Customer Reviews

The Last Express

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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 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.

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.

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.

I've owned this game for two years, and still play it on my iMac. It is timeless and THAT good, with excellent characterizations, well-thought out plots and timelines. The game is so unusual, as it has separate timelines going on at the same time; i.e. depending where you are on the train as Robert Cath, you may/may not hear certain conversations and interactions between characters. The characters will interact with each other and go about their business regardless of whether you are in "ear-shot" or not, yet if you approach characters to interact, you may get different responses, depending on what you have done or haven't done in the game, etc. A beautifully conceived game by Jordan Mechner, creater of the Prince of Persia games. Although this game won accolades upon release, it wasn't incredibly well-received, and the Smoking Car Productions (Mechner) that produced the game folded quietly after the game's release.

Fans of this game can also purchase the excellent CD Soundtrack through amazon, as well as the "how-to" player's guide through amazon. One can only hope for a sequel by Mechner if there is enough interest....

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!

I liked this game a lot. It had an interesting storyline, I really felt for the charcters in the end, I haven't felt that way since Gabriel Knight 2. I had to save a lot in the game but I really had no complaints about that. Some people found it tedious to go back a redo sections of the game if they missed a crucial conversation. I guess if you like to finish games quickly then this game is not for you. I liked that you got to know each character in the game, and the dual love stories added romance. I liked the historical background and the artwork of the movie. It was probably one of the best adventure games I have played.

When I started playing LAST EXPRESS I felt a bit annoyed because of the screen presentation (the game used only about the middle third amount of the computer screen when walking through hallways on the Orient Express). But all negative thoughts thoroughly evaporated when I got into the flow. There are dozens of characters to get involved with, and I never felt a lack of plot or characterization. Even the minor characters such as the cheif berating his apprentice behind the dining cart curtain gave me something to laugh about. And unlike many of the adventure games out today, there is more than one way to play it. As another reviewer mentioned, you could simply walk around and listen to conversations, you could choose to ignore the characters that you find to be "creepy," or you could just follow up on the events leading to the world war by reading the newspaper that is changed once in the game. I think that the cartoonish style is an interesting touch because I understand what the creators meant by using it. Too often when there is digital video graphics in a game people tend to concentrate on the graphics instead of the plot, which is the heart of adventure gaming. In short, I couldn't stop playing. If you are the type of gamer which need to blow something up every five minutes, this game isn't for you. If you are interested in a game with thought-provoking conversations, and exciting events occuring one after the other (including scenes where your character REALLY DOES fight!) you should seriously consider buying THE LAST EXPRESS. If you are an adventure gamer (or a beginner in this genre) that is interested in history, or the out-break of the first world war, this is a GREAT game for you.

Thank you for your time

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.

I loved this game. I had to cheat a little (found a web walk-through) to finish it, but it was a fantastic game, with splendid character development. If it was a novel, it would have been a bestseller. The gameplay was fun, the dialogue realistic and well-written, and I loved the rotoscoped animated cut scenes (I despise those cheezy badly-acted live action characters in many games). I enjoyed playing the Last Express right up to the end, more than any other game I have played.