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GENERAL INFORMATION
GENRE/STYLE
Adventure/Interactive Movie
ESRB RATING
TEEN, Animated Violence
DEVELOPER
Smoking Car Productions
PUBLISHER
ALSO AVAILABLE ON
TRAITS (member-attributed "LIKES")
THE SETTING #USES
PLAYING AS #USES
PLAYING AGAINST #USES
HOW IT'S PLAYED #USES
GENERAL TONE #USES
DESCRIPTION
The exotic and fabled European Orient Express is about to begin its last trip through a world of peace. It's the eve of World War I and this wood and iron train, one of the last of its kind, is about to embark on a journey that will take you from Paris to Constantinople with stops at Strausbourg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade along the route.
The time is mid-1914. You've received an urgent enigmatic message from your friend, Tyler Whitney, to join him on this particular journey of the Orient Express. Intrigued, but without a clue as to why your presence has been requested, you acquiesce and board the train in Paris. Your name is Robert Cath, a physician from America, and you've just entered a world filled with political agendas, romance, spies, deceit, treachery, adventure, surprises, secrets and murder.
Smoking Car Productions and designer Jordan Mechner (of Prince of Persia fame) present The Last Express, an animated mystery of intrigue and suspense that takes place in a real time and place, pre-WWI Europe. With emotions running high throughout Europe and the world poised on the brink of catastrophe, your character takes his place among 35 substantial characters from various countries and walks of life.
In this somewhat non-linear adventure, your actions dictate how the story unfolds. After you achieve the first task, finding your friend, the story can take numerous paths depending on where you explore, what you uncover and those you talk to. Using an inventory that fills up as you explore, you piece together clues, analyze hints, interact with characters, solve puzzles, discover secrets, hide, search and spy as you delve into the mystery that unravels as the story progresses.
Movement in The Last Express is effected through onscreen icons and a "smart" cursor that changes to indicate when certain actions can occur. The human animation is built entirely on motion-capture technology and events can unfold in completely different sequences with varied consequences depending on responses, actions and discoveries. Characters speak in native dialects and action takes place in real-time, thus you must integrate your characters' actions with those of life aboard the Orient Express.
The game includes a 10-minute film on The Making of The Last Express in which many of the designers and technical people involved explain the processes used in development. This hybrid has both MS-DOS and Windows 95 versions as well as the Macintosh version provided on the three CDs. A 46-page manual, viewed through Adobe Acrobat 4.0, is provided on the third CD (the printed documentation incorrectly infers it's the first CD).
The Last Express contains a rewind feature that allows you to turn back the hands of time to try a different course of action should you become lost or discouraged while adventuring and provides for up to six saved games at any one time. So, whether you're hobnobbing with the German industrialist, conversing with a Russian anarchist, plumbing the depths of the British spy's brain or simply pursuing a romantic interest, it's all aboard for The Last Express! ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide
Past 14 days
“Done and Done. It was a journey that was at some times arduous, but it was fun.”
created 02/OCT/2009
“Ran into more frustrating failings of feedback. I tried climbing out my window at one point, only to almost fall off the train. But then, you needed to climb out a different window to move between...”
created 29/SEP/2009
“This game suffers from a server lack of Feedback and Intention. In some adventure games, when you click on an object in the game world, the main character gives you a little bit of a clue to its use though internal monologue. There is none here. ...”
“This game suffers from a server lack of Feedback and Intention. In some adventure games, when you click on an object in the game world, the main character gives you a little bit of a clue to its use though internal monologue. There is none here. In the first 10 minutes of the game you are presented with a dead body in your train compartment. I picked up the dead body and placed it on the couch. When i left the room, the conductor noticed the blood on my jacket and i lost. The feedback i got was "ditch the jacket". On my second attempt i then noticed a green jacket hanging on the wall. "Maybe i can change" i told my self. Nope, the green jacket was un-clickable. I was lost. What did i have to do? hide the dead body INSIDE the couch, then i could change clothes. There was no nudge from the game telling me to hide the body. a simple "i should probably hide the body first" from the character would have done the trick. But no. I needed magic knowledge about how European 1912 train couches worked, and designer mind reading powers.
On the plus side, the game is a "real time adventure game". If you just stand there, life goes on with out you. Which is really cool. Its also supposed to have branching story lines.
The time mechanic and the branching storyline both left something to be desired. The time mechanic relay fell flat when you ended up with nothing clear to do. There was no one left to talk to, nothing you could think of to explore, and you just wanted to get to the next scene. At one point, there is a concert that goes on for 2 and a half in game hours. The first time played this scene, i explored the train while most people were busy, found some interesting stuff, and then wanted to trade that stuff with some NPCs. Unfortunately they were busy at the concert. I had to wait 10 to 20 real minutes for the concert to end, only for my actions to result in a game loosing branch. A fast forward mechanic would have worked wonders at that moment.
When i heard branching storyline i had visions in my head of tree. Where each fork in each branch was a scene and there were many ways to make it to the end of the game, namely Constantinople. However what the game presented was more of a vine. There was one main stalk that started at Paris and ended at Constantinople. At various lengths down this main stalk there were branches that extended only for one or two scenes, ultimately ending short of Constantinople. I was expecting multiple ways to "win" but got multiple ways to "fail".
If time mechanic and branching storyline were awesome! that would get a 5. but the horrid feedback and complete lack of Intention score this game at 3. Its worth a play to the end, but i would not play it a second time.”
created 02/OCT/2009
“Why cant i grab the green coat before i hide the body? WHY WHY?”
created 28/SEP/2009
34.6%
of Fable 2 players also played Oblivion
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