The Last Express

Rating:
Summary: A great game, worth playing mainly for the atmosphere.
Review: "The Last Express" is very different from the other games that are now considered popular, since it combines mystery with an attractive period setting (Europe on the brink of war in late July 1914). Furthermore, the game takes place on board the Orient Express, which almost makes the game an experiment in claustrophobia: you know that what you are looking for is somewhere on the train, but you don't necessarily know where it is, or what you are looking for.

It's the way you feel when you start playing the game. You arrive late on the train, and the first thing you discover is that your best friend, Tyler Whitney, who had convinced you to travel on the Orient Express, has been killed. As for yourself, you are an American doctor, Robert Cath, who was involved in a murder in Ireland. You will spend the rest of the game assuming the identity of Whitney (which means that you'll have to get rid of Whitney's body), and trying to understand what he was involved in.

The Orient Express is a great setting for the game, because it crosses several countries which will be involved in the First World War: France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, the Orient Express was made famous by Agatha Christie's famous Hercule Poirot novel, "Murder on the Orient Express", and was also featured in a few films, including the James Bond film "From Russia with Love". Playing "The Last Express" also reminds one of the Alfred Hitchcock film, "The Lady Vanishes" (the vanishing lady was a spy), and of other films, such as "The Seven Per Cent Solution", which features a train chase and a duel on the top of the train. One has great expectations regarding this game, and in most cases the game meets these expectations.

The best reasons for playing this game are the claustrophobic feeling, the political uncertainty of the period (which includes the fear of being trapped in an enemy country at any time), and its strong sense of history. I will discuss this last aspect in length, because it is one that has become so rare in today's games. The Orient Express as depicted in the game seems very accurate (with its Art Nouveau style), and I particularly enjoyed reading the newspaper on the train (which included articles on the Wagner festival in Bayreuth, the Serbian crisis, the Madame Caillaux trial, and even letters to the editor). The discussions between the other passengers are a pleasure to listen to, because the acting is perfect.

One of the few things I did not like about this game is that it is very linear. Even though the game is in real time, the same events will take place at the same time every time you play it. Also, the "mysteries" in this game are very easy to solve, because there is a conspicuous lack of red herrings. In this game, if you can grab an object, it will certainly be useful later on. That's easy to understand for items such as the passengers list or the train schedule, but other items, such as both the matches AND the matchbox, or even Tyler Whitney's telegram, also serve a purpose later in the game. Apart from these useful items, there are very few objects unrelated to the plot which you can examine or take. The compartments of people who have nothing to do with the plot are virtually empty.

Your movements in the train are also very limited. You can only sit at one place in the dining room and in the lounge, you can't move outside the train at stations, your movements to some places are limited until you have reached a certain point in the game, and you can't talk to other passengers until you are supposed to talk to them.

(Please skip this paragraph if you don't want some clues regarding the story.) The characters, as diverse as they are, are very caricatural and in some cases, predictable. After a few minutes playing the game, you know which characters are important, and which aren't. You know that August Schmidt, the German industrialist, deals in weapons and will eventually put guns on the train; you know that violinist Anna Wolff is more than she pretends to be, etc. You quickly know that the Boutarel family has nothing to do in the story, that those suspicious-looking Serbians are up to some mischief (such as, say, hijacking the train), and that the Russian anarchist, Alexei Dolnikov, is likely to put a bomb on the train (and guess what ? he does!).

As for the story itself, it is a great tale of international intrigue, although I think that it would have been better without the "firebird", because the latter belongs more to a fantasy tale rather than a down-to-earth espionage story. However, the "firebird" is vital to get to the end of the game.

The ending is totally unpredictable, and it takes place a few minutes before Constantinople. It is great and memorable, though sad, with a strong pacifist statement. It leaves you with the feeling that even though you have finished the game, you've won nothing.

It is written on the game package that there is "over 40 hours of game play". In fact, this probably includes all the time you waste rewinding the game because of the mistakes you've made, because I have finished this game under six hours (and this included listening to interesting conversations). Another reviewer wrote that the game could be finished in two hours. I believe this statement to be true, but in order to finish the game in two hours you have to know the game already, and you will have to forget about listening to other passengers' conversations.

In conclusion, I strongly recommend this game.

Rating:
Summary: A great game, worth playing mainly for the atmosphere.
Review: "The Last Express" is very different from the other games that are now considered popular, since it combines mystery with an attractive period setting (Europe on the brink of war in late July 1914). Furthermore, the game takes place on board the Orient Express, which almost makes the game an experiment in claustrophobia: you know that what you are looking for is somewhere on the train, but you don't necessarily know where it is, or what you are looking for.

It's the way you feel when you start playing the game. You arrive late on the train, and the first thing you discover is that your best friend, Tyler Whitney, who had convinced you to travel on the Orient Express, has been killed. As for yourself, you are an American doctor, Robert Cath, who was involved in a murder in Ireland. You will spend the rest of the game assuming the identity of Whitney (which means that you'll have to get rid of Whitney's body), and trying to understand what he was involved in.

The Orient Express is a great setting for the game, because it crosses several countries which will be involved in the First World War: France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, the Orient Express was made famous by Agatha Christie's famous Hercule Poirot novel, "Murder on the Orient Express", and was also featured in a few films, including the James Bond film "From Russia with Love". Playing "The Last Express" also reminds one of the Alfred Hitchcock film, "The Lady Vanishes" (the vanishing lady was a spy), and of other films, such as "The Seven Per Cent Solution", which features a train chase and a duel on the top of the train. One has great expectations regarding this game, and in most cases the game meets these expectations.

