Of which there are plenty of players deciding, in these cases, which one of two options - specifically where a certain character must be convinced to help reach a given objective - to choose. What keeps the game’s plot from darting too far into rough waters is of course the scene setting itself and the way these particularly isolated, wintry locales - from a psychiatric hospital to a fishing harbor to an abandoned town - help to reinforce the series’ overall wintry and at times vague aesthetic, one which is seldom lost here. At its best it pulls players in more so than the dialogue offered.īut it’s the gameplay that is perhaps the most promising aspect to Syberia 3 as a whole - an element that is often scarce and relatively left to the mechanic of simply picking dialogue options. While they may not be frequent occurrences, the technical follies of Syberia 3 are what limits the connection or indeed what believability can be found as to the story being told. As mentioned, whether it’s certain characters having their lines of dialogue read as if straight off the sheet (with virtually no tone or subtle emotion directing it), synchronization between words and animation lost entirely in the most extreme cases or visuals simply popping in or skating between two fixed points. Unfortunately it’s what assists in the act of storytelling - delivery of dialogue, facial expressions and even some animation at points - that lets a lot of Syberia 3’s impact down when it comes to seeing all this unfold onscreen. While past events are referenced and mentioned through conversations in passing, the game does well at not immediately isolating those new to the series or unfamiliar with either one of the two previous tales. Syberia 3 finds its main protagonist, former lawyer Kate Walker, thrust into the potentially precarious scenario of helping a local tribe of nomads on their annual pilgrimage across the wintry, post-industrial, semi-steampunk affiliated lands that make up the game’s setting and often mysterious aesthetic. What it can’t be faulted on is the way it decides to act - in terms of plot - on its own course, rather than simply following on from what came before. This proves most annoying in more enclosed spaces with one fixed camera perspective - or finding the precise point on the screen whereby an interactive object can actually be used. It’s certainly not deterring for those jumping into the series for the first time with entry number three, but the tradition may well come across as deprived in a few areas, notably the similarly tank-like controls of your player-character. Syberia 3 is by no means a perfect game its refusal to drastically shift away from the conventions that fueled both its presentation and its narrative mean that for longtime fans, the familiarity is a tug-o-war of welcome familiarity laced with suggestion that the game at times keeps itself firmly locked in the past. And yet for all the constant nagging for innovation and renovation in general, sometimes it’s those titles that keep to the more traditional and perhaps bygone style that even now can still resonate. The arrival of Syberia 3, fourteen years after the series’ second entry (itself coming at a time of reinvention for the genre, as well as the entire industry arguably), could seem like an inevitably odd or out-of-fate fit for a genre that has naturally, like all ideas, evolved beyond the simple transition from two dimensions to three. The kind of third-person, choice-based, story-focused title that has seen whole property namesakes like the The Walking Dead or individual creators like David Cage residing firmer in the consumer’s mindset than the actual game content.ĭeveloper Microïds’ own adventure series may not have the same commercial validity or even storytelling bombast the more recent favorites of the genre might convey - picking both its premise and its presentation with a much more focused and, let’s face it, niche appeal. It’s especially more noteworthy when that game, Syberia 3, can often be associated well enough with the modern adventure genre. If it is, that’s often proof of the game currently being played (though this of course isn’t limited solely to video games) finding a way to make good use of an already-trudged experience. Let’s face it, nostalgia itself is positive recollection, regardless of whether its relevance or integration with the present scenario in question is justified or not. In small doses, nostalgia can shine a warm light on a once-believed forgotten past joy.
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