Fantastic plot, challenging puzzles, decent graphics, pretty good voice acting... and all it gets is a 6.7?
Never mind that pretty much every single game that adventure company releases looks exactly the same. No, the scenarios and characters aren't alike, they've just maintained the same formulas: Beautiful, gleaming scenarios that manage to stand out even amongst the most gruesome situations, with skinny, occasionaly bland characters that, while not particularly well made, are surprisingly charismatic in their own way. Still Life is no exception, and unless you expected it to be, it is under no circumstances a let-down. Even better, the in-game cinematics are simply fantastic, with sorrowful passages packing as much of a punch as the harsh, tense action sequences portraited.
The game's punch, as a matter of fact, is its engrossing plot. The plight of, Victoria, an FBI agent on Chicago as she strives to put a top-hatted serial killer behind bars, only to find out every bit of crime has a bigger motive, a 'larger picture' involving her dead grandfalther, Gustav, a P.I. looking at a similar case in early century Prague. The plot switches between the two expertly, each end of a chapter leaving a sweet taste for 'more' that will urge you forward, in hope of unlocking the killer's identity, both present and past.
With that purpose in mind, you'll struggle your way through dozens of different puzzles, some using old formulas (sliding tiles... every adventure game has those damned sliding tiles), and some trully original, as one involving rings and a key, near the end of the game.
So, with all that... an 8.0 score. Yes... Why? Because while the puzzles are varied enough, they don't often come with a logical explanation for its solution. Little more than trial and error can lead you 'safely' through a simple task as baking cookies, and some memory/riddle puzzles will ask that you have pen and paper by your side, so you can avoid running back and forth between rooms. Still, it's nothing adventure games aren't accustomed to.
So, Still Life falls short of a perfect score, less due to its flaws - they exist, but in no way overshadow the gaming experience - and more due to it being simply part of a whole. Still Life II will come out soon, and I'll, as usually, buy it and spend hours in front of my PC screen trying to figure out the "pupil's" identity. But until that day arrives, Still Life is not a classic. It has a great plot, and while it may never be considered a classic, the series has everything to be just that. Be it two games, three, four, five, The Adventure Company has presented us with another winner. Who cares about its shortcomings, when its positives are that entertaining?
Right now, I'm crossing my fingers, hoping that this is but a wonderful stepping stone, making way for a perfect sequel.
Still Life II can't arrive soon enough.