2. The Last Express (1997)
Like a lot of kids in the mid-80's, I had a little VHS collection. Movies I tapped off TV. Here's what you would see if you were to read the labels - Star Wars, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Tron, The Wrath of Khan, Murder On The Orient Express, and The Black Hole. Clearly, one of these things is not like the other. Don't ask me why, but Murder On The Orient Express was - and still is - one of my favorite movies. Along with Indiana Jones, it's probably responsible for my love of art deco and tailored outfits and classy dames. It's no surprise that I picked up The Last Express, a mystery adventure game set on The Orient Express in 1914, when it first came out. Unfortunately, I was one of the few gamers who did. The game flopped hard. I can't help but wonder what would have happened to Jordan Mechner, designer of The Last Express and all around gaming pioneer, if it hadn't. Even for an adventure genre, its story has no analog. The Last Express wants you to immerse yourself in its refined world, to admire the scenery, to listen in on little conversations that enrich the story... but the clock is always ticking. As you move through the compartments, trying to solve the murder of your friend, your fellow travelers are going about their business and plotting their own schemes - and you have to be in the right place at the right time to progress through the game. Even worse, there's only one autosave that's constantly updating. Trial and error are part of adventure gaming, but The Last Express makes these errors more permanent and frustrating than most. That doesn't mean you should give up on it. You can always rewind the game as little or as much as you want, to go back and fix your mistakes. But there's no fast forward button, which means you might have to replay long swaths of the game to get back to where it all went wrong. And since the game expects to you to observe and eavesdrop, this leads to a lot standing around and listening to conversations you've heard before. But like System Shock 2, the risk is worth the reward. Robert Cath is probably the best game protagonist you've never heard of, a classic hero in the Hemingway mold. The mystery surrounding him is just as interesting. Few games are as intelligent, mature, and nuanced as The Last Express.