Beneath a Steel Sky

The Good
Just about everything about this game is superb. The comedy, the puzzles, the graphics (for its times) and most especially the STORY! Another perfect game by Revolution!

The Bad
Some of the puzzles (like one or two) are really annoying.

The Bottom Line
Cyberpunk, intelligent, funny (and not in a silly way either!) and utterly, utterly brilliant! Almost impossible to play these days, but if you ever find an old PC in the attic, put it to good use before you throw it away and play this game!

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.

The Good
Beneath a Steel Sky is Revolution's second adventure game, and an excellent one, I must admit. Robert Foster stumbles across a barren wasteland known as The Gap. During his stay, he is raised by a peaceful tribe, and learns how to hunt and survive in the wasteland. Suddenly, outsiders destroy the wasteland and kidnap Foster, and take him to a city where everything is controlled by a super computer, known as LINC. As he explores the city, he tries to find out who or what LINC is and the person called Overmann that he is accused being of.

As Foster, you are also accompanied by his robot friend Joey, and you'll need to activate him at the start of the game. He can perform tasks that you can't – tasks such as hacking into security systems, jimmy door locks, and do other things without your presence. Once you get him up and running, he gets rude and arrogant, greeting Foster with “Is this the best shell you could find?” and answering one of his questions with “It's not worth explaining, you're too thick.” One interesting thing that you can do, however, without the help of Joey, is log into various LINC terminals around the city, to change the functioning of machinery.

BASS introduces Version 2.0 of Revolution's Virtual Theatre system. Characters are free to walk around, speak to people, and do their own shit – like what we do in everyday life. Speaking of characters, most of who you meet in the game can give you information that may or may not answer Foster's questions, and some are funny. One of the funniest characters that I met is Mrs. Piermont. I found it amusing to listen to her speak especially if you buzz her apartment. She becomes so stress if you do something with her dog.

There are a few comedic situations in the game, such as the courtroom appearance, presided by a judge who doesn't know what he is talking about. And later on in the game, you will meet a talking jukebox that attempts to seduce you while trying to select a song. If you select a particular song, the jukebox will get stuck.

BASS's interface is easy to use, and like Revolution's last game, it is intelligent. You see, click on an object with the left mouse button and the game assumes that you want to examine it, and if you click the right mouse button on that object, or other ones, it assumes that you want to manipulate it. And whatever button you click on a character, the game will always assume that you want to speak to him or her.

BASS is a lot better than Lure of the Temptress in terms of two things – graphics and sound. The graphics are a lot detailed, and they make you feel that you are walking into workshops, security rooms, or out on walkways or investigating something. What I like about the game is that it gives you the ability to enter LINC-space. The backgrounds, as well as individual objects, look well drawn, and even there are dangers that you must overcome, such as the eyeball that watches you wherever you go in the room. I love the graphics when you reach the end of the game. You enter room after room containing advanced technology, and veins sticking out from everywhere. Unlike Lure of the Temptress, there is background music in the game. One of the better pieces of music lies within LINC-space. The sound effects are suburb, especially when played through the Sound Blaster.

Anyone who doesn't like solving puzzles in an adventure game will be pleased to know that there is very little of that here. You just basically find places where you need to be and do whatever you need to do. As you progress through the game, the story goes much further and it eventually leads to one involving androids taking over the city.

Users with CD-ROM drives will get full speech throughout the game, and it is the speech that enhances the pleasure of the game, with talent from both the US and Britain. As well as this, though, users are treated to a comic book introduction that gives them a good background on how Foster came to be. I enjoyed listening to the old man rambling on about The Evil. Users of the disk version would already have a comic book in their box.

The Bad
Whenever you use text in the game, you notice that certain words are in uppercase (eg: How come your FIRE exit leads NOWHERE?) I suppose that it serves as emphasis on certain objects, but if I wrote like that in high school, I would have gotten bad marks. In fact, a review that I saw in a games magazine made fun of this nonsense.

The Bottom Line
Beneath a Steel Sky is an excellent game that has a story which becomes more and more interesting as progress is made. The game has very good graphics and sound, and you will enjoy reading the comic book that gives some info on Foster's background. I was glad that Revolution released the game (both floppy and CD versions) three years ago, giving you all the more reason to try it out.