How about most overrated game of the year? Jess and I finished this one today and it failed to redeem itself as a fun game. There was maybe 1 interesting puzzle involving making a special cocktail, other than that the game was nothing but nice graphics and tedious gameplay.

To make things worse, there is a soap opera sub-plot that unfolds throughout the game via Kate’s cell phone. Her boss, Mom, best friend, and fiance peroidically call to whine and/or yell at her about how long she’s been away. I started skipping these conversations but got burned by one puzzle that involved something Kate’s Mom told her so I had to listen to all of them. I understand the need to develop Kate’s character and explain her motivations for the eventual decisions she makes, but these sub-plot characters are really melodramatic, one dimensional, and over-acted.

I really don’t understand the accolades this game has gotten, especially from justadventure.com. I’m convinced that justadventure is getting kickbacks from Adventure Company Games to praise Syberia. Considering the banner ads and pop-ups that ACG have on the site, it seems very plausible. No one really thinks about payola with regards to the gaming industry, but would anyone be surprised if it existed?

“Cock-a-doodle-dooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!