Blade Runner

The Good
Blade Runner is probably one of the most misunderstood and undervalued science fiction films. It failed to generate big box office success in 1982, only to slowly become a cult classic, decades later. This point n' click, graphic adventure game, loosely based on the film, seems to have suffered the same fate. The film's dark, dystopian look and mood is wonderfully recreated in the game, which features amazing animation, graphics, music and sound effects that help to capture the look and feel of the feature film. The voice talents are, for the most part, equally impressive and the game takes great pains to avoid being trapped in linear game play. The game features several different possible endings, depending on the choices that you make at key points in the game. The game unfolds in a real time format and is set in the same time frame as the film, but shortly after its events begin to unfold, thus weaving in plenty of settings and characters that are both familiar and new.

The Bad
The game does feature several fast paced, arcade action sequences within its vast point n' click, adventure gaming format, which needed to mastered to win. While the control is smooth (allowing you to easily run, walk, pull out and aim your weapon) the sequences can be a bit tricky for traditional adventure gamers who might not excel in area of arcade action, may have to spend some quality time at the police shooting range. The philosophical-political themes in the film have been, slightly, watered down in the game as has the mature sexual content. Some of the technology needed to advance in the game, i.e. the ESPER photo-enhancement machine, will take some trial and error before you fully appreciate them. Last, but not least, while the game does not need any special 3D graphics card, it does need a pretty fast computer to work. Getting it to work on Windows XP or Vista may be a challenge.

The Bottom Line
Blade Runner is an amazing graphic adventure computer game, which like the film that it is based on, has become a cult classic. It helped to redefined what was thought to be possible and if you can find a computer that will run the game, then you are in for a real treat.

The Good
Once upon a time, when Westwood was a serious developer and didn't just go around pimping it's C&C franchise all over the place, them crazy folks decided to do a game out of the seminal sci-fi movie of the 80's: Blade Runner... disaster insues! I thought, after all the idea sounds good on paper, but it's a tricky deal to do a successful game out of a movie, let alone do one about one based on one of the biggest visual masterpieces in motion picture history which also happens to be a textbook example of "what happens when you don't give a damn about screenwriting" that while adding to the movie's charisma by injecting it with even more mysticism and ambiguity, had the downside of making it's plot as cryptic as hell.

Anyway, the resulting quality of Blade Runner's videogame adaptation came thus as a surprise to me, and proved that Westwood still had some life in it. First of all it doesn't make the mistake of trying to adapt the movie per se, but instead takes the basic material and runs with it, creating a brand new story with new characters that runs parallel to the movie's plot. Yes, you are a Blade Runner that looks exactly like Harrison Ford, but you are not him and in fact you are investigating a completely different case that starts from a Replicant assault at a pet store and evolves from that point on.

Following the many wild interpretations of the movie's story, Westwood gave players the excellent choice to allow you to swing into any direction as far as the plot is concerned, and depending on how you play the game you can end up running from the law as a replicant exile yourself, or doing your work as a human Blade Runner and closing the case like a good boy, with dozens of variations inbetween all related to a series of random events, as well as the attitude and disposition you take when questioning the many npcs in the gameworld and finally with the different solutions you find to the problems at hand (do you waste time questioning a bum about where did an escapee replicant go, or do you just lunge at the nearby alley hoping you don't lose him?, etc.).

The gameplay might make the game look like a classic adventure game, but it makes the right choice of leaving puzzles aside to some extent, and instead focus on the detectivesque investigative procedures and the like were just observing a certain event, or using the ESPER and the Voigt-Kampff test checks the right flags to move the game in a certain direction. Not only does this match the mood and tone of the game, but also has the effect of making you feel as if it's you the one who's driving the action instead of being a collection of plot sequences related only by "use hammer on nail"-like exercises.

The production values for the game are dead on. A must really, as Blade Runner the movie was all about creating a visual and aureal "vibe" that could only be done with quality visuals and the unique Vangelis soundtrack. The game uses a collection of pre-rendered backgrounds and even looping fmv's to illustrate the gameworld (which brings to your monitor all those haunting neon reflections, murky streets and foggy landscapes) with voxel characters placed on top. The soundtrack and sfx are excellent, basing the entire work around Vangelis and complementing the gameworld perfectly.

The Bad
The absence of puzzles plays against the game from a difficulty standpoint, and ends up making it a tad too short and a tad too easy. Aside from that I can only point out at certain cheesy elements that seem slightly out of place like the Crystal Steele (god! Who came up with that name??) character who is your stereotypical "badass babe with a gun" character and which always sets the game out of it's tracks mood-wise whenever she appears on a scene. At least the inclusion of stuff right out of the novel makes up for those moments...

Anyway, on the technical side of things, I do agree that the voice acting could have been more polished and while I don't exactly hate the character graphics and their voxels as some people do, I do question the graphical need to use them in some situations, I mean, yes the game is loaded with cool fmv expository sequences, but there are some moments that could have benefited from this treatment and are played out simply in your static gamescreen. I mean, wouldn't some firefights be a tad more dramatic with some well directed fmvs? or how about the shocking moment were a replicant is caught in flames and falls through a window to her death down below?? Isn't THAT something worthy of making it into an fmv instead of simply watching it develop from a mile away in your standard 3rd person perspective view??

...And were the hell is Pris??? Why is it that some of the coolest characters of the movie appear only doing cameos or not at all????

The Bottom Line
Excellent adaptation of one of the most fantastic visual feasts of the silver screen that not only is a great game on it's own, filled with replayability, interesting concepts and good gameplay; but it also catches the vibe and feel of the movie (and quite a particular movie which just so happens to be ALL about vibe and feel) and delivers it to your monitor in perfect condition.

Besides, isn't this like almost the last non-C&C game to come out of Westwood? That's got to count for something

The Good
Blade Runner attempts to discard traditional adventure game puzzle-solving routine in favor of a more realistic gameplay approach, taking cues from Rise of the Dragon, a seminal adventure that was clearly a major influence here.

The game has bits of non-linearity here and there, introducing major decision points that lead to different endings as well as a general choice of attitude during interrogation. This is not a new concept: Pandora Directive had almost exactly the same (and better implemented) system. But at least Blade Runner sometimes gives you the possibility to just take out your gun and shoot a person. This creates some varied and interesting situations in some cases.

You are allowed to perform actions which are not required to finish the game (such as conducting Voight-Kampff tests on subjects of your choice, etc.). Investigation methods also include scanning pictures of crime scene and zooming in on suspiciously looking spots. I found this gameplay feature interesting and refreshingly realistic, though I wish it had more effect on the game.

Blade Runner is technically very impressive. The video sequences are top quality, with fluent, natural animations. Too bad the in-game character graphics don't reach this level by far. The background graphics, however, are stunning, with great views, nicely designed objects and overall impressive artwork.

The moody music fits the game nicely, and both the graphics and the music manage to reflect the dark, post-apocalyptic setting very well. It's raining all the time, neon signs flash, people in shabby clothes walk around on dirty streets, and flying machines cover the sky. One thing the game does almost impeccably is capture the atmosphere of the movie.

The Bad
The creators of the game claimed it was the first real-time adventure. The first part of the statement is clearly wrong, since Rise of the Dragon, with its comparable approach to time mechanics, was released much earlier. In any case, both games do not qualify for what was achieved by Last Express - true real-time gameplay with constant motion and events happening regardless of the player.

Character graphics are quite blurry and sorely lacking close-ups during dialogues, making gameplay curiously static and devoid of a component that apparently should be among the first priorities when designing a game based on a movie: cinematic direction. Watching characters wave hands constantly while talking without being able to see their faces properly is not particularly exciting. There are no subtitles, and often I simply couldn't hear what the characters were saying.

The story is confusing and too vague. It is a variation on the themes introduced in the movie, but that alone still doesn't turn it into a cohesive narrative. The main protagonist is rather distant, and events that are supposed to bring him closer to the understanding of the replicants' cause make little sense. The supporting cast members also lack charisma and appeal. Plot progression has little logic: you'll have to visit locations over and over again, hoping to trigger an event that would perhaps magically spawn another character in another location, allowing you to advance the plot, much like in Japanese adventures such as Snatcher.

The choice system is unclear as well. I finished the game two times and I still have no idea which actions triggered which ending. It was almost as if the game arbitrarily decided what ending I was going to receive. This fits together with the lack of direction in the plot; you feel as if you are wandering through a maze of situations, never able to understand much of what's going on.

The thing I disliked most in Blade Runner, however, is its lack of interactivity and general gameplay-based connection to its world. It is simply not very fulfilling as a game, and certainly less than satisfying as an adventure. There are no puzzles and little to replace them - no dialogue choices, potentially lethal situations, or anything that would require you to think and plan. The "smart cursor" has replaced all possible interactions: just click on anything that makes it green in any given scene and you'll be fine. Text descriptions and feedback are sorely missing as well. Some of these problems (though not all) were present in Rise of the Dragon as well, but seven years later they become much less forgivable.

The Bottom Line
Blade Runner succeeds in imitating the movie, pushing the right buttons to create atmosphere and compelling fans of the original material to eagerly overlook its gameplay deficiencies. However, those looking for a well-constructed, challenging adventure game should look elsewhere.