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Old 03-10-2008, 04:07 AM   #1
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Default Anyone want to help me pick my next game?

So, I'm planning to do a little shopping soon and wondered if folks might be interested in helping me decide which of three games to buy. Just going to get one of them (at this time).

I like most adventure games and all three in some ways seem kinda similar in presentation. Wondered which might have the best story, graphics, music?

The choices are:

Culpa Innata
Syberia (the two-pack with Syberia 2)
Post Mortem


I'm kinda leaning toward Culpa Innata since it's the newest one, but eh?

FYI - I'll probably download these from either Steam or the Adventure Shop, although I'll hit up my local stores first because I like having boxes, cd-dvd's, etc.
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Old 03-10-2008, 04:43 AM   #2
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I haven't played Culpa Innata, so I can give you my opinion only about Syberia and Post Mortem.

Syberia:

I only played the first chapter. It's an okay game, but definitely not one of my favorites. It looks amazing, and the atmosphere in it is really nice, but I really didn't like the non-existent story. However, I know many people like it, so I guess I'm the minority in this opinion.


Post Mortem:

This game also looks great, but it has one fatal flaw that really ruined it for me (and I think for most other people) - the bugs. Somewhere in the middle of the game, the game got really weird for me - people started talking about stuff I wasn't supposed to know yet etc. I think the reason it they made a really elaborate dialog system that gives you an enormous amount of choice, but they didn't invest enough in debugging this system so that it would actually work.

I stopped playing Post Mortem in the middle because of this issue (the plot is supposed to be the good point of this game, but I just couldn't get it because of all these bugs - everything was garbled up for me).
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Old 03-10-2008, 05:02 AM   #3
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I've played the three of them and I'll give you my opinion:

Culpa Innata is a mediocre game: it has some great features (mainly the background story, based on a novel by Alev Alatli), some mediocre features (the graphics, the dialogue mode) and some terrible features (some puzzles are idiotic and the characters are nothing more that flat shapes of carton).

Syberia I & II: Depends on what you like. Both games have great stories and are plentiful of characters that, before the very end, you will strongly care about. The first chapter have also one of the most powerful ending I've ever seen. The major flaw of both games is the puzzles design: for one or two logic puzzles, you'll find dozens of mechanical devices to get working, levels to be pulled, robot - but don't call them this way! - to repair, tiles to be adjusted and so. If you like this kind of puzzles, you'll love the games.

Post Mortem is, in my opinion, the weakest choice. I found it simplistic and banal, quite stereotypical in both story and characters. If you plan also on playing Still Life, it might be a good idea to play P.M., which was almost a prequel. If you don't, I'll leave this game on the shelf (as I'll do with Still Life )
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Old 03-10-2008, 06:21 AM   #4
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Out of those choices, I'd get the Syberia pack.
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Old 03-10-2008, 06:28 AM   #5
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I'd say the Syberia pack too. I like both those games, haven't played Culpa Innata and i've only played the demo of Post Mortem. Even though i've heard bad things about that game, i may consider getting it in the future. It seemed interesting as well as the fact it's the prequel to Still Life.
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Old 03-10-2008, 06:30 AM   #6
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I wouldn't buy any of those
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Old 03-10-2008, 06:40 AM   #7
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Out of the 3 I would go for Syberia too.
If you decide for the boxed games, make sure you get the DVD version of them (if you can), since that one works on Vista
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Old 03-10-2008, 07:16 AM   #8
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I haven't played Post Mortem so I won't vote for it.

Out of the two left, my vote goes to Syberia. As an adventure gamer, the story is the selling point for me and this game(s) has a very good one - better than CI.
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Old 03-10-2008, 09:55 AM   #9
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Played all three games - well, I never finished Post Mortem because I encountered a very nasty bug and would have had to start all over again; didn't feel like doing so. Despite its flaws, I liked the game for its atmosphere and story but you need a lot of patience to go through it because of the bugs. So I cannot really recommend it even though from what I've seen it is a good game.

As for Culpa Innata, this is a game that you either love or hate; I don't think there's much inbetween. It has great potential though the ending leaves some questions unanswered. There's a lot of talking, puzzles are ok - some are pretty hard to solve, though. I think the strongest point is probably the world created in the game. The developers paid a lot of attention to detail so that world really feels alive. Also, the storyline is non-linear; you can either follow the sub-plot or concentrate on the main storyline. Either way, you'll be able to finish the game.

Syberia is just beautiful. It takes a while before it really sucks you in but when it does, you'll find it hard to switch off your computer before you've finished the game. The main character is instantly likeable and changes over the course of the game; the locations are beautifully rendered and stunning to look at. Also, both games feature the most touching ending I've ever encountered in a computer game. So to cut it short, I'd recommend Syberia as well
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Old 03-11-2008, 02:19 AM   #10
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Definitely the Syberia games from the criteria you gave. In my opinion, it has the best graphics, music and story of the three. Don't let age fool you. 2.5D games like Syberia still look great years after they are published.

Personally I'm not a big fan of any of the games, but Syberia 1&2 are considered classics by many, and any "flaws" I found in the games were definitely intended by the developers, so opinion only.

