...and that's just me! Actually, this video game is absolutely stunning in what I guess one would call set design. Visually it's a treat. For purists out there, I didn't play the PC version--I played the Xbox port.
The story is simple, in theory--New York lawyer Kate Walker is sent to Valadilene, a small town in the French Alps, to help close the sale on a toy company. Once she arrives, she learns that the owner of the company, and that Anna Voralberg, whose signature she was to obtain, has recently died. Anna was the owner of the famed Voralberg Factory, which made automatons. Not robots, mind you, but automatons. Due to financial difficulties she is forced to sell her toy company to a large commercial entity. The town is understandably upset, as their cherished automatons will lose their handmade charm. As the player finds out, the automatons aren't just toys--some of them can be much more. Unfortunately for Kate, the sale of the factory veers off into difficult territory when she reads through some of Anna's papers and discovers that Anna had a younger brother, and that he would be the sole heir of the factory and in charge of selling it. From there, Kate is sent on a hunt for Hans Voralberg, a genius inventor but rather simple-minded otherwise. Kate learns of an accident in Hans' life, where he was injured trying to reach a mammoth doll hidden in a cave. (Get used to the mammoth doll--you'll see it quite a bit, and if you decide to play Syberia II you'll see it even more. Hans loves the thing, apparently.) Rather than remain completely objective about the whole thing, she becomes emotionally involved. What had started out as a business trip becomes an adventure, and as Kate makes her way through Europe she changes her values, her priorities, and even her outlook on life. If a studio made a movie with that exact plot, I'd shell out my hard-earned money to see it. Fortunately for us, Hollywood hasn't screwed it up, and we can experience Kate's adventures with her in the comfort of our own homes.
Right from the get-go, I think we are supposed to contrast Kate Walker with all the other game "heroines" out there. After careful evaluation, you realize that she's different from all of them. A more realistic person, in some ways, yet still quite different. She's a game character that could be considered a sort of role model--she sets herself a goal and she sticks with it, despite all the setbacks put in front of her. What's more, she grows as a person as the game progresses. Many people can identify with her for yet another reason--she's in a relationship that just isn't working and she's afraid to say anything about it. So, she's not like Lara, BloodRayne, Jill Valentine, or even Samus Aran, but as a character she holds up very well. That's good, because you're stuck with her for the duration of the game. As far as the realism goes, she looks like someone you might see at the mall. She doesn't have 52 double Ds, huge machine guns, or a laser cannon for an arm, but she can still get the job done. Only con--physically she's a wuss. She won't lift anything unless she has to, and God forbid she should get her feet wet.
The graphics are a stand out, but they aren't exactly 3-dimensional. Really, the graphics are a pro and a con. In the pro department, the game is beautiful, with snowy mountains, clear streams, hedge mazes (relax, you don't have to go through it), and wait until you see the train station! As for the con--I spent half an hour in one area wandering about because I couldn't see the door. It's not that I'm that goofy, it's that the door was impossible to see. With the point-and-click adventure genre, you go from one screen to another. (An icon usually points this out to you.) With this game you have to hit just the right part of the scenery to trigger a scene transition. If you don't hit the right part, you won't realize that the street is four blocks longer, or that there's another room in the attic, or that you're supposed to go through two trees rather than just run past them. It can be incredibly frustrating, and I actually had to resort to using internet strategy guides just for finding doors. I felt stupid, but it wasn't entirely my fault. I don't think it was, at least. (The sequel has this same issue, as well.) I suppose that I should play more games of this sort, and then I'd get used to examining every square inch of everything.
Voice acting is important in games of this sort because of the emphasis on storytelling. No one wants to hear a story from someone who sounds like Donald Duck, and you won't have that problem here. Great voice acting in English, and I'm going to try to play through again in French! Kudos to Sharon Mann, who voices Kate Walker. She realizes the importance of emotion, but she also knows not to go too far. She also uses different tones depending on who Kate is speaking to--for children she uses a warmer, softer tone, while she can be quite smart-assed to adults. (Can't blame her really--she deals with a motley sort.) All in all, a wonderful game, priced to move, but completely lacking replayability. For an original story that's told well, this is your best bet. (Side gripe--Syberia and Syberia II should be sold together. This game ends rather abruptly, and the sequel picks up right where the original left off. I'm not saying it should be one game because you'd go mad, but I do think both games are required to get the most out of the story.)
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