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In the men's room of a diner a mysterious murder takes place.
The murderer is an ordinary man. He has no idea who is victim
is... But this isn't an isolated incident. Years before, all
over New York regular people began killing total strangers.
Now, over 20 years later, it looks like history is repeating
itself. Is this latest killing the start of something much
bigger? Only you can find out...
In
Fahrenheit you
get to play as the game's four main characters: the murderer
(Lucas Kane), the detective assigned to the case (Carla Valenti),
her partner (Tyler Miles) and Lucas's priest brother (Markus
Kane) as they each try to get to the bottom of the bizarre
murder and whether history is repeating itself.
This
3D adventure also employs filmic techniques to make it feel
as though you are directing the action yourself. There are
some minor problems with this. The main one is that the camera
angles become a bit of a pain at certain levels in the game.
One minute you are heading one way, then the camera angle
changes and you lose your bearings. Also, there are areas
where you can't pan the camera around properly.
Before
you start the game proper, it's worth checking out the tutorial
with the director. This is a really neat introduction to the
game. The director explains that the game is like a movie
that you call the shots on (which to an extent is true). You
control a crashtest dummy to get the hang of the controls.
While this was useful I never did get to see the "mental
elf" the director was so proudly talking about - must
have been his outrageously funny accent.
You
start the game as Lucas, immediately after you have killed
a complete stranger. You have only a few minutes to hide the
body, dispose of the murder weapon and clean the blood up
- so that you can leave the diner without raising too much
suspicion. The first time I played this my heart really was
pumping harder than it should have been.
Once
you successfully escape the diner (easier said than done)
you change characters and you are now playing as the detective
assigned to investigate the crime (Carla Valenti) and her
partner (the Shaft-like Tyler Miles) as they work over
the crime scene.
The
rest of the game sees you switching between these characters
(and the murderer's brother) as you uncover the truth behind
the killing. What's interesting about this is that you can
pick and chose which character you follow (although you still
have to play the other characters levels at some point).
Another
interesting addition is the way the developers make use of
the normally dull, overly long cut sequences. Instead of sitting
there letting your mind wander, you have to keep your eyes
on the screen as at any minute you may encounter an interactive
section. What happens here is that you are given instructions
on screen on how to move your analogue sticks in a copycat
style, in order to outwit opponents, play instruments or keep
your concentration while in a trance. I did have some slight
problems with this - mainly due to the fact that sometimes
it's not very easy to spot what is flashing when there is
other action going on on the screen. But if you turn your
TV up nice and bright, that soon solves that problem.
The
graphics are amazing - especially when you consider that sometimes
I couldn't tell when the cut sequences had ended, and I was
in charge of the character. This is especially true in the
level where you enter a spooky old house which is home to
a mad old woman with a fondness for crows. And I love the
way that the developers have made the game feel like you have
freedom to do whatever you want. In reality, you are very
restricted (obviously, otherwise the storyline wouldn't unravel
in the way it is intended) but it feels like you are in total
control.
There
are a lot of nice little touches too - it really is worth
reading all the e-mails and web pages you come across as there
are some very funny text gags. The game's sense of humour
is also worthy of note. Tyler is the game's light relief.
He lives in a house that Shaft would have been proud of and
is always ready with an amusing quip.
I
loved this game... and I mean really loved it! It's
original, addictive, and damn good fun. It's refreshing to
be able to play a game from some many different view points.
This is destined to become a classic.
Darren
Rea
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£25.99
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£26.99
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£27.89
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£29.99
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All prices correct at time of going to press.
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