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Sam Spade on the Orient Express

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 101 / 103
Date: February 28, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Pros:

1. Everything in The Last Express is topnotch: the graphics and the voice acting; the varied, fascinating characters, and the absorbing story. It's an atmospheric mystery/thriller like "The Maltese Falcon," plunked into a colorful, stylish Art Deco set. As Robert Cath, a young American doctor, you hop a ride on the Orient Express, where you encounter a sumptuous world sliding inexorably toward violence and war.

2. Nearly all the action takes place on the train, which heightens the intimacy and drama. In this, it is reminiscent of Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes." Last Express takes place in "real time," which means that events and conversations continue on at their own pace. A rewind feature permits you to go back in time to redo things you missed. If you have played "Titanic: An Adventure Out of Time," in which the end game takes place in (much more frenetic) real time, you will have a sense of what Last Express is like.

3. There are several endings, but the one in which you "win" is a classic. IMHO, the ending alone is worth the price of the game.

Cons:

1. The characters in Last Express were filmed, and then animated; the end result is rather jerky. I found that I noticed this for about the first fifteen minutes, then I adjusted and forgot all about it.

2. The game includes a handful of fight scenes, although there is an easy cheat to get past these (I used it). There are also more subtle adult themes. They might go right over the head of a child playing the game with you. On the other hand, they might not.

3. The save-game mechanism, which doesn't allow you to easily identify your game.

Bottom Line: Wit, Beauty, Romance, Elegance, Intrigue, Action, Suspense.

I real enjoyment!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: May 18, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I just finished Clue Chronicles: Fatal Illusion and The Last Express was so much better. The Last Express doesn't have the graphics and is half the price of Fatal Illusion but it was twice the game. It doesn't really have puzzles in it though if you're looking for that. A real good Adventure/Mystery.

great game but with a few flaws

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 25 / 26
Date: June 01, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I found the storyline great (better that many other adventure games I've played) and the characters even better. The game is well designed and thought out.

However, I thought there were a few problems that kept me from giving it five stars. This game is real-time (you need to keep track of the time) which means you have to be in the right place at the right time to have a conversation. If you need to sneak into a room and miss your chance it's to late (this happened to me more than once. ugh.)You can't quickly reload the game like you would in other adventure games. Last Express only lets you start over at certain points in the game. It's very frustrating! My other complaint is that I found some of the puzzles to not be very intuitive. I don't want to give anything away since this is a truly great game but I did have to hunt down hints at a few points during the game.

Overall, this game is great entertainment, if you don't mind some of the frustration.

A storytelling tour de force that almost succeeds

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 14 / 14
Date: June 24, 2000
Author: Amazon User

It's rare for an adventure game to have such an intricate, richly detailed plot, but for fans of literate entertainment (especially mystery fans like myself), THE LAST EXPRESS is a real gem. Around the most well-worn clichés (murder, secret alliances, and international intrigue on the Orient Express, after all, hardly seem like fresh material), Jordan Mechner, the writer/designer, has woven a labyrinthine story so meticulously crafted, it feels like a collaboration between Christie and le Carré.

You are Robert Cath, a suave, sarcastic, resourceful American doctor traveling through Europe on the Orient Express in pre-WWI Europe. No sooner have you arrived, however, than you discover the bloody corpse of your friend and host, Tyler Whitney. This is only the beginning of a story impressive not only for the suspenseful twists and turns, but for its faithfulness to historical accuracy. Mechner's decision to set the game during a particularly complicated era was an ambitious one, but the threads of his story neatly tie in with the bizarre social and political tensions of the period. In short, he's one hell of a writer, and THE LAST EXPRESS demonstrates, in grand form, what the highest aspiration of any adventure game should be--to tell a good story.

There's no doubt that there's a good story here, but a more important question would be, how well is the story told? That's a different matter. Aesthetically, THE LAST EXPRESS is a marvel of impeccable construction. This is a game that does such an astonishing job at creating atmosphere that you can easily lose yourself in its environment for hours. Visuals, music, sound effects, and voice work are all done to a tee, but the real star here is the train itself. The opulence and luxury of the Orient Express have been faithfully reproduced from old designs and photographs--this game really looks and feels like no other. It's amazing how fun it can be to simply stroll down the corridor in the sleeping car, or to explore your compartment from top to bottom, while listening to the constant sound of the train running along the tracks. Equally engaging is the ability to sit around and eavesdrop on the various conversations between passengers--and believe me, you'll be doing a lot of that.

Which brings me to the central flaw of THE LAST EXPRESS. The game runs in real time; a clock is always ticking in the background, and certain events have been pre-programmed to happen at a certain time regardless of whether our hero is there to see them or not. Fortunately, it isn't necessary to hear every scrap of whispered conversation in order to win the game, because it's impossible to be everywhere at once. Unfortunately, because there are so many characters (with foreign names that I lost track of more than once) and so many different plotlines going on, it's easy to get lost, especially toward the game's conclusion, when things get really complicated.

In other words, the interactive game may not be the ideal medium for such a tricky story--THE LAST EXPRESS would have made a first-rate novel or film, but as a game, it's got its shortcomings. For one thing, there is such an abundance of things to read (diaries, secret letters, news clippings, etc.)--and very little time to read them in. There are certain tasks that must be performed, but because you are given very little clue of when or where, you often miss them--along with vital plot information. Through its innovative use of real time, THE LAST EXPRESS tries to reflect reality as closely as possible, and to that end it succeeds brilliantly; unfortunately, it can also make for a very frustrating gaming experience.

I've made this sound fairly difficult--which it is. This is intellectually demanding entertainment, and those looking for a more simple-minded, combat-oriented type of adventure are strongly advised to look elsewhere. Not that THE LAST EXPRESS

doesn't have its share of physical combat; there are a number of exciting action sequences as well. However, these sequences, unlike the shoot-em-up variety found in such games as DOOM and QUAKE, require a considerable amount of hand-eye coordination and timing. In short, even the combat in THE LAST EXPRESS emphasizes brains over brawn.

You'll only really start to appreciate the game's craftsmanship after playing through it a second or third time, with a better understanding of the interface, the train's geography (which takes some getting used to), and the crucial plot points. The whole project is so well-done, however, that you won't mind playing through it several times, as it holds up extremely well on repeat visits. THE LAST EXPRESS is a game not only to be played but experienced, and the beautiful attention to detail, plus the rare intelligence of its design, more than make up for its minor flaws.

A New Art

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 17
Date: July 02, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This is the first video game that has ever made me consider that the video game might be the novel of the twenty-first century.

Looking at the screen-shots, it may not draw in the traditional video game player (such as myself). And yet, once you are in the environment, the game is totally aborbing. There aren't enough "puzzles" to qualify the game as Myst-style, but the characterization and story make this game something beyond any other video game I've ever seen. It's emotionally involving, in the way that we merge ourselves into truly good movies and books. The somewhat cartoonish style isn't so much like King's Quest or Space Quest as it is like Toulouse-Latrec. And the background design is stunning and intricate. There are plenty of plot-twists and mysteries to solve -- this is no stale adventure -- but the involvement you experience in the story is unlike anything I've seen since, despite all of our technological advances. This is, still, one of the finest video games ever produced, a first-person story of the highest order, where you determine, every time you play, the flavor of the story.

My two cents...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: July 19, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Having long ago experienced that warm fuzzy feeling of utter emotional satisfaction when completing The Last Express for the first time, I find myself returning to it, like a favorite book, every six months or so.

I won't reiterate the positive comments that have already been made - the rich storyline, the well developed characters, the immersive playing experience - suffice it to say that I agree with all of them.

Indeed, I am furthermore one of a minority that enjoyed the real-time nature of the game.

To my mind, the fact that my fellow passengers' conversations can rise or fall in and out of earshot, that relevant snippets of dialogue aren't always waiting for my presence to toggle them, that appointments can be missed and so on, only contribute to an overall sense that one IS 'Bogart' for the night on a train speeding into oblivion (there is even a Gutman-esque character, albeit Germanic).

I am now at the point whereby I can stroll through the game in under 2 hours - but they are a riveting couple of hours, and at the end of it all I still savor the glow.

An amazingly unique and innovative classic

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: August 01, 2000
Author: Amazon User

There are certain things that I like to have in each adventure game I play. First, I want a cast of characters that are unique and interesting to talk to, and secondly I like to feel that I make an impact on the events around me. And finally I like the setting to be real enough for me to lose myself in and feel like I'm really there.

The Last Express does all of those things. The animation takes some getting used to at first (it looks as though they filmed live actors and then animated over them, although at times the animation is more of a slide show than people actually moving around), but sooner than you think you quickly fall into the mystery of the game.

You are an American spy who sneaks on board the famous Orient Express to meet up with a companion,only to find him dead and an object in his room stolen. From there you venture out on a 4CD game of whodunit.

One of the appealing things about the game is that whether you sit in your room or if you wander around, things happen. You might be walking down the hall and see a woman rushing past you in tears, but if you choose to sit in the dining car and evesdrop on people's conversations you might find out what made her cry. But whether you are there or not, things will happen. but fear not! If you die or fail the game will rewind the clock and allow you to try again.

The ambiance in this game was phenominal, and the eye for detail was equally as nice. I wish there were more games like The Last Express.

The Last Express Is Back!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: August 08, 2000
Author: Amazon User

The Last Express is finally back in stores! The firstreal-time adventure game quickly became a cult classic among Mac and PC users, particularly women. In a dozen countries, it won numerous awards and received phenomenal reviews both in print and online. Sadly, distribution problems pulled it from the shelves only a few months after its release. Fortunately, because of its compelling gameplay and enduring design, it is as amazing now as when it first debuted...

A different kind of game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: August 17, 2000
Author: Amazon User

First of all I payed about $30 for this game used on ebay. But it was probably worth it. It is a different kind of game that focuses on character development rather than puzzle solving (typical adventure games) or action. There are puzzles to be solved but none are particularly difficult like the brainstumpers in so many adventure games. The main fun is in learning about the other passengers on the train. Also the graphical style is somewhat old-fashioned, but kind of neat and appropriate to the setting of the story.

The Best Adventure Game Ever Made!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: August 20, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I was fortunate enough to obtain a copy of the Last Express the first time it was made available which was in 1997. I was very intrigued after I saw the preview that was included with MYST. After about five good minutes into playing the game I found this to be no ordinary common variety game. The graphics were spectacluar and very detailed! The artists really have outdone themselves. The animation, I thought, added substance to the game that you probably can't get with FMV. Anyone who has played full motion video games can probably relate. The voice-overs were really something. They were flawless, and very convincing. I have to say the touchstone of the game itself is the train. You are free to roam as you please in a beautifully detailed luxury train that is historically correct in all areas(Except for the color of the blankets in your compartment they were Red not Blue) suspended in "real time." For example if you are in the sleeping cars you may hear the conductors chatting, or at the same time a German man is flirting with an Austrian woman in the dining car -- it really adds a reality that is so effective you forget you are at the computer and almost believe you are right there on the train - as the game is portrayed in first person for the most part. So check it out, take a ride on the fabled Orient Express. You won't be sorry you did, and once you're finished you will hope for a sequel that is long overdue!

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