Syberia
July 27,2004 - The adventure genre for the PC has all but been extinct since the early 1990's. About a decade ago, we saw floods of incredible adventure games from developers like Sierra and Lucas Arts. But since then, we'd be lucky if we saw a half decent one every two years. The dismal state of this gaming genre is actually somewhat depressing, but luckily, in 2002 we got ourselves something to brag about.

Syberia really came out of nowhere for the gaming community. Yes, it looked promising, but every PC gamer knew never to set themselves up with an adventure game. When it was finally released, it was almost like a mini nuke was dropped in the gaming community. People thought to themselves, "Syberia' Good' What'," or "How can this be' Not only is it good, but it's really good'," and they were right, Syberia is really good; actually it's one of the best.

There is much to be said about the game, seeing how truly impressive it really winds up being. The game is truly incredible, whether it's the enchanting story, breathtaking graphics, spellbinding musical score, or just the plain old fun factor. There are little to no faults in this game.

In Syberia, you play the role of a young woman named Kate Walker, who is sent to Valideline, France to buy up a family owned toy company. When Kate arrives in France, to her surprise she finds out that the owner of the company has passed on, so she can't get the signature which was needed to sign the company over. She learns that she needs to find the woman's brother, who is the heir to the company. So basically, the story follows Kate on an adventure to find Hans, the heir to the company.

The gameplay in Syberia is fairly fresh for an adventure game. You use the mouse to click where Kate moves, and double click for her to run. There are different avatars and symbols for different actions to do using the mouse, which is definitely useful while doing a puzzle. That brings me into the next part of the gameplay, the puzzles. This is an adventure game, so I'm sure you expected it would have puzzles, correct' Well, it does. The puzzles in Syberia might be the only thing that isn't incredible in the game. don't get me wrong, they are great and have no problems, but they aren't anything you haven't seen before. For example, you would put a key in some hole to access a new room, or put some gear in some slot to turn the crank, etc. These are fairly common puzzles, but for some reason they aren't all that easy, which is a definite plus. The gameplay in Syberia is nothing but top notch. It totally floors you to see that there is a new adventure game that lives up to the genre.

As for the graphics of Syberia, they are easily some of the best. The character models are great and really fit the feel of the game. The environments are probably the most impressive part of the game. Not many games have the atmospheric feel that Syberia does. Definitely the most astonishing part of the graphics are the cut scenes, or full motion videos. They are literally jaw dropping. There aren't many games besides Warcraft III and Final Fantasy X that have as impressive CG cutscenes out there. They totally captivate the moment and put you right in Kate's shoes.

The soundtrack in the game is also quite incredible. It features an orchestral score that really captures you and throws you into this mystical setting that Kate goes through. The voice acting in Syberia is very impressive as well, and all the dialogue in the game is done by voice overs. This helps to immerse you into the wonderful story. Kate's voice is particularly impressive and all of her conversations seem very fluid. They don't sound forced at all, which is always a good thing as compared to games that completely ignore the voice-overs in favor of saving a few bucks.

The value of the game is easily it's biggest downfall. Since it is an adventure game, you probably didn't expect it to have any multiplayer aspects, and you were right. But, the fact that the story was so well written and the gameplay is so addicting, it will definitely keep you coming back. It's not the longest game overall, but it will keep you wanting more and more and perhaps will even call out for you to replay the game at some point or another. Not many story driven games keep you coming back for more after you are done. Syberia is an exception.

Syberia, when it comes down to it, is just a class act game. One of the most artistically impressive games from the last few years and also, simply put, one of the best. In a dying genre, Syberia shines through as quite possibly the best the genre has produced in many years and likely won't be shown up for quite a while. It's just a completely amazing game in all rights, it's a must-buy for the adventure fans.

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