Culpa Innata had a lot of potential, and you may love it. In my opinion, it has a decent story, but the non-linearity does not work well for presenting it. It has decent graphics, but it seems to be 3D just because it's cheaper to produce 3D than detailed 2D backgrounds, so it doesn't look great. I can't remember the music so definitely not exceptional. :p

I had to stop playing Post Mortem because of a game-stopping bug, but didn't like it much up until that point, so I didn't mind much. Can't recommend it based on that at least.
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Old 03-11-2008, 03:45 AM   #11
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Definitely sounds like Post Mortem is out.

I've heard so many good things about Syberia, but the idea of insanely complicated puzzles is kind of a turn off for me. Not that I can't handle them (there's always a walkthrough), but I've always been more of a story and cut-scene guy over puzzle solving. When I want that kind of thing I tend to turn to the Myst games and their clones.

Culpa Innata interests me because I am drawn to the story line. Syberia because its a game that I've not yet played and seems to be so well regarded by many adventure gamers.

Anyway, thanks for the nice reviews from folks and I'd totally be interested in hearing more!
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Old 03-11-2008, 04:03 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by courderoy guy View Post
I've heard so many good things about Syberia, but the idea of insanely complicated puzzles is kind of a turn off for me. Not that I can't handle them (there's always a walkthrough), but I've always been more of a story and cut-scene guy over puzzle solving. When I want that kind of thing I tend to turn to the Myst games and their clones.
Syberia also has a great story (especially the first chapter) and a couple of cut-scene that are absolutely breathtaking. Also, the puzzles aren't insanely difficult and are well integrated into the story (especially the first chapter and the first half of the second one).

I definitely recommend Syberia
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Old 03-11-2008, 04:20 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by courderoy guy View Post
I've heard so many good things about Syberia, but the idea of insanely complicated puzzles is kind of a turn off for me. Not that I can't handle them (there's always a walkthrough), but I've always been more of a story and cut-scene guy over puzzle solving. When I want that kind of thing I tend to turn to the Myst games and their clones.
I wouldn't worry about the complexity of puzzles in Syberia. It's very much a story and cut-scene kind of game, really. A lot of the puzzles in Syberia (especially the first game) involve seemingly complicated pieces of machinery, but the solution, more often than not, just involves using inventory items or pulling levers/pushing buttons in the right order, with the order being fairly obvious. In fact, the easy puzzles would be considered a negative aspect for many, but doesn't seem like you'd be bothered by that.

My only issue with the puzzles in Syberia was the inability to look at all the hotspots in the game. Example: (Not taken directly from the game, just a general impression). You see a close up of a device. There are two hotspots, a lever and a slot. Pulling the lever does nothing other showing the lever moving. Moving the cursor over the slot shows a cross, indicating that you can't do anything with it without holding the right item. No way to get additional information (Main character saying what she is thinking) by using "look at" on the slot or the lever... or the device for that matter. What you, the player, can see, is what you get. There's just a general lack of feedback when interacting with items in the world, but it's a minor annoyance rather than a serious issue since the puzzles are simple.
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Old 03-11-2008, 04:56 AM   #14
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Of all those I think I enjoyed culpa innata the most. The story makes up for all the faults in the game and also I thought that the puzzles were pretty good for the most part. However, like someone mentioned before me, people seem to have a love or hate relationship with it so I have my doubts recommending it to anyone. Syberia is a safer choice I think. Don't even think about post mortem.
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Old 03-11-2008, 01:54 PM   #15
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Okay, so after tons of deliberation, checking the new, etc...I've decided to go with Culpa Innata. For now - basically, I think I'm gonna have to get both of them as soon as cash allows. And I'll be downloading the Syberia pack from the adventure shop to support adventuregamers.com.

Basically, it came down to a few factors:

- Culpa Innata's fairly new, and it's always nice to play games when they are still pretty fresh.

- There's just something about the story and trailer that I saw that really appeals to me. Just seems like my kind of story.

- For some reason, I've known about Syberia for years and just haven't had the motivation to buy it-play it. Not sure why I'm hesitant to give it a try as I play a bunch of adventure games. Just seems kinda....I don't know. I guess if I knew I'd have played it by now. The game just kinda sits there as something "I should play" someday. It'll happen this year.

Anyway, thanks for everyone's input and I'll probably write up my review when I'm done...
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Old 03-12-2008, 12:09 AM   #16
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I'd definitely go for Syberia pack. The puzzles are moderately difficult, there are lots of beautiful cutscenes and the storyline just pulls you into that world. The environment and the characters are very detailed and as it was said before, that kind of game looks good even years later.

It's not on the list, but Still Life would be a good choice too. Now that it has a sequel coming up, it would be a good time to (re)play that one.
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Old 03-15-2008, 02:35 PM   #17
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I'll go against the grain here. While I thoroughly enjoyed Syberia 1&2, I'm going to vote for Post Mortem. I did not experience the problems experienced by others. The puzzles were quite challenging, and in a few instances bordered on being sadistically difficult. If a pixel hunt is your cup of tea, there are a couple of puzzles you will enjoy. Plus, it offers a little back story to Still Life.
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Old 03-15-2008, 11:43 PM   #18
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I recommed you to go for Game Pack of Syberia on your first choice and Post Mortem in the second.
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