(re: Syberia 2 – Adventure games reborn?)
Syberia 2 has turned out to be a bit dissappointing frankly. Structurally it follows on directly from the first game (i.e. they’re still on the train), however the actual gameplay mechanics have undergone some drastic changes in some areas. For example, in the first game Kate Walker was a very girly girl, very posh, not very strong physically, but smart all the same. In the sequal she’s Lara Croft. All kind of character inconsistencies start creeping in. Suddenly she’s super physical, whereas before she was all brains, not much brawn. Just shows bad game design, in my opinion. (Especially considering that it’s set STRAIGHT AFTER the first game.)
All the same, I do not believe the first game (regardless of sales) was all that brilliant. It was beautiful, but didn’t play that well. It wasn’t nearly interactive enough. Which means that although it overall created a good impression (mostly through some very good dramatic writing), as an adventure game it was pretty weak.
Try to find The Longest Journey or Sanitarium instead, in my opinion the two best post-Williams-Sierra point-and-click adventure games.