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Great adventure game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 19
Date: May 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Finally...a good one. After despairing at the absolutely awful quality of Legacy: Dark Shadows (has there ever been such a poorly-acted, poorly scripted, utterly unprofessional piece of product) and the equally dreadful Moment of Silence (misleadingly, Just Adventure and a few other sites gave MoS a good review), Still Life has restored my confidence. This is a hugely atmospheric, hugely enjoyable, logical and absorbing adventure game for grownups. Proper dialogue, actual actors (whoever played the completely charmless 'Ren' in Dark Shadows sounded like a doped-up lobotomy patient). I thought I was going to have to wait for Longest Journey 2 to have this much fun. This is highly recommended. I'm having to deliberately prevent myself from playing too much, as I want to stretch out the experience.

Finally!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: May 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Yes, I may be an elitist, but I can't help but miss the heyday of adventure gaming when Guybrush Threepwood was a household name and Lucasarts actually produced video games that were not connected to Star Wars in some way or another (great games they were too). But within the last decade the production of adventure games has noticeably dwindled and even the games that were released weren't even worth the bother. The designers began focusing more on the beautifully rendered backdrops than the actual gameplay, and the Adventure genre suffered greatly as a result. Needless to say, the adventure was taken out of adventure gaming.

Then came Still Life.

This is an amazing game. You can just buy the game (or not) based solely on that comment, or if you're a stickler for details you can read further.

THE STORY: Still Life is actually a sequel to Post Mortem. The game takes place approximately 80 years after Gus MacPherson's adventures in Paris and introduces his granddaughter Victoria. You alternate between playing Gus, a private investigator who is investigating a series of prostitute killings in late 1920's Prague and Victoria, an FBI agent who is on the hunt for a serial killer in modern day Chicago. If you haven't played Post Mortem don't fret, it doesn't hinder the gameplay one bit.

THE GAMEPLAY: Still Life is pretty gruesome and I would not recommend it for children or the squemish. It contains nudity, profanity, and scenes of bloodshed (you are investigating a serial killer after all, what were you expecting, fluffy bunnies?). The backdrops are beautifully rendered and when paired with the soundtrack a eerie ambience is well-achieved. I found myself on the edge of my seat at times just waiting for something to happen or dreading going forward ("But I don't WANT to go into the creepy burned down neighborhood *sniffle*") But then again, that is half the fun of the game.

The voice acting, save one or two characters, is top of the line. The dialogues are not overbearing and there is the option to skip over tedious dialogue that is not necessary to continue gameplay. Everytime you speak to somebody a little mouse icon is shown on the screen, if you left-click you discuss things pertinent to the game, right-click is reserved for idle chit-chat. Eventhough I always exhaust all the dialogues, I loved having this option in the game. Still Life also has the option for subtitles and you can move the dialogue along faster by hitting the space bar. The only problem I had with the dialogues is all the profanity, but only because at times it seemed almost forced.

The puzzles in Still Life are alot of fun and they are logical. It seems that lately adventure games have been more focused on weird abstract puzzles that really have no clues to solve them contained within the game. The puzzles in Still Life are challenging, but not to the point of insanity and I didn't have any breakdowns where I had to resort to a walkthrough before I killed my computer. Thankfully there are no timed puzzles in Still Life and there is only the rare instance when you have to resort to a saved game in order to get yourself out of a bind (I had to once). My only problem with the gameplay is that sometimes the characters tell you what to do next. Eventhough it was usually pretty obvious what needed to be done next, I thought it would have been better for the developers to allow you to figure it out for yourself.

In conclusion, this game should not be missed if you are a fan of adventure games. With its gripping story, beautiful graphics AND enjoyable gameplay, Still Life might be what the market needs to resurrect adventure gaming.

One of my favorites

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: July 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I took a chance on this after playing the rather short demo. I certainly was _not_ disappointed. The flashbacks to the "Post Mortem" characters and scenes were an overcomable bad memory. I took Post Mortem almost all the way to the end and the game would not continue even though I exhausted the walkthroughs.

The twists and turns in Still Life were exhilirating and at times it almost felt like an interactive movie. I usually don't like puzzles but there were sufficient clues causing me to fail because of my own inattentiveness only.

Playing this game was almost relaxing at times and I hated to see it end. I totally recommend this game to adventurers.