The best reasons for playing this game are the claustrophobic feeling, the political uncertainty of the period (which includes the fear of being trapped in an enemy country at any time), and its strong sense of history. I will discuss this last aspect in length, because it is one that has become so rare in today's games. The Orient Express as depicted in the game seems very accurate (with its Art Nouveau style), and I particularly enjoyed reading the newspaper on the train (which included articles on the Wagner festival in Bayreuth, the Serbian crisis, the Madame Caillaux trial, and even letters to the editor). The discussions between the other passengers are a pleasure to listen to, because the acting is perfect.

One of the few things I did not like about this game is that it is very linear. Even though the game is in real time, the same events will take place at the same time every time you play it. Also, the "mysteries" in this game are very easy to solve, because there is a conspicuous lack of red herrings. In this game, if you can grab an object, it will certainly be useful later on. That's easy to understand for items such as the passengers list or the train schedule, but other items, such as both the matches AND the matchbox, or even Tyler Whitney's telegram, also serve a purpose later in the game. Apart from these useful items, there are very few objects unrelated to the plot which you can examine or take. The compartments of people who have nothing to do with the plot are virtually empty.

Your movements in the train are also very limited. You can only sit at one place in the dining room and in the lounge, you can't move outside the train at stations, your movements to some places are limited until you have reached a certain point in the game, and you can't talk to other passengers until you are supposed to talk to them.

(Please skip this paragraph if you don't want some clues regarding the story.) The characters, as diverse as they are, are very caricatural and in some cases, predictable. After a few minutes playing the game, you know which characters are important, and which aren't. You know that August Schmidt, the German industrialist, deals in weapons and will eventually put guns on the train; you know that violinist Anna Wolff is more than she pretends to be, etc. You quickly know that the Boutarel family has nothing to do in the story, that those suspicious-looking Serbians are up to some mischief (such as, say, hijacking the train), and that the Russian anarchist, Alexei Dolnikov, is likely to put a bomb on the train (and guess what ? he does!).

As for the story itself, it is a great tale of international intrigue, although I think that it would have been better without the "firebird", because the latter belongs more to a fantasy tale rather than a down-to-earth espionage story. However, the "firebird" is vital to get to the end of the game.

The ending is totally unpredictable, and it takes place a few minutes before Constantinople. It is great and memorable, though sad, with a strong pacifist statement. It leaves you with the feeling that even though you have finished the game, you've won nothing.

It is written on the game package that there is "over 40 hours of game play". In fact, this probably includes all the time you waste rewinding the game because of the mistakes you've made, because I have finished this game under six hours (and this included listening to interesting conversations). Another reviewer wrote that the game could be finished in two hours. I believe this statement to be true, but in order to finish the game in two hours you have to know the game already, and you will have to forget about listening to other passengers' conversations.

In conclusion, I strongly recommend this game.

Rating:
Summary: Can someone who has played the game please help me????
Review: (DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ONE OF THE MANY ENDINGS OF THE GAME!!) My sister and I were absolutely addicted to this wonderful game a few summers ago until we both ended up dying, without being able to change this fate despite many rewinds, when a bomb planted by the Russian man (Tatiana's old friend--forgive me if the names are a little off, it's been a few years) in the end of the first carriage of sleeping compartments explodes. We found the bomb, but were unable to diffuse it; we rewound the game many times to many different points but were unable to change the fact that he plants the bomb. ANY HELP????

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: A gripping and moving piece of business, this. The absence of background music, the real-time action, the many languages, and the historical setting combine to give you a feeling of having actually ridden the Orient Express in the years before the Great War. I'd recommend it for experienced gamers or people with a lot of patience, however; it's not a simple game to play, and the puzzles are difficult and rely on your being in the right place at the right time. (And it's in real time, which means a half-hour concert really does take thirty minutes. Be prepared!)

Rating:
Summary: A different kind of game
Review: First of all I payed about $30 for this game used on ebay. But it was probably worth it. It is a different kind of game that focuses on character development rather than puzzle solving (typical adventure games) or action. There are puzzles to be solved but none are particularly difficult like the brainstumpers in so many adventure games. The main fun is in learning about the other passengers on the train. Also the graphical style is somewhat old-fashioned, but kind of neat and appropriate to the setting of the story.

Rating:
Summary: My two cents...
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: I NEED HELP
Review: I AM NOT CLEVER ENOUGH TO KEEP MYSELF FROM BEING KILLED IN TYLER WHITES COMPARTMENT. NO MATTER WHAT I DO OR HOW MUCH I STALL I STILL RUN INTO THE RUSSIAN. AND OF COURSE HE KILLS ME. CAN YOU HELP ME TO AVOID THIS??

THANK YOU SHARONE

Rating:
Summary: The Last Express
Review: I definitely don't care for nonlinear games. I may go back and try to solve this one again some day, but for now, I prefer games with puzzles and progress. I did a lot of dying the few attempts I made at the Last Express.

Rating:
Summary: great game but with a few flaws
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Great murder mystery
Review: I had such a great time playing this game. It's smart, it's historical, it had wonderful tests of skill and problem solving. Much better than hack and slash games!