Finally a publisher willing
to give adventure games their due respect has arrived. Iceberg Interactive
– headquartered in The Netherlands – has picked up the
adventure banner in a big way with their new Adventure Classics collections.
Iceberg Interactive was formed in 2009 and management is comprised
in part by numerous veterans from the now defunct publisher, Lighthouse
Interactive who were responsible for the wonderful Darkness
Within: In Pursuit of Loath Nolder, Overclocked
and Belief
& Betrayal among others. As Iceberg Interactive does
not have a North American office, these new compilations are currently
only available in parts of Europe or online from either Iceberg
Interactive or the JA
Online Store.

Adventure Classics:
Syberia Collection is a compilation of not only the most
beautiful games of the past decade, but also three of the very best
adventure games you will ever have the pleasure of playing. Created
by Benoît Sokal, one of Europe’s leading graphic novelists,
Amerzone and the Syberia series
transcend traditional gaming as they leave lasting impressions much
as a favored picture in an art gallery. The three titles can be installed
from one DVD(!) that come in a luxury slipcase.

Amerzone
was originally reviewed
by JA in the year 1999 by Tom Houston:

The
wonderful graphics provide breathtaking visual images of the game’s
environments as you explore the lighthouse, travel the Amerzone rivers,
jungles, and villages, and eventually reach the volcano “nest”
of the great white birds. The colors are vibrant when they need to
be, i.e., plants, flowers, birds. In fact, they’re almost photographic.

But
for me, the real plaudits should be extended for the spectacular animations
that are used throughout the presentation of the game, often to raise
the impact that a particular visualization will have on the culmination
of an important part of the storytelling. At other times, animation
is used to bring to life a number of strange creatures (animals) that
inhabit the Amerzone. For instance, my favorite was an animation that
follows a task in the story where the Journalist is required to free
a whale that has been trapped in a fishing net. What follows is not
just spectacular but pure beauty.

Syberia
was reviewed
in 2002 by Ray Ivey who had this to say:

The opening cinematic
of Syberia is one of the most haunting I’ve ever seen in an adventure
game, and it immediately sparks your interest in the game world.

Syberia
is visionary author and artistic director Benoït Sokal’s wildly
ambitious follow-up to Amerzone. However, the biggest mistake a player
could make going into this game is to expect an experience similar
to the one enjoyed in Amerzone. Whereas the earlier game was an intriguing,
whimsical romp with a bunch of outlandish and beautiful creatures
(I’ll never forget my ride on the water giraffes!), Syberia is an
intense, dark character study. To make a musical analogy, if Amerzone
is Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite, Syberia is Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

In
fact, the entire story of the game is drenched in a sense of sorrow
and regret. The melancholy feeling of the game is expressed in everything
from the lighting of the scenes down to the very geography of the
locations. For example, there’s a sequence late in the game that is
set in a faded resort on what used to be the shore of the Aral Sea.
The buildings now sit, crumbling and dusty, as the doomed lake recedes
farther and farther into nothingness. Syberia is actually the saddest
adventure game I can remember playing since the brilliant Azrael’s
Tear. This is not a complaint.

Syberia 2
was also reviewed in
2004 by Ray Ivey:

Syberia 2 is the most
beautiful game I have ever played.

At
a time when I would have wagered that real-time rendered graphics
had finally won the graphics war, Syberia 2 is a magnificent triumph
of old-school, pre-rendered graphics. Working from the ravishing artistic
sensibility of writer/director/artist Benoît Sokal, from beginning
to end, the game is simply a work of art.

The
game is full of beautiful cutscenes, all of which are available to
replay after the first time you come across them. Particularly visually
delightful are the scenes of Kate’s boss back in New York trying
to figure out how to get her back. These scenes are produced with
a bunch of gruff talking men in silhouette in front of a beautiful
round deco window. It’s very reminiscent of the look from the
early scenes of Citizen Kane. In fact, the game has such cinematic
flair that you wish Microïds and Sokal would team up and actually
make a feature film.

If you have never played
the Syberia games, then do yourself a favor add the Adventure
Classics: Syberia Collection to your must play list as soon
as possible.

System Requirements:

• OS: Windows® 2000/ME/XP/Vista™
• Processor: 1 Ghz 32-bit
  or 64-bit processor
• RAM: 512 MB RAM
• Graphics Card: 64 MB
  DirectX® 9.0c Compatible
• Sound Card: DirectX®
  9.0 Sound Card
• DVD-ROM: 16x
• Input: Keyboard, Mouse
  and Speakers
• Hard Disk: 4 GB Free
  Disk Space
• DirectX®: Version
  9.0c