Beneath a Steel Sky

The Good
A while ago, Revolution Software gave the source code for Beneath a Steel Sky to the makers of ScummVM (www.scummvm.org) so they could include support for it in their emulator. Not only that, they also allowed the ScummVM team to put the full game up for download, free. I figured there was no excuse not to try it. I'll never regret downloading those 67 Megs of pure magic.

The game begins with a comic book style intro cutscene, complete with still panels and "WHAM!" "BOOM!" and other sound effects. We learn that your character, Robert Foster, was in a helicopter crash when he was very young, and was stranded in the wilderness, or "The Gap." A tribe of people raised him there, and he built a robot named Joey. Then, police from the city he was born in come to get him. Just as they reach the city, the helicopter crashes. Foster survives again, and is on the run from the police, and tries to escape from the city. But he learns of the dark things that truly make the city run, and fights to...well, I don't want to give it away.

The point and click gameplay is simple, left or right click to move, left click to examine an object, right click to use it. Move the mouse to the top of the screen to select inventory items. The pixel-hunting problems of most point and click games are gone in BASS, because most important objects are very visible. The story is engaging and fast paced, and the puzzles are fun. Parts of the game were too hard for me, and I needed a walkthrough, but most adventure veterans should easily navigate the puzzles. I play these games for the story, really, not to experiment with inventory items. The voice acting (in the CD version) is very well done. The dialogue is also hilarious at times, giving the normally dark cyberpunk genre a lighthearted feel. Joey the robot is very humorous, and the courtroom scene in the later part of the game is extremely funny.

The Bad
The game has very, very few flaws. Obviously, the graphics and MIDI music are dated, but for a 1994 game, they are good. Still, they aren't as good as graphics these days, and the 320x200 resolution may require you to adjust your monitor. In the CD version, some voice acting is missing, and other times, the voice acting doesn't match the subtitles. I believe when you talk to Walter outside Burke's Bio Surgery, four or five lines are COMPLETELY different from the text displayed on screen. More minor voice acting things are present as well. For example, the text on the screen may say "jumper" (the British word for sweater) and the voice actors say "sweater." It's probably a localization thing, but it would've been nice if they changed the text too.

The Bottom Line
Before playing this game, I thought Grim Fandango was the greatest game ever made. Now, BASS is planted firmly next to that game in a tie. Even if you play with a walkthrough that spoils all the puzzles, the game is still one of the most entertaining things you can find. And since it's free now, there's no excuse to try it. It will be worth every single one of the zero dollars you pay for it.

The Good
It's games like this that remind you that a good adventure game should have a good sense of humor, and boy did this game a lot of that. Robert Foster, the hero of this game must be related to Guybrush Threepwood of Monkey Island.

GAMEPLAY Now I know where Max Payne got it's inspiration in creating a "comic-like" introduction.

The game is quite easy, not big time hard puzzles which I totally loathe...thankfully the game is all about adventuring and less puzzle solving. It may be a turn off for hardcore puzzle solvers, but for people like me, I enjoy the simple cruise.

ACTING Now this is one adventure game no one will soon forget. This game has got to be one of the best actors you can find! The whole bloody place is fulled with half-wit Brits (excluding a French and an Australian), but boy do they give a Superb act! Their dialects are soothing and funny, the script "almost" rivals that of Monkey Island...you gotta love those British accents...

MUSIC This game has one of the best Jazz melodies you can find. Dang shame you can't play the music separately like in other games (if someone knows where to get the music of this game...let me know will ya...thanks!). I even saved in areas where the music is good, just so I can listen to alone...come to think of it, it's just the perfect kind of music to have with a girl and candle light dinner...

The Bad
Sometimes if you click to fast during a dialog, the you didn't read much less hear the dialog. This means you have wait for the dialog to end. But sometimes your finger gets a little trigger happy...and accidental clicking occurs.

But the biggest dissapointment to me was the ending. It so much expected a lengthy cutscene...more on the aftermaths. But you don't get any...barely a few minutes and bye-bye. Thankfully, the ending music is sooo goood, so that kinda soothed my mood...a bit.

The Bottom Line
Well it's a great adventure game, I'll give you that. And that's all that matters.

Dang the music's good!

The Good
The puzzles are solid, mostly inventory based. A couple I found particularly tricky.

The characters are a joy to talk to and meet, each with their own great and matching personalities. Your side kick Joey is a funny, sarcastic little robot who had me chuckling a couple of times.

The story is interesting enough that I wanted to keep playing just to see what happens next. Some small twists here and there really keep it feeling fresh and exciting. Tho the ending felt very bitter sweet, it was still very much worth it.

The art is fantastic and does a great job depicting a futuristic, rusty metallic, dirty and grim futuristic city. All the characters and items are also looking great, with nice smooth animations for everything.

The music is good, with lots of different tunes for different sections of the game. All very fitting.

The voice acting was a nice addition, tho near the end of the game it appears to glitch and cause some text to either go too fast or skip entirely.

The Bad
Besides the audio glitches near the end, and the ending not being the greatest, I really have no other major cons to point out. It was a very enjoyable experience.

The Bottom Line
If you enjoy adventures/point-n-clicks, this is one of those classic ones you should definitely check out! Great story, great characters, great art, solid puzzles and good music all round out to an awesome game!