The X-Files Game

The Good
The whole taking over a real character, you controlled his every move. The atmosphere of the game was incredible, the actors playing the others characters roles gripped you and made you actually think 'do i trust them?'. The setting of the game was not too lively, which made you think more about the case in hand rather than going out on a killing spree. Mulder and Scully are featured in the game and totally interactive!

The Bad
Limited freedom on settings.

The Bottom Line
One of the most gripping and atmospheric games ever. Still my fave and i've played hundreds of others.

The Good
Let's get one thing straight first - I am no fan of X-Files series, nor do I like watching them, at least not the newer ones. I found the series to be interesting during first couple of seasons, but later when they started to work more on supernatural and diabolical instead of extraterrestrial, it became nothing but a load of huey. This game balances somewhere in between the two.

Don't fool yourself to think you'll be actually controlling Fox or Dana, no, you're just a newly created FBI agent which will be in charge of finding their whereabouts after they go missing, soon after the opening cinematic. Seeing David Duchovny (playing Fox Mulder, I like that actor, he's much more interesting and intriguing character) and Gillian Anderson (playing Dana Scully, very dull, boring and overly annoying character, actually) in the game kinda add to the feeling of playing through a single episode of X-Files, and makes you wonder why they agreed to act in such a game. Just a joke, it's a fine game if we neglect some annoyances, if I do say so myself.

Although music can sometimes be very static, it tunes up the atmosphere like it is supposed to be. No more than necessary. Acting is sort-of typical and kinda feels more like watching the series than playing the game, and cannot be neatly compared to that of A Puzzle of Flesh or The Beast Within. Screen resolution is most of times used in very wide screen as in wider than 16:9, quite wider, even when you're playing. It very rarely comes up to 4:3 aspect ratio.

The story is overly suspenseful and gives you some stuff to think, adds cover-up stories, alternate cases, secrecy, lies, and partnership in which you never know how sure it's to trust. In certain cases I might've been more disappointed by this game, but due to a fact I knew what I was buying, at least according to the title, I got more than enough not to grunge.

The Bad
This game has pretty terrible interface. I dunno if it was game's bug or the fact I was playing it on PS2 instead of original PSX, but the graphic was screwed most of the time. Mouse, sorry, gamepad cursors were either doubled or pretty unrecognizable, but one I remembered which unrecognizeable cursor means what, it was a bit easier to play.

Perspective used here is first-person one, and I can't say I'm fond of such, not when done in this way. Sure, there are some great exceptions like Blackstone Chronicles in which I wouldn't trade first-person perspective for anything, but I can't help but to think The X Files would look much better if played from third-person perspective, sort of like Phantasmagoria or Gabriel Knight II. Hopping from screen to screen didn't always seem to be right in place.

Ending of a game seemed too... well, ordinary. Kinda unfinished and very short. From all this story and premise I expected much bigger conclusion than