We learned in Syberia (the original), the name has nothing to do with the actual part of Russia (known for extreme climate and vast parts of unexplored land). No, Syberia is a fantasy island that is somehow connected to the mammoth mystery that captured gamers in part one (without ever getting there).

Anyway, expectations were high and the demo is way too short to get an impression of the grandeur Kate Walker (and you) will explore. So, here are my thoughts on the actual game.


Quick Orientation:
Objective of the Game
How does it play?
System Requirements
Summary


THE OBJECTIVE

Find Syberia: remains the underlying motivation for Kate Walker and Hans Vorarlberg to leave civilization behind and go deep into the unknown. (Actually, it all started with Kate looking for Hans in order to resolve legal issues. The interest in mysterious Syberia simply grew as the story developed.) If you know Syberia, expect the same from Syberia II (with refinements), and if not: The sequel does not require any knowledge from the first part (even though the story is easier to follow if you are familiar with it).

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HOW DOES IT PLAY?:

Manual: The manual is short and to the point. One might expect a little bit more and it barely meets the requirements to be able to immerse into the game.

Graphics: Mostly pre-rendered scenes in which 3D objects and movie scenes (to animate background) are embeded for a 'realistic' look. While quality is higher that before it's still relatively low in resolution. Besides that, it shows one more time the talent of Benoit Sokal (the artist behind those graphics).

Violence: No, absolutely not. True to the genre, nobody gets hurt and none of the characters can be harmed anyway.

Controls: Practically identical to the first part, Kate Walker is the only character that can be controlled. This happens by clicking on the spot where you want her to move or the person (or contraption) she should interact with. That's pretty much all you need to know for playing the game (and of course ESC to access inventory as well as the main menu).

Sound: Background music has been improved and provides a nice theme for the sometimes tedious long walks. Nothing stands out and that means the quality is good enough but won't blow anybody away either.

Animation: Kate Walker and the other characters have slightly improved in their animation. However, Kate is still handicapped by an extremely slow stair climbing, which slows down the game.

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Progress: Similar to part 1, Syberia offers the same gamesave that allows to stop at any point and retrieve it later. Since the characters really can't die or get stuck (without a solution), this feature is only important to preserve the progress and does well enough.

Difficulty: The puzzles are mostly quite 'solvable' without consulting others. I found 1 puzzle in particular to have a random feel to the solution for which I could not find hints anywhere (not by looking around nor by consulting a walk-thru where the solution was given). One more instance came close. But that's the exception, most puxxles range from (almost too) easy to quite reasonable. At least it's quite enjoyable. Compared to Uru: Ages beyond Myst, however, Syberia II is easy.

Longevity: Hmmm, it's a story-driven singleplayer game that's very streamlined. For that reason barely anybody will pick it up after completion and try again due to the lack of alternate paths and solutions.

Location: From the train station, to a village, to a monastery, to a tribe's village, then on a ship and finally ... uhh ... I'll let you find out yourself. Each location is beautifully (pre-)rendered and contributes nicely to the story. Each is very different from the other and helps each level to feel fresh. (not repetitive)

MultiPlayer: ... uhm ... what multiplayer? (Would not fit the genre anyway.)

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SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Unlike Enter The Matrix, Tron2.0, Midnight Club 2, Need for Speed: Underground, Call of Duty, Halo and Thief: Deadly Shadows, Syberia can be played on underpowered systems just as well. In fact that seems to be the target since it really doesn't make use of any high-end technology.

Minimum System Requirements:
- Windows 98/Me/2000/XP
- Pentium II 350 MHz processor
- 16 MB Direct3D (DirectX 8.1) compatible 3D video card
- 64 MB RAM
- 400 MB available space on hard drive
- 16X CD-ROM drive
- DirectX 7 compatible sound card

Recommended System Requirements:
- Pentium III 800 MHz processor
- 32 MB Direct3D (DirectX 8.1) compatible 3D video card
- 128 MB RAM
- 24X CD-ROM drive

Notice the use of DirectX8.1 for video and theoretically DirectX 7 for sound. (Of course one would install at least 8.1 anyway.) If you're a vivid updater, DX9.0b should be already on your system and you're set.

My system (2.4GHz P4, 533MHz FSB, 1GB RAM, Radeon 9700 Pro, ATA133, WinXP, DX9.0b) runs the game without problems (as expected) with antialiasing turned on as the only video option.

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Does the game succeed?

Well I have seen opinions and reviews that suggest differently, but I immensely enjoyed this game once I got past the low resolution which strangely enough wasn't really that noticeable.

Sure, it can be tedious to backtrack your paths several times in order to find the solution to a puzzle.

Sure, the story just continues without offering groundbreaking new twists.

Sure, the point-and-click navigation within pre-rendered scenes feels a little outdated.

HOWEVER, it's quite fun to play and very relaxing to watch the story develop and see those fantastic worlds unfold in front of you. At a price of under $30.- it's money well spent for several days if you like the genre. (Besides, the automatons by Hans Vorarlberg are a delight for any mechanical engineer.)

One thing though left me missing something in the end. It feels relatively short. That could be that it's so gripping that time flies, or simply because it is short. In a phase with almost each evening dedicated to solving the mysteries around Syberia, it took me less than 5 days (maybe around 12 hours) to finish. More proficient players may be done sooner.

(Whatever you do, try not to look up the solution as it just gets you even quicker to the end.)

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GAME HOMEPAGE

http://www.syberia2.info


NOTE: Syberia I is not required to play Syberia II.

Recommended: Yes