Review: Syberia 2

Posted by: dgoldring on Jan 08 2008 - 1,286 views

Well, I suppose I owe the kind folks at TetraEdge Games an apology. They were nice enough to provide me with a copy of Syberia 2 nearly a year ago. In that time, I got delayed, switched to a new device, and simply lost track of the game. Well, about a month ago, I hunted down the files (on the SD card which had been in my Dell Axim) and loaded in onto my Sprint Mogul. Time to revisit Kate Walker and find where her adventures will take her next.

Syberia 2 picks up the action exactly where the original game left off. Having found the missing heir, and genius, Hans Voralberg, Kate agrees to help him on the next stage of his journey to find the last of the fabled Syberian mammoths at the heart of a long and forgotten universe. The action picks up with Hans and Kate speeding through the frozen tundra where, inevitably, the train runs out of coal, sending Kate on an adventure which, once again, will become much more than she had bargained.

Like the first game, which I reviewed last year, Syberia 2 is a visually stunning game to watch. The graphics and animation make the game feel much more like a movie with options than a game. Of course, the problem with this approach is that it really requires a strong story. This is where the game runs into a few problems. Rather than a strong independent story, this purpose of this game seems to be essentially tying up the loose ends from the first game. Nonetheless, I did feel they did a good enough job of filling in the back story from the first game, so that once the action gets going, users can enjoy it without having played the first one.

One of my biggest criticisms of the original game was that it was simply too difficult to get the game onto your device. I was disappointed to find that TetraEdge has not improved this process. In order to load the game, you must download the 169 MB file to your computer. Then, using ActiveSync, transfer the files to your device. This can take hours to accomplish. Furthermore, there is no trial, which I felt was a real shame. There is nothing worse than spending hours downloading and installing a game, only to find it is not what you expected (although if you have played the original game then you probably know what to expect). Even once it is loaded, this game will require almost all of the resources your device has to offer. According to the website, it requres up to 230 MB of storage space and 24 MB of program memory. And don’t even think about running it on a square screen device, such as a Treo, as those are not currently supported. I had numerous problems with the game crashing or not running correctly if I dipped below these requirements.

Once loaded onto your device, gameplay proceeds much like the original game. It is designed to be completely controlled through the touch screen, which worked extremely well. Simply tap the screen and you will walk in that direction. You can talk with the people in the game in order to pick up vital clues,and pick up objects which you will need to use later. And make sure you exhaust all of your options when talking and exploring. There were several times I found that I could not advance because there was one dialogue with a character which I had missed. In order to use an item, just click the red arrow to open your inventory and drag the item to the place it is to be used. This minimalist system of control (drag, drop, and tap) really helps simplify what otherwise could have been an extremely complex game.

From the red arrow (items pane), you can also tap the menu to save your game, load a saved game, or simply exit the game.

You can save up to six games at a time.

In the end, Syberia 2 did not offer anything significantly beyond the original game. It felt much more like an attempt to wrap up any loose ends from the first one, or even an extended epilogue, rather than a standalone game. Like many sequels, the graphics may have exceeded the original game, however the storyline was a bit of a disappointment.

Vital Stats:

Name: Syberia 2

Developer: TetraEdge Games

Price: $24.95

Where to Buy: TetraEdge Games

Some of the images used in this review were provided by TetraEdge Games.

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