The Last Express...

smaropapa · 10-27-2006, 06:34 AM

I just finished playing the Last Express by Smoking Car productions.I bought the copy from ebay it was a while ago that I was fascinated and wanted to check out this title.Moments after I started playing I just couldn't get off the computer.The game was amazing in every aspect.So many interesting characters , the plot that was unfolding in real-time, the fact that you can overhear conversations and things are happening around you at the moment all these were just great. I haven't played such a wonderful game before and the truth is I 've played quite many of the genre.

I was really disappointed when I found out that the game didn't have the success it deserved and of course the possibility of a similar project by its producers doesn't exist. It's a shame when wonderful games get overlooked like that.
Does anyone know any other adventures that are real-time or similar to Last Express?Maybe they will ease my pain...

Hope I haven't stunned you with my unending complaining..

Thanks,
Smaro

(excuse my English I'm a non-native speaker)

Fop · 10-27-2006, 06:43 AM

Far as I know, Last Express is pretty much unique. It's a fantastic game, that's for sure. Probably the only good example of a game-movie hybrid (like Fahrenheit except good).

Once A Villain · 10-27-2006, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smaropapa

I just finished playing the Last Express by Smoking Car productions.I bought the copy from ebay it was a while ago that I was fascinated and wanted to check out this title.Moments after I started playing I just couldn't get off the computer.The game was amazing in every aspect.So many interesting characters , the plot that was unfolding in real-time, the fact that you can overhear conversations and things are happening around you at the moment all these were just great. I haven't played such a wonderful game before and the truth is I 've played quite many of the genre.

I was really disappointed when I found out that the game didn't have the success it deserved and of course the possibility of a similar project by its producers doesn't exist. It's a shame when wonderful games get overlooked like that.
Does anyone know any other adventures that are real-time or similar to Last Express?Maybe they will ease my pain...

Hope I haven't stunned you with my unending complaining..

Thanks,
Smaro

(excuse my English I'm a non-native speaker)

Well said. And no, there are no games like The Last Express. I'm sorry. It's just a brilliant game that still, 9 years later, has no imitator that comes close.

Arkay · 10-27-2006, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Once A Villain

Well said. And no, there are no games like The Last Express. I'm sorry. It's just a brilliant game that still, 9 years later, has no imitator that comes close.

Its truly amazing how talented Jordan Mechner is. Its also equally shameful that his greatest masterpiece's commercial failure likely ended his game developing career.

So many hack developers announce ambitious games, with features and design elements so innovative and ingenious that the gaming public is swept away by the promises...and much more often than not, very few of the promises are ever fully kept, very few ambitions truly met.

But The Last Express set out to do everything it the technology of the time and the limits of human imagination would allow, and did so as magnificently as interactive entertainment has ever been able to.

Hopefully something will come in the future that will define a genre and create a unique experience as brilliantly as Last Express did. I only wish I'd bought it when it was first released, if only to support Mechner.

Once A Villain · 10-27-2006, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arkay

Its truly amazing how talented Jordan Mechner is. Its also equally shameful that his greatest masterpiece's commercial failure likely ended his game developing career.

So many hack developers announce ambitious games, with features and design elements so innovative and ingenious that the gaming public is swept away by the promises...and much more often than not, very few of the promises are ever fully kept, very few ambitions truly met.

But The Last Express set out to do everything it the technology of the time and the limits of human imagination would allow, and did so as magnificently as interactive entertainment has ever been able to.

Hopefully something will come in the future that will define a genre and create a unique experience as brilliantly as Last Express did. I only wish I'd bought it when it was first released, if only to support Mechner.

I failed Mechner when the game was originally released too. This is why I always buy games now when they are NEW. I refuse to be one of those people who complains about the state of the adventure genre, but then fails to pay full price for the quality releases that the genre still provides. There aren't many these days, but when there are, I buy them.

However, my failure to purchase The Last Express when it was new wasn't entirely my fault. I don't remember the game being advertised well at all. I mean, I was very much into adventure games back then. I remember salivating over the Christmas release of Gabriel Knight 2, and that was in 1995. I truly believe I would have purchased The Last Express had I known much about it at all, instead of picking it up on Ebay years later. The Last Express was the game that Blade Runner claimed it was going to be. Blade Runner failed to come through on those promises, while a much less hyped adventure managed to do so. Wish I had bought the less hyped one instead of the big blockbuster...

smaropapa · 10-28-2006, 12:54 AM

Yes I didn't buy the game when it was new either. Actually it didn't even make it to Greece so I hadn't ever heard of it before. Hopefully there 'll be an adventure in the future that will ''dare'' to make something totally different like Last Express had done with the real-time feature...

jokieman · 10-28-2006, 12:55 PM

The Game's history is almost as colorful and mysterious as the game itself...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Express

Seems like quite a lot of bad luck for any single game to endure.

Fop · 10-28-2006, 01:00 PM

Blade Runner is sweet, sweet game too.

Crapstorm · 10-30-2006, 01:57 PM

Further to the failure of The Last Express as a commercial product, some people found it simply unplayable. The first time I tried it, I inadventently missed an event trigger and all the main characters went into hiding. The second time went better, but I eventually found myself wandering the train uneventfully for hours. It's almost like it wasn't properly beta tested.

maladroid · 10-30-2006, 02:19 PM

I haven't played The Last Express, so excuse the possible misguided jugment here, but Gabriel Knight 3 and The Dagger of Amon Ra, did feature some randomness in overhearing conversations and witnessing certain events only if you were there at the right time, n'est pas?
Of course, aside from that similarity, Dagger of Amon Ra is pretty much a painful experience in almost every other aspect so don't consider this an actual advice to try it

.
GK 3 on the other hand, is a pretty decent game, maybe even great if you fancy supernatural mysteries and don't mind the graphics' ugliness (

away).

Erwin_Br · 10-30-2006, 02:27 PM

No panning from me. The 3D engine in GK3 wasn't really that good.

--Erwin

pixie_pussycat · 10-30-2006, 04:26 PM

What's happened to Mechner, anyway? That game is my favorite.

Fien · 10-30-2006, 04:53 PM

Jordan Mechner went back to what he did before The Last Express: developing platform games. More specifically, the Prince of Persia games. He won't be making another adventure any time soon.

simpson_yellow · 10-31-2006, 12:33 AM

I honestly wouldn't mind that at all, if it meant more games like PoP Sands of Time

(Incidentally, he didn't have anything to do with Warrior Within or The Two Towers)

smaropapa · 10-31-2006, 03:59 AM

I haven't played any of the Gabriel Knight games so I might try.Thanks texallos!

Junkface · 10-31-2006, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fienepien

Jordan Mechner went back to what he did before The Last Express: developing platform games.

I wouldn't say that's entirely accurate; he made some contributions to Prince of Persia 3D and The Sands of Time (more heavily in the case of the latter I think) but otherwise is pretty much completely out of the games industry. It's a loss not just for adventure fans, but all gamers. Movies are what he turned to, with credits on a couple of documentaries, and last I heard he was supposed to be writing a script for a Prince of Persia movie.

pixie_pussycat · 10-31-2006, 09:46 AM

There's gonna be a Prince of Persia movie?

skurken · 10-31-2006, 12:02 PM

One Q about the Last express.

Is the animation supposed to be really choppy (like 1 fps) or is it just some bug because I´m running it on a new(ish) machine?

*Dale Baldwin* · 10-31-2006, 12:13 PM

If you're describing what I think you're describing, then yes, that's intentional.

Lee in Limbo · 10-31-2006, 05:40 PM

Yes, I'd have to agree with Dale. The framerate that would have been needed, and the amount of work to digitally rotoscope all of those film frames and composite them correctly would have broke the production budget, I'm sure. considering other games that were out at the same time, and the way they described the production on the game CD itself, I seriously doubt they had hoped to be able to make it completely smooth 24fps or even close. The disc requirements alone would have been prohibitive, assuming home PCs of the time would have run it properly.

10-27-2006, 06:34 AM	#1
smaropapa Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Serres, Greece Posts: 10	The Last Express... I just finished playing the Last Express by Smoking Car productions.I bought the copy from ebay it was a while ago that I was fascinated and wanted to check out this title.Moments after I started playing I just couldn't get off the computer.The game was amazing in every aspect.So many interesting characters , the plot that was unfolding in real-time, the fact that you can overhear conversations and things are happening around you at the moment all these were just great. I haven't played such a wonderful game before and the truth is I 've played quite many of the genre. I was really disappointed when I found out that the game didn't have the success it deserved and of course the possibility of a similar project by its producers doesn't exist. It's a shame when wonderful games get overlooked like that. Does anyone know any other adventures that are real-time or similar to Last Express?Maybe they will ease my pain... Hope I haven't stunned you with my unending complaining.. Thanks, Smaro (excuse my English I'm a non-native speaker) Share Share this post on Twitter

10-27-2006, 06:43 AM	#2
Fop Epsilon-Minus Semi-Moron Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Oulu, Finland Posts: 863	Far as I know, Last Express is pretty much unique. It's a fantastic game, that's for sure. Probably the only good example of a game-movie hybrid (like Fahrenheit except good). Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ If there's one thing you can say About Mankind There's nothing kind about man

10-28-2006, 12:54 AM	#6
smaropapa Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Serres, Greece Posts: 10	Yes I didn't buy the game when it was new either. Actually it didn't even make it to Greece so I hadn't ever heard of it before. Hopefully there 'll be an adventure in the future that will ''dare'' to make something totally different like Last Express had done with the real-time feature... Share Share this post on Twitter

10-28-2006, 12:55 PM	#7
jokieman Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 32	The Game's history is almost as colorful and mysterious as the game itself... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Express Seems like quite a lot of bad luck for any single game to endure. Share Share this post on Twitter

10-28-2006, 01:00 PM	#8
Fop Epsilon-Minus Semi-Moron Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Oulu, Finland Posts: 863	Blade Runner is sweet, sweet game too. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ If there's one thing you can say About Mankind There's nothing kind about man

10-30-2006, 01:57 PM	#9
Crapstorm Ronin Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 429	Further to the failure of The Last Express as a commercial product, some people found it simply unplayable. The first time I tried it, I inadventently missed an event trigger and all the main characters went into hiding. The second time went better, but I eventually found myself wandering the train uneventfully for hours. It's almost like it wasn't properly beta tested. Share Share this post on Twitter

10-30-2006, 02:19 PM	#10
maladroid self-distracted Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Groundhog Day Posts: 198	I haven't played The Last Express, so excuse the possible misguided jugment here, but Gabriel Knight 3 and The Dagger of Amon Ra, did feature some randomness in overhearing conversations and witnessing certain events only if you were there at the right time, n'est pas? Of course, aside from that similarity, Dagger of Amon Ra is pretty much a painful experience in almost every other aspect so don't consider this an actual advice to try it . GK 3 on the other hand, is a pretty decent game, maybe even great if you fancy supernatural mysteries and don't mind the graphics' ugliness ( away). Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -Albert Einstein- Proud supporter of Tex Murphy - Project Fedora

10-30-2006, 02:27 PM	#11
Erwin_Br Under pressure. Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Apeldoorn, The Netherlands Posts: 3,773	No panning from me. The 3D engine in GK3 wasn't really that good. --Erwin Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ > Learn more about my forthcoming point & click adventure: Bad Timing! > Or... Visit Adventure Developers: Everything about developing adventure games.

10-30-2006, 04:26 PM	#12
pixie_pussycat Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Big City Girl Posts: 82	What's happened to Mechner, anyway? That game is my favorite. Share Share this post on Twitter

10-30-2006, 04:53 PM	#13
Fien Senior female member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Holland Posts: 3,706	Jordan Mechner went back to what he did before The Last Express: developing platform games. More specifically, the Prince of Persia games. He won't be making another adventure any time soon. Share Share this post on Twitter

10-31-2006, 12:33 AM	#14
simpson_yellow Squeaky Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Canberra, Australia Posts: 1,320	I honestly wouldn't mind that at all, if it meant more games like PoP Sands of Time (Incidentally, he didn't have anything to do with Warrior Within or The Two Towers) Share Share this post on Twitter

10-31-2006, 03:59 AM	#15
smaropapa Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Serres, Greece Posts: 10	I haven't played any of the Gabriel Knight games so I might try.Thanks texallos! Share Share this post on Twitter

10-31-2006, 09:46 AM	#17
pixie_pussycat Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Big City Girl Posts: 82	There's gonna be a Prince of Persia movie? Share Share this post on Twitter

10-31-2006, 12:02 PM	#18
skurken Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Reykjavik, Iceland Posts: 157	One Q about the Last express. Is the animation supposed to be really choppy (like 1 fps) or is it just some bug because I´m running it on a new(ish) machine? Share Share this post on Twitter

10-31-2006, 12:13 PM	#19
Dale Baldwin Super Moderator Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Southampton, UK Posts: 3,139	If you're describing what I think you're describing, then yes, that's intentional. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Now Playing: Catherine, Sword and Sworcery:EP Recently Completed: The Witcher

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10-31-2006, 05:40 PM	#20
Lee in Limbo It's Hard To Be Humble Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,557	Yes, I'd have to agree with Dale. The framerate that would have been needed, and the amount of work to digitally rotoscope all of those film frames and composite them correctly would have broke the production budget, I'm sure. considering other games that were out at the same time, and the way they described the production on the game CD itself, I seriously doubt they had hoped to be able to make it completely smooth 24fps or even close. The disc requirements alone would have been prohibitive, assuming home PCs of the time would have run it properly. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Lee Edward McImoyle, Author Smashwords eBooks