"Still Life is a flawed, yet great game."

Still Life

Still Life is an adventure game just like we're used to with a Point and click interface, solid puzzles, a great storyline with an eerie atmosphere. Unfortunately, there are some flaws that keep this game from the classic it could've been. The game still remains to be one of the best adventures seen since Syberia.

The story starts with our protagonist, Victoria, arriving at the crime scene of the serial killer she's trying to get. We see some humor through this intro scene, introducing the hilarious front guard and the belching partner. It's great that Still Life decided on keeping the swearing in the game really, which becomes obvious after talking to the guard.

Here comes one of Still Life's largest flaws however. The dialogues are strictly linear. The game tries to make you believe this isn't the case by having a “formal” and “informal” button. However, it basically just ends up in going through all of the formal and informal options before being able to progress. While I understand that Microids wanted to keep their “cinematic” approach. This still feels much too restrictive and I feel like a very large chunk of what makes an adventure is pretty much missing.

After all the talking we get some tools to look into the crime scene, which is rather fun and logical, though again really holding you on a leash. It would've been more fun if you could actually be able to make mistakes in capturing the evidence. As it is, it feels a bit like a hide and seek game, typical for a normal adventure with normal puzzles. Too bad for a thriller game trying to be authentic. Anyhow, I'm really nitpicking here. Suffice to say that the game plays in an extremely linear fashion, even for an Adventure title.

After the first chapter, the second chapter starts with Gus in the 1930's of Prague, who is in fact Victoria's grandfather. Both Victoria's and Gus' cases seem linked in some way, murders on both cases fold out in exactly the same gruesome way. I enjoyed Gus' story a lot more than Victoria's. Mostly due to the how Prague is portrayed. It's just downright spectacular. The moody clouds really keep you on the edge and interested in what's looming ahead.

The characters are both well defined and interesting in both periods. Gus is especially likeable, with his distanced attitude and having a strong sense of perseverance throughout. He really stood out in my opinion.

Another gripe I have is with the board like puzzles. These are highly illogical and just kicked me out of the game. They are quite fun however, the lockpicking puzzle for example actually made me wish there were more of the kind (It was also one of the only puzzles that actually felt realistic). But guiding a wall crawling robot through lasers to break the alarm? AH COME ON! That's just silly.

The game certainly isn't all bad however, there are a lot of good things in it as well. And the game eventually left me with a very positive and satisfying feeling. The dialogues may sound a bit weird from time to time, but they were pretty well written and felt really well. The overall atmosphere is most probably the best I've had ever, in my opinion even outclassing Resident Evil 4 in creepyness factor. The storyline is also among the very best, always hinting you in a certain direction.

Graphics

Well, I'm giving this a high score. The backdrops are simply put, amazing! An incredible amount of detail was poured into it with some great effects that add on the incredible atmosphere. The graphics just pour quality.

People tend to complain about the character models. And I can agree that these don't look just as well as the backdrops. But then again, we're talking about adventures here, not Doom 3 engine stuff, so I'm inclined to compare with other adventures. I honestly think this is the best looking adventure game save for Syberia 2 even in character models. That might not say much for everyone who's used to Zelda: Wind Waker quality graphics. In my opinion it's still amazing to have this high quality models in an adventure game.

It also must be said that the game does not skimp on gore just as well as swearing. If you do not want to expose yourself to some extremely gory scenes which include a full blown and extremely ugly murder scene. I suggest you turn around and ignore this game.

Sound

The voice acting is rather so so, it's not great, it's just solid. I doubt it'll ever bug you, and you'll laugh at what some people have to say. Nevertheless, Victoria's father in particular almost sounds angelic as a regular soap series father guy. Gus too sounds a bit too distant.

Storyline

The storyline is really, really good. It's interesting and vague enough to pull you through every heartbreaking puzzle you'll come across. Even with these pauses you'll still be itching and keep itching to get to the next cut-scene/revelation. And they certainly do not disappoint in the twist and turns goodness.

And the ending was really fulfilling for me, I really liked it. A lot of people think the ending really blew because it doesn't really end the storyline. For me, the ending was really satisfying and conclusive, with one of the very best cut-scenes EVER produced for a computer game, I kid you not. It also just ended “beautiful”, the chapter felt “done”. It's what I call an artistic open ended ending.

Conclusion

Even with all of the flaws I've pointed out, I can't help but give this game an excellent score. To be really honest, I was sometimes annoyed with some of the design decisions, but never enough to not completely love this game for all the good things it brings. My overall score indicates my overall feeling after finishing it, which was very positive.

As advice, if you play an adventure “for the game”, I suggest you look elsewhere. Because the game isn't innovative at all, there are adventure titles with better gameplay than this one. However, if you're looking for a great jack the ripper storyline with a moody atmosphere coupled with a solid adventure experience. This game is perfect.

Graphics – 9/10
Sound – 7/10
Gameplay 8/10
Storyline – 10/10

Overall score (Not an average)
9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/03/05