The Last Express
| The Last Express | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Smoking Car Productions | ||
| Publisher | Brøderbund , Interplay | ||
| Senior Developer | Jordan Mechner , Tomi Pierce | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1997 | ||
| platform | Android , iOS , MacOS , MS-DOS , Windows | ||
| genre | Adventure | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | mouse | ||
| medium | CD-ROM , download | ||
| language | German, English, French, Italian, Spanish | ||
| Age rating |
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The Last Express is an adventure computer game by Smoking Car Productions from 1997. The player controls the character from the first person perspective through a virtual replica of the Orient Express . The gameplay involves interacting with the passengers on the train. During the game, the passengers move around freely in the train and follow their own routines, the train also keeps moving and puts the player under time pressure.
action
The player slips into the role of the young American Robert Cath. In July 1914 Europe is facing the First World War . Cath has been asked by longtime friend Tyler Whitney to meet him on the Orient Express. On the train he finds his friend murdered. Cath, who fears that he could be linked to the murder, takes over the identity of the dead man and tries to solve the murder on her own. Not an easy undertaking, as it turns out, because the political turmoil of the approaching World War I also (and especially) left its mark on the passengers of the train.
The adventure lives on the one hand from its diverse characters and on the other hand from the dense atmosphere. Mechner describes a time of upheaval that is characterized by great uncertainty and in which little space remains for the needs of the individual. Accordingly, the plot is unusually demanding for a computer game and demands a lot from even older players.
In addition to the main plot to solve the murder, Mechner weaves numerous secondary threads into the plot, such as the fate of Serbian extremists who want to take control of the train, or in the delicately suggested love story between Cath and a passenger who become one of the most moving credits in computer game history. But also the mysticism typical of Mechner finds its place. A classic Russian poem, the Firebird , forms the basis for a subplot with a surrealistic touch, which becomes increasingly important towards the end.
Game principle and technology
The Last Express is a first-person adventure, which means that events are presented from the perspective of the player. A still image of the player's surroundings is displayed, which he can examine with the mouse cursor. If the shape of the mouse cursor changes at a so-called hotspot, interaction with this point is possible. If the hotspot is an exit, e.g. B. a door, and if the player interacts with this hotspot, the player is moved in the corresponding direction and a new still image of the new position is displayed. The still images consist of pre-rendered backgrounds over which hand-drawn objects and NPCs are placed. To represent the NPCs, actors were photographed in front of a blue screen and the photos were given a drawn look using rotoscoping . In contrast to most computer games, The Last Express mostly dispenses with flowing animations, instead relying on a series of individual still images.
The NPCs usually speak in their mother tongue, but are mostly subtitled.
The game has now been reissued in a version for Apple iOS and Android.
Production notes
In 1993 , Jordan Mechner founded Smoking Car Productions, based in San Francisco, specifically for the production of The Last Express . The company's name alluded to both the smoke from the train and the smoking car featured in the game, although very few employees smoked. At its peak, the company had 60 full-time employees. When the game was released in 1997, Smoking Car Productions was disbanded.
A version of the game for mobile devices with the iOS operating system was released in 2012, and for Android in 2013 .
Web links
- The Last Express at MobyGames (English)
- The Good Old Days
- Review on AdventureCorner.de
- Interview with Mark Netter on Gamasutra.com
- Stay Forever: The Last Express (episode 89) , Podcast (Full Review)
Individual evidence
- ↑ MacinPlay.de: The Last Express. Retrieved June 13, 2018 .
- ↑ News - The Last Express: iOS version from the day after tomorrow in the App Store - Areagames.de:Heimat der Heim Konsolen. Retrieved March 18, 2013 .
- ↑ MobyGames.com: The Last Express Releases. Retrieved April 19, 2018 .