A fantastic game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: May 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

THis is a great adventure game. THe scenario is perfect, the decors are awesome and the atmosphere is really good. It is playing a good thriller movie scenario. The characters are not so well down but the voices, language are terrific.
THe game is rated Mature and it makes sense for the blood and the killing scenes that you actually see. If you had played Syberia 1 and 2 and loved them dont think, buy it.
The inventory is a downside but hey that is a great game anyway.

Still Life

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: April 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I really enjoyed this game. It was easy to follow the story line. All you had to do was listen. They didn't delibrately hide things from you and you didn't have to deal with choosing what to say next. I wish all the games were this good.

ONE OF THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 7
Date: September 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This has to be one of the best games I have played. I would pay this money over and over, and people who design computer games can learn alot from the ones who made this one. Exciting, thrilling, keeps you wanting more. I could not leave my seat I was into this game so much. The graphics are good, and everything about this game is awsome. Very hard to find one that you can't stop talking about, but FINALLY, I found one. This is a must buy!!!

So Much Fun.....A Great Game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 6
Date: October 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game was so much fun to play! It was creepy enough that it kept me intrested for hours! I didn't want this game to be over, puzzles are easy to solve and there is so much mystery!

One Of The Best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game surprised me. I was hoping for a good solid game like Post Mortem (it's predecessor) but instead I found one of the best games I had ever played. This is a gritty thriller targeted at a mature audience and it's ending suggests a sequel may be likely. This game has excellent graphics and a creepy environment suitable to a murder mystery involving some type of serial killer. It's nice to look at, the locations are fun to explore, the puzzles are about the right level of difficulty, and the storyline keeps your attention and interest. If you like point and click adventures with top-notch graphics then you should definitely give this one a try.

Stunning graphics, deep story and an outstanding lead character!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 5
Date: August 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I loved most everything about this game.

The Crime: A+

This game is NOT for young children or the faint of heart as it does feature some fairly graphic, close-up renderings of the serial killer's victims.

Victoria McPherson is the tough, unstoppable FBI agent who is working on solving a number of prostitute killings. The game opens with Vic arriving at the murder scene of victim #5.

Frustrated and told to back off by her boss, Victoria goes home to relax during her off hours and digs up her grandfather's journals. Gustav "Gus" McPherson was a P.I. who worked in the States and in Europe. In the 1930s, he came across a similar serial killer. Could the two cases possibly be linked?

Puzzles: A+

This game brings everything to the table except the kitchen sink. Victoria helps with collection of forensic evidence, takes fingerprints, opens safes, breaks into the FBI archives with the help of bomb sqad robots, and even bakes holiday cookies for her father.

Gus also collects evidence, but without the help of flashy modern forensics. You'll be asked to compare photographs of crime scenes and use a good bit of plain ol' logic to solve his puzzles. Watch out for the lock picking puzzle. That one will give you a headache. This game forces you to use every last brain cell in the search for a killer.

Gameplay: A+

Using items in your inventory took a bit of getting used to, but once you do, it's easy as pie. Both characters have identical inventories and controls.

Time Changes: You switch between two characters, Victoria McPherson, working in the present day, and Gus McPherson, Victoria's grandfather, working an eerily similar crime in Prague in the 1930s.

Voice Acting: A+

Victoria is confident and womanly, Gus is charmingly sarcastic and straight-forward, a "stand-up guy." Minor character's roles are fleshed out by their voice actors very well. The whole game is a treat to the ears.

Music: A

The music compliments several animated action sequences very well and heightens the sense of being there in Victoria's world. It also changes to a charming background patter perfect for a quiet European city in the 1930s. Yummy.

Graphics/Video: A

The game is a treat for the eyes as well as the ears. At first I couldn't get over the angular meanness of Victoria's face, she grew on me as the game progressed. The twisted mask of rage as the killer commits his vicious crime was well animated. The light and shadows also play a big part in this game, adding depth and detail to lonely streets, dark alleys and big-city building fronts.

Technical: A

Perfectly perfect. No install problems or bugs for me.

Overall, this game is a MUST have and one of the best adventure games EVER. It's a thrill-a-minute action ride that will have you biting your nails until the very last second.

A Great Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 3
Date: August 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I expected great things from the team that made Syberia I and II and i was right. Beautiful images, great story and most of all, puzzles that make sense ! Buy this one you wont regret it !

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