but tainted by splattered blood and the deafening racket of city
life. A stark, unsentimental atmosphere that betrays glimpses of
beauty…and promises of unbelievable horror.

Microids Lead Designer
Mathieu Lariviere was kind enough to provide us with a lengthy
demonstration of Still Life and
this is definitely one game that leaves a lasting impression. The
teaser and
screenshots are just enough to whet
the appetite and leave you begging for more.

Still Life co-stars
Victoria McPherson stars as an FBI agent assigned to investigate
a serial
murder case. With the body count standing
at five and little in the way of leads Victoria decides to take a
break for the Christmas holiday at her father’s home in Chicago
where she finds grandfather Gus McPherson’s – who you may remember
from Post Mortem – case
files. As she begins to read, Victoria notices that her present case
resembles the one from the past right down to the killer’s
MO!

Still Life is composed
of two different storylines; the serial killings in modern day
Chicago and Gus McPherson’s case in late 1920’s
Prague. The Prague storyline is activated whenever Victoria reads
her grandfather’s case files. The Chicago storyline is an ongoing
investigation that dovetails nicely with these ‘flashbacks’.

The graphics have an ominous,
gritty foreboding that smack of 1930’s
film noir. Inventory items can be examined in 3D and rotated for
a closer view. Puzzles will not – as they did in Post Mortem – have
multiple solutions.

One of the Prague cut-scenes
put me in mind of a particular serial killer, but while Microids
is understandably reluctant to reveal
any more of the plot, I was assured that we will not be subjected
to the hoary clichéd denouement of an ageless Jack the Ripper.

Our only concern is a
dialog system allows the player to ask questions in either a ‘professional’ or ‘personal’ mode
of speech. While this sounds interesting in concept, based on the
example I was shown there are some reservations. As Victoria arrives
to investigate a murder, she is greeted by a policeman who is guarding
the entrance to the murder scene. When you left-click for a ‘professional’ response
from the officer, the following type of conversation ensues:

“The body is inside
Detective McPherson. The crime scene has not been compromised and
the coroner is currently attempting to determine
the cause of death.”

But, if you right-click
to choose the ‘personal’ option,
then the following type of conversation ensues:

“Hey Vic. Man, that dude in there is f****d up! There was
some nasty s**t that went down, sure looks like some a*****e didn’t
like that mother f*****r!”

Shades of BloodRayne!
Why, even Deadwood’s Al Swearengen would be blushing.
To steal one of my own lines (which you of course just read in my
BloodRayne review), there is a difference between colorful language
being a natural part of your vocabulary and swearing just for the
sake of swearing. But when the stream of obscenities are over the
top it just becomes comical. If Microids tones down the language
a mite so the characters don’t sound like a group of high school
boys attempting to impress each other with their limited vocabulary,
then the dialogue choices could be an interesting and welcome game
option.

Still, the emotional impact of being treated to almost 15 minutes
of gameplay were similar to the feelings evoked when viewing a movie
like Seven or Silence of the Lambs: fright and repulsion while searching
a gory murder scene, elation and trepidation as you chase a murder
suspect through a back alley in a splendid cut-scene and mental exhaustion
from the unrelenting suspense. This is one game that may end up being
bad for my health!