Syberia II

Infobox VG
title = Syberia II


developer = MC2-Microïds
publisher = XS Games, LLC (USA)
designer = Benoît Sokal
composer = Inon Zur
engine = Virtools Engine 3.0
resolution = 800x600
aspect ratio = 4:3
released = 2004
genre = Adventure
modes = Single player
ratings = ESRB: T (Teen)
ELSPA: 3+
PEGI: 12+
platforms = Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox
media = 2 CD-ROMs (WIN)
1 DVD (PS2), (Xbox)
requirements = 350 MHz CPU, 64 MB RAM, 16 MB video card RAM, 16X CD-ROM drive, DirectX 8.1, 400 MB available hard disk space, Windows 98 (WIN)
input = Keyboard, mouse, or gamepad

"Syberia II" is a 2004 adventure game conceived by Benoît Sokal and developed by MC2-Microïds, and a continuation to "Syberia". It is a third-person puzzle-solving game. Stylistically identical to the first "Syberia", "Syberia II" improves upon the first game by introducing more realistic character animation. The game includes a recap of the first chapter, so therefore does not require the player to have experienced the first game.

Sokal's later adventure games, such as "Sinking Island" and "Paradise" have no connections to "Syberia" but do use the same high quality artwork and a similar interface.

Plot summary

"Syberia II" continues the adventures of American lawyer Kate Walker from the first game as she abandons her increasingly stressful life in New York in order to accompany an eccentric inventor to a remote land in Russia known as Syberia where surviving remnants of prehistoric mammoths still live.

Romansburg

Kate begins at a small frontier town called Romansburg. With helpful instructions (but no real physical help) from Hans' automaton train engineer Oscar, Kate is able to wind and load the train with coal. However, Hans falls ill and must be treated before they continue.

From a little girl named Malka, Kate learns that the monks at the monastery on top of the nearby cliff can heal Hans. However, the old patriarch and his strict adherence to his personal rules forces Kate to jump through hoop after hoop just to get him to look at Hans. Worse still, the patriarch deems him a lost cause and figures that skipping straight to spiritual salvation is the best course of action. Kate learns from Hans about a friend of his at the monastery that knows Youkol medicine. Though this man has died since then, Kate obtains his notebook and makes an herbal candle to help Hans. The patriarch of the monks refuses to let them leave, but Kate improvises a sled from Hans' coffin to get him down the mountain.

Things go from bad to worse when Kate is asked to fix some mechanical automaton horses on Hans' behalf. Two thieves, Ivan and Igor, hijack the train while she works, intending to reach Syberia and make a profit from the mammoth ivory. Kate is able to follow them using a gangcar powered by a friendly animal called a youki, a cross between a seal and a bear.

Wilderness

Kate finally catches up with the train, but it collapses a bridge when it grinds to a halt, stranding Kate on the wrong side. Followed by the youki, which Kate names Youki, Kate works her way across a river, manages to avoid being eaten by a bear, and is reunited with her old friend Boris, whose flying wing crashes nearby. He lends Kate the use of the co-pilot ejection seat to launch her back to the train before Ivan and Igor can escape. Kate manages to make it to the train, but Ivan and Igor have given up on operating it and have left on a snowmobile with Hans as their prisoner. They are forced to unhinge the passenger car to pursue the kidnappers.

By the time they catch up, Ivan is off collecting ivory and the simple-minded Igor is having second-thoughts about the plan, as he is easily intimidated by the noise being made from wind blowing through a nearby statue. Hans has managed to escape his captors, but his whereabouts are as much of a mystery to Kate as they are to Igor. Kate stops the noise and convinces Igor to abandon Ivan. Kate confronts Ivan at a large mammoth statue surround by ivory. Ivan holds her at bay until she manages to convince Oscar to offer some assistance (blowing the train's horn) to create a momentary diversion. However, it doesn't completely succeed and Ivan is just about to do Kate in when the ice on which they are standing cracks, dropping Kate into darkness.

Youkol village

Kate awakes in the icy, underground village of the Youkol people. Hans is there, too, but he is on his deathbed. After convincing the Youkol people to help her drag the train inside, Kate makes her way to the shaman's hut. With the help of the shaman, Kate decides to reach Hans in his dreams and convince him to live.

In the dream, set in Valadilène, Kate makes her way to the Voralberg factory, meeting young Anna and Hans' strict father, who says that Hans is locked in the attic as punishment. Using the clock to convince him it's time for work, Kate sneaks into the attic to talk to Hans. She convinces Hans, who alternates between his child self and his present self, not to give up. In response, he asks her to help Oscar "open up his heart." He disappears, and Kate touches an object on the table which ends the dream. When Kate delivers the cryptic message to Oscar, the automaton engineer knows what he must do: he will give his "life" for his creator, unlocking his hollow body to form a primitive exo-skeleton/life-support system for Hans.

The key to the train and its final task are entrusted to Kate. There are no more tracks to drive on, but a frozen ship that will take them the rest of the way. Once Kate figures out how to get the train to thaw it, Kate, Hans, and Youki board the boat and set sail for the island of Syberia.

Ice Floe

The journey is delayed by Ivan, who has stowed away on the boat. He attempts to leave Kate on an ice flow, but his inability to operate the vessel allows Kate to sneak back on board and raise the sails, simultaneously getting the boat moving and stranding Ivan on the ice flow. He unwisely decides to make one last show of defiance by tossing a penguin egg: the penguins do not take kindly to their nests being disturbed and peck him to death.

Syberia

The ship reaches Syberia at last, but their journey is not quite over yet. The mammoths must be summoned for Hans to ride. Guided by an ancient medallion and some crude drawings on the ship, Kate manages to work out how to activate the Youkol horns and play the mammoth-riding tune. The mammoths are summoned and Hans goes to meet them. Still domesticated after all this time, they gladly let him up on their backs. The game ends with Hans riding one of the mammoths off into the distance, leaving Kate to wave tearfully, knowing she helped Hans fulfill his dream.

Reaction

While "Syberia" ended on an appropriate "cliffhanger" of sorts, a common complaint among reviewers is that the ending of "Syberia II" is either too abrupt or too depressing, depending on their understanding of the final scene. Indeed, the game doesn't provide any clear explanation about what becomes of Kate after she reaches Syberia with Hans. Moreover, Benoît Sokal has stated in interviews that there will not be a "Syberia 3".

Sokal left Microids shortly after the release of "Syberia II" and founded his own company White Birds Productions to release "Paradise", a game that uses a similar style of gameplay as "Syberia" but is not directly related.

Development

The game was produced in 13 months using Virtools Dev 3.0 development tools. [cite web |url=http://www.virtools.com/News/press_64.asp |title=Press Releases 2004 - Two years after the release of "Syberia", Microïds follows up on its success with the launch of "Syberia 2", made once again with Virtools game development tools |publisher=Virtools, |date=2004-03-24 |accessdate=2008-05-30] Benoît Sokal indicated in an interview that at one time the development team were considering to create one single game for the "Syberia" story, but decided not to as it was so large. [cite web |url=http://www.justadventure.com/Interviews/Syberia2/Syberia2BenoitSokal.shtm |title="Syberia II" Benoît Sokal interview |publisher=Just Adventure |accessdate=2008-06-30]

See also

* "Syberia"
* "Amerzone"
* "Paradise"
* "Sinking Island"

References

External links

*
* [http://www.microids.com/en/catalogue/13/syberia-2-kate-walker-s-adventures.html "Syberia II"] at [http://www.microids.com/ Microïds]
*
* [http://forumsyberia2.free.fr/index.php Unofficial "Syberia 2" Fan Community]