Beneath a Steel Sky

The Good
Beneath a Steel Sky is a very entertaining story about Rob, the character you control, who is kidnapped from his home in the wild outskirts known as the Gap, into the big hostile city in which the game takes place. After staging an escape, Rob must discover why he was brought here and find a way back to the Gap. Like almost all good adventure games, BASS has a great story with a lot of mystery and suspense which will keep you interested right up to a surprise ending. The game also has some good humor mixed in as well. Its not as off the wall as Monkey Island or Grim Fandango(which is good because BASS' story is meant to be a serious) but Rob and his robot Joey add some much appreciated levety to the rather dark story. The artwork and environments for the most part are rather well done(considering the age of the game) and add to the game's dark atmosphere. The simplistic two button control scheme didn't really hinder gameplay. I didn't really like it or dislike it. I guess to newbies of the adventure genre its probably a plus.

The Bad
The music is a different story. There was a few good tracks but I found it corny for the most part and it took away from the edgy mood. While we're on sound here... Am I the only one who noticed that Rob and Joey are the only ones without British or French accents. I guess Virgin Interactive didn't feel the need to "Americanize" all the other characters when bringing the game over to the States. Oh well. My biggest gripe with BASS is its lack of quality puzzles. There are very few puzzles that aren't of the "Use this item with this item" variety. When I did get stuck in this game the solution was often to go to a previously explored area and trigger an event that didn't make much sense. The lack of challenging puzzles will leave veteran adventurers bored and will make the game seem shorter than it is.

The Bottom Line
A good game to try if you've never played an adventure game before. It's certainly not a classic adventure game, but those who have enjoyed LucasArts' adventures will find the same strong story and and witty humor here. I just wish BASS would provide the same depth as far as puzzles go.

The Good
It was amazing, witty puzzles, great gameplay and graphics. I completed this game in 1995 it took me some time but i got there in the end. In the first 5 minutes of this game i was hooked! I love all of the old adventure games including excellent titles such as Dreamweb but this game is by far the greatest of them all!! Try and get a hold of it, you will love it!

The Bad
Um, do i really have to say anything in here because i dont know if i can!!

The Bottom Line
Well to make it short and sweet: Class!!!

The Good
Most of this review you'll find it in the "the bad" section. It's difficult to discover something good and prominent in an adventure that is very poor in every aspect. Maybe the best thing is its comic-book-style introduction, well narrated and illustrated, but short. Sadly, there isn't any vestige of that comic style in the rest of the game. I suppose a few pages of comic book won't convince to someone about this game, …or yes?

The Bad
I'm not a guy who is on pursuit of every "over-hyped" game, in order to then join to the adoration with rest of people. Neither I'm of those that hate this games before play them. So, I approached to "Beneath a Steel Sky" with a moderate expectation, but with intention of enjoy it, such as with every adventure that I play. However, other than a promising preface (its comic-book), it took me no long time realize this game is of those that gained good reputation because of to have a nice title and a little of good luck in the law of "chain reaction" acceptance of gamers, even though in its essence is rather ordinary and lacking of personality.

As I said, the start is attractive, but I lost that interest immediately because of the important thing about the game is to solve frustrating and not very clever puzzles, which don't fit very well with the main story. Puzzles are of type (but not quality) of Lucas Arts's games. Perhaps I might have tolerated that if the story's unfolding had been attractive, but not: the unfolding is very, very superficial and simple, what confirms far more that the important thing is to solve un-intuitive puzzles.

The atmosphere is very poor: the graphics don't convey any feel of to be in a huge futuristic city, since they are so static and unoccupied that sometimes seem cardboard backgrounds. The music is practically one song, plain and monotonous. The (few) characters aren't interesting or important, in part due to hollow dialogues that we have with them: they inform very little about situation, background story, other characters, etc. They're there just because they're an ingredient of some annoying puzzle.

In its "comic"' introduction, the game shows a dramatic tone. However, that is an illusion. The main character jokes with everything, and in general, he doesn't take anything seriously, although there is blood and deaths during the plot. This attempt of comedy, plus its puzzles, did me feel as if I were playing a Monkey Island, but with deaths, little humor and boring puzzles. It is a confusing blend.

The Bottom Line
I don't understand why so many people consider it a classic adventure, raise it at the level of TRUE classics, like lots of Lucas Arts and Sierra's adventures. But, is it that they don't see (or feel) the huge difference? BASS is not a complete waste, but like sci-fi story, it's void and simple, and like a game, it's boring and frustrating. That's not to be a good game. And much less a classic.