tuinal
17-09-2005, 17:49
Just thought I'd stop by and give a few thoughts on the game. I'm not about to give the whole plot away in this post, so there are no spoilers to worry about here.
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Fahrenheit is certainly ambitious. Some might say, after your meeting with the game's 'director' in the tutorial, rather pretentious. As soon as you pick up the manual, and throughout the tutorial and menus, there's a distinct movie feel in a deliberate attempt to bridge the gap between mediums. I think the following passage, taken from the game's manual, sums up what Fahrenheit sets out to do quite well.
It shows how it's possible to create an interactive experience that is more than just killing monsters in corridors and shooting crates to find ammunition. It shows that it's possible to create experiences that are richer and deeper. It shows that it's also possible to tell a story and play a game without sacrificing the interactivity or the narrative.
If this were entirely true, Fahrenheit would be a candidate for game of the year, if not decade. Unfortunately, whilst this is a game with a lot of merits, this rather overconfident opening statement is quickly disproved within the first few hours of play.
The game starts off extremely well, resembling a Resident Evil style adventure, albeit with a much more compelling plot and superior engine. In this respect, it's easy to pigeonhole it into the point-and-click adventure genre, although this would be inaccurate not just because the game has a larger scope, but also because it lacks the puzzles and brain-teasers inherent to the genre. Having just finished the game (in less than 8 hours, I hasten to add), I can think of only one segment you could really describe as a puzzle, and that seemed optional. Whilst there's plenty of picking up and using items throughout the game, it's all in a very mundane context; i.e. pick up the phone, send a fax, and so on - and usually in response to very obvious stimuli, such as a doorbell, or your character actually saying what they need to do then waiting for you to walk them across the room and do it - usually stumbling in circles on the way, given a rather clumsy control system.
So, then, the gameplay and interactivity can hardly be described as coming from this aspect of the game. Where it does shine through, however, is the way earlier actions have an impact on later events. Never in a plot-altering way (I've yet to play the game through again, but I'm fairly sure there aren't different endings asides from your character dying or going insane), but significantly enough to cause you to think twice before picking something up.
Then there are the action sequences. These are unquestionably the low point of the game as far as gameplay goes, and give horrible flashbacks to the era of 'interactive movies' (think Mega-CD games like Sewer Shark) where you're watching a FMV rollercoaster ride and occasionally jabbing a button within a time limit. In fact, these scenes may as well have been pre-rendered for the amount of interactivity they offer. They certainly look pretty, but you're often so distracted watching the big 'Simon Says' icons to make sure you press the right button you're hardly able to pay attention to all the superb looking motion-captured action going on.
Where Fahrenheit really excels in is the narrative. The plot, whilst getting a bit convoluted towards the end, is first class throughout the first half of the game and worthy of being a big-budget movie. Getting back to that original quote, however, to say interactivity isn't sacrificed for the narrative is, sadly, completely untrue. Throughout the action sequences you're wishing to god you could have the same controls as splinter cell, or a first person shooter. Were this the case, and the superb plot were wrapped around a fantastic game engine too, Fahrenheit would be an incredible accomplishment. In reality, though, killing monsters in corridors and shooting crates for ammunition still makes a better game than the most fantastically choreographed linear rollercoaster ride.
The real problem with Fahrenheit stems from this narrative being utterly uncompromising with respect to gameplay. Whilst often puzzles in adventure games feel 'tacked on', such as those in The Moment of Silence, the utter lack of any such puzzles on Fahrenheit will be a real let-down to any adventure gamer. When presented with a crime scene you really want to spend an hour musing over clues and inspecting every nook and cranny to try and solve a puzzle or two. In Fahrenheit, you simply pace round the room, click a few interactive points, and let the story carry you forward. Whilst this enhances the movie feel, it's a lot more like sitting watching an episode of CSI than actually being a detective and figuring things out yourself.
What's unusual with Fahrenheit is I've finished it in a criminally short space of time for a game, given the price tag, and yet I'd still recommend it. Anyone expecting a puzzle game in the vein of Sam & Max will be disappointed, as will anyone expecting a good action/puzzle hybrid like Resident Evil. In fact, anyone expecting a good 'game' period will probably be left feeling a bit cheated. But if you go into it as though you're watching a first rate TV series along the lines of 24 or CSI with some cleverly added interactivity, then Fahrenheit is ultimately a fantastic afternoon's viewing.
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Fahrenheit is certainly ambitious. Some might say, after your meeting with the game's 'director' in the tutorial, rather pretentious. As soon as you pick up the manual, and throughout the tutorial and menus, there's a distinct movie feel in a deliberate attempt to bridge the gap between mediums. I think the following passage, taken from the game's manual, sums up what Fahrenheit sets out to do quite well.
It shows how it's possible to create an interactive experience that is more than just killing monsters in corridors and shooting crates to find ammunition. It shows that it's possible to create experiences that are richer and deeper. It shows that it's also possible to tell a story and play a game without sacrificing the interactivity or the narrative.
If this were entirely true, Fahrenheit would be a candidate for game of the year, if not decade. Unfortunately, whilst this is a game with a lot of merits, this rather overconfident opening statement is quickly disproved within the first few hours of play.
The game starts off extremely well, resembling a Resident Evil style adventure, albeit with a much more compelling plot and superior engine. In this respect, it's easy to pigeonhole it into the point-and-click adventure genre, although this would be inaccurate not just because the game has a larger scope, but also because it lacks the puzzles and brain-teasers inherent to the genre. Having just finished the game (in less than 8 hours, I hasten to add), I can think of only one segment you could really describe as a puzzle, and that seemed optional. Whilst there's plenty of picking up and using items throughout the game, it's all in a very mundane context; i.e. pick up the phone, send a fax, and so on - and usually in response to very obvious stimuli, such as a doorbell, or your character actually saying what they need to do then waiting for you to walk them across the room and do it - usually stumbling in circles on the way, given a rather clumsy control system.
So, then, the gameplay and interactivity can hardly be described as coming from this aspect of the game. Where it does shine through, however, is the way earlier actions have an impact on later events. Never in a plot-altering way (I've yet to play the game through again, but I'm fairly sure there aren't different endings asides from your character dying or going insane), but significantly enough to cause you to think twice before picking something up.
Then there are the action sequences. These are unquestionably the low point of the game as far as gameplay goes, and give horrible flashbacks to the era of 'interactive movies' (think Mega-CD games like Sewer Shark) where you're watching a FMV rollercoaster ride and occasionally jabbing a button within a time limit. In fact, these scenes may as well have been pre-rendered for the amount of interactivity they offer. They certainly look pretty, but you're often so distracted watching the big 'Simon Says' icons to make sure you press the right button you're hardly able to pay attention to all the superb looking motion-captured action going on.
Where Fahrenheit really excels in is the narrative. The plot, whilst getting a bit convoluted towards the end, is first class throughout the first half of the game and worthy of being a big-budget movie. Getting back to that original quote, however, to say interactivity isn't sacrificed for the narrative is, sadly, completely untrue. Throughout the action sequences you're wishing to god you could have the same controls as splinter cell, or a first person shooter. Were this the case, and the superb plot were wrapped around a fantastic game engine too, Fahrenheit would be an incredible accomplishment. In reality, though, killing monsters in corridors and shooting crates for ammunition still makes a better game than the most fantastically choreographed linear rollercoaster ride.
The real problem with Fahrenheit stems from this narrative being utterly uncompromising with respect to gameplay. Whilst often puzzles in adventure games feel 'tacked on', such as those in The Moment of Silence, the utter lack of any such puzzles on Fahrenheit will be a real let-down to any adventure gamer. When presented with a crime scene you really want to spend an hour musing over clues and inspecting every nook and cranny to try and solve a puzzle or two. In Fahrenheit, you simply pace round the room, click a few interactive points, and let the story carry you forward. Whilst this enhances the movie feel, it's a lot more like sitting watching an episode of CSI than actually being a detective and figuring things out yourself.
What's unusual with Fahrenheit is I've finished it in a criminally short space of time for a game, given the price tag, and yet I'd still recommend it. Anyone expecting a puzzle game in the vein of Sam & Max will be disappointed, as will anyone expecting a good action/puzzle hybrid like Resident Evil. In fact, anyone expecting a good 'game' period will probably be left feeling a bit cheated. But if you go into it as though you're watching a first rate TV series along the lines of 24 or CSI with some cleverly added interactivity, then Fahrenheit is ultimately a fantastic afternoon's viewing.