One of the best, most overlooked games of all time. (The Last Express (PS))

Member Name: FrankensteinsCat

Product:	The Last Express (PS)
Date:	02/09/09 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A totally unique gaming experience with a brilliant story.

Disadvantages: At some points, you can be sitting around waiting for the story to progress.

I've been waiting for the opportunity to play this game for some time. Considered one of the biggest flops in gaming history, the Last Express was developed over a process of five years with a (then) whopping $6,000,000 budget. Unfortunately, the game's 1997 release coincided with the demise of publisher Broderbund, and it sunk without a trace.

It's a shame really because it's one of the most originally conceived and cleverly constructed games I've ever played. Nominally, it's a point n' click graphic adventure, but the Last Express largely eschews the "find an object, use it on another object" tradition of the classic Sierra or LucasArts adventure games. Instead, it's all about character interaction, paying attention to the details, finding the right clues and eavesdropping in on conversations as the twisting plot unravels itself. There are not really any traditional adventure game puzzles as such, but you are given a lot of figuring out to do.

OVERVIEW:
The Last Express is essentially an elaborate murder mystery set on the Orient Express on the eve of World War I, with the entire game taking place on the train itself. The game world is nuanced, compellingly realised and utterly convincing. You really do feel as if you've been transported to an international train journey back in the early days of the 20th century.

The biggest innovation of the game is that it takes place in real time. So instead of progressing from one point to another, triggering the next part of the plot as you go, the game actually unfolds around you, with characters going about their business regardless of your involvement. In effect, then, the game evolves every time you play it, as which sequences you will witness depends entirely on where you are and what you're doing on the train at any particular moment in time. The effect of walking up and down the train carriages, for example, and overhearing snippets of conversation coming from the various cabins, is quite stunning. There is a real atmosphere of a living, breathing world going on around you.

GRAPHICS
Considering the Last Express was originally released in 1997, the graphics still look fantastic. Perhaps because the game is rendered in such a distinctive fashion, with art noveau stylings and rotoscoped characters (i.e. drawings overlaid over live action footage). The unusual animation technique, which typically consists of slow fades between just two or three cells, is a bit disconcerting at first, but it does work quite well. It gives the game a slightly phantasmal quality, as if you had actually stepped back into the pages of history. The heavily stylised graphics help to ensure that, even twelve years on, the Last Express doesn't look out of date. It just looks unique.

STORYLINE:
But perhaps the best thing about the game is the quality of the writing. The story line is simply first rate, and the cast of characters have a realistic and "adult" depth unheard of in a video game. You encounter a cross section of European society at the time: a German gun runner, a Russian anarchist, Serbian revolutionaries and even (so it is strongly implied) a couple of young lesbians on a secretive vacation. All of the characters appear to have their own interests and motivations, which then dovetail naturally into the plot. They never feel as if they are just cardboard cut-outs, waiting for you to come along and interact with them. They feel almost real.

The game isn't without its faults. The interface is a bit clunky sometimes. Often you want to move in one particular direction but find that you've clicked on the wrong place on the screen, and have to fiddle about to re-orientate yourself. And because the plot unfolds in real time, there are a few too many moments where you are left twiddling your thumbs, wanting to move the plot forward and unable to do so. But these are just minor quibbles and don't detract much from the overall experience.

CONCLUSION:
The Last Express isn't an easy game to track down these days, but it's well worth doing so. If you were a fan of the point n' click graphic adventures that ruled the PC games market in the late eighties and early nineties, then you'll love this game. The more so because it's utterly unlike any other graphic adventure you've ever played. It's a totally unique and captivating experience, exquisitely realised with a multitude of hidden depths to uncover. The atmosphere evoked by this game really is quite enthralling. It's almost like an interactive Russian novel. If you feel that you've rather outgrown much of the juvenile nonsense that clutters up the video game market these days, then the Last Express might be precisely the overlooked gem you've been searching for.

Summary: If you can find this game anywhere, get it. It's a brillaint experience.