Syberia II

"A Great Game That Just Needed More Factual Development and Detail"

Syberia II is an outstanding adventure game, a follow-up to the cult favorite adventure game, Syberia. Both games follow the exploits of Kate Walker, a New York attorney who was originally sent to Europe to close-out the sale of an 'automaton' toy factory owned by a European toy making family, the Voralbergs. In the first Syberia, Kate is shocked to discover upon her arrival that Anna Voralberg -- who she thought was the sole controller of the Factory -- had died leaving an heir, her brother Hans Voralberg . Hans had been thought dead for many decades. The first game is then the tale of Kate's adventures as she tracks down Hans and seeks his signature to close the deal. Along the way her character develops and deepens while her American associates struggle to understand what is happening.

At the end of Syberia I, Kate finally acquires Hans' signature, sealing the toy-factory sale. However she declines to go back to New York, instead choosing to stay with Hans aboard the wind-up train created by Hans. Also accompanying Kate and Hans is "Oscar," an automaton servant created by Hans who played a major role in the first game. Together, the threesome will seek to locate the mythical island of Syberia, where Hans believes a group of Woolly Mammoths survived the Pleistocene epoch and still live.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Siberia II is what it is: a point and click adventure style gaming style with pre-rendered backdrops. The character can't die and there are few if any rewards for having quick reflexes, etc. If Kate has to cross a river on a fallen log, there is simply a cut-scene and she crosses it. There is no platform jumping, speed-shooting, etc. What gamers do need to do is fully explore their surroundings and keep track of items in their inventory. Most progress in this game involves solving puzzles – some of which I found pretty challenging. There weren't always good clues to help solve the puzzles, but a good walkthrough helped for those not averse to cheating.

Graphics

Syberia II features great graphics – or perhaps more importantly, great art. The artwork was conceived and executed by the popular European artist Benoit Sokal. Syberia II features Sokal's pre-rendered backgrounds. They are not only good gaming backgrounds, but legitimate pieces of high-quality pop-art. On the other hand, most modern gamers are spoiled by the improvements in camera-angles that games have achieved since the late nineties; they might chafe at the awkward movements and limited perspectives the pre-rendered format provides.

Story (Possible Spoilers)

The story is the best part of Syberia II. It makes the story in the first Syberia seem like the early chapters of a long novel that doesn't really get going till half-way through the book. The games go together and should almost be seen as one story, one game.

In Syberia II, Hans is obsessed with finding the isle of Syberia, where he believes pre-historic Mammoths still exist. As the game progresses, the train ventures deep into the Siberian tundra and, finally, into what are presumably the sub-artic waters and islands north of Siberia. Unfortunately, here is where signs of haste appear. The story itself is great, drawn from the paintings and storytelling skills of Sokal. Unfortunately, many potentially fascinating aspects of the tale are left undeveloped by additional factual details and narrative. It's almost as if the game developers (Microids) ran out of time and/or money, and just wrapped-up the game based on Sokal's work, just to finish the release. As the narrative voice of the game fades into almost nothing, the story is largely told with pictures. The end of the game should have been the most fascinating part of the entire Kate Walker story, involving some of the world's most unexplored and fascinating geography. Instead, we rely only on the admittedly great art of Sokal to walk us through to the end.

Syberia II deals with many fascinating and controversial issues involving cryptozoology, catastrophism theories, and the legends of obscure indigenous cultures in the far Siberian north. A major aspect of the plot involves the ‘Great Flood,” and a supposed “Ice Ark” built by an ancient tribe called the Youkals. These various geographical, historical, and anthropological elements are not really clearly explained however. The game needs more documents for gamers to locate, along with in-depth conversations with locals – documents and conversations that develop and deepen the story for gamers. There is really only one substantial document in this game – a journal left by a Siberian monk that traveled to the far north to the areas inhabited by the Youkal. By the time Kate and Hans finally reach the Youkal territories, the game has largely given-up trying to develop these fascinating aspects of the story. Thus, as Kate wanders through scenes of mammoths and lush vegetation that have been frozen in the Siberian ‘permafrost,' there is virtually no attempt to explain these famous and puzzling aspects of the Siberian tundra – how so many Mammoths were frozen and why, and the nature of the climate changes that apparently occurred at the end of the last Ice Age.

The game alludes to various theories that small pockets of Woolly Mammoths survived in far northern Siberia; indeed, such theories are the game's central premise. But more development about these legends, theories, and beliefs would have helped in this regard – especially in the game's later stages. Ironically, there was more information about Woolly Mammoths in the first game than in the second – even through the search for Mammoths directly figured into the plot only in the second game.

The geographical context of the game was also fascinating, but similarly undeveloped. By the end of the story, for example, Kate and Hans are clearly in the arctic waters of far northern Siberia and moving towards some of the world's most remote and unknown lands – the islands off the northern Siberian coast. Very little geographical explanation and context is provided for gamers, however. Other fascinating aspects of Siberian life – monasteries and remote towns – also appear in the story but aren't that well-explained.

In short, Syberia II contained fascinating geographical, anthropological, and zoological aspects, few of which are sufficiently developed in the story.

Conclusion

Adventure games like Syberia II are quite rare today. The plot is highly intelligent, drawing on many historical, scientific and cultural themes. The best games of this sort educate and excite gamers with lots of documents to read, or in-depth conversations – documents and conversations that highlight and develop factual themes drawing from the plot. Syberia II is a really good game, but the economics of modern gaming are all too apparent here – what could have been one of the best Adventure games was largely given a hasty conclusion and released in a relatively unfinished state. Syberia II stints on the narrative and context that makes for the very best adventure games.

It's relatively short, as well – but also relatively inexpensive.

Having said all that, Syberia II is still a great game. Before you play it, read about Siberia, Wooly Mammoths, theories about the Pleistocene Extinction of Mammoths, cryptozoology, and the many Mammoths seemingly rapidly frozen in the Siberian permafrost. The game will make more sense to you if you do, but you will wish the developers had added more depth to the otherwise fascinating plot.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/28/06