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Old 12-05-2005, 12:22 PM   #26
Once A Villain
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingzjester
I could see how Syberia could be "pretty good" as an example if really, really bad "art". It lacks craft in the writing and gameplay department, so much so that it nullifies any claim to "art" it may also bring up. It makes the "art" seem accidental. I thought the game began well enough, but then it got bogged down in making me scroll through pretty images and inane dialogue. Crappiness in delivery, if the work of art is striving for a crispness and polish, really can destroy the impact of the piece. Imagine a Botticelli in a fire-apple red, enamel-painted frame.
Well, again, I don't quite hold games to the same standard of art as the older forms. Not yet anyway. Syberia is very visual though. The visuals tell the story, so the dialogue is fairly unimportant in many respects. In a review I wrote of Syberia some time ago, I said:

"In a way, I find his games (Benoit Sokal's) to be similar to the Myst series. The way his puzzles are always so tied into the very fabric of the game's story and characterization, particularly in Syberia, and the way that the locations themselves reveal pieces of a certain character's personality or interests. In the Myst games it's Atrus or his two sons; in Syberia it is Hans Voralberg."

And also:

"The puzzles feel very natural, they are very much a part of the world, and more specifically, very much a part of Hans Voralberg. As you explore, you learn more and more about Hans, his creations, and his dreams. Kate may be the character you play, and she gets plenty of development via cel phone conversations with people back home (her boss, her mother, her boyfriend, and her best friend), but in the end this game is the story of Hans. It is the story of Anna Voralberg as well. The story of automatons. The story of a dream to see something that may not even exist. It is a story of faith, and a story of love."

I didn't think any of the "pretty images" were only there to be pretty. Everything served a purpose. For a game I thought it was very well done. Far better than The Longest Journey, with its endless expository dialogue...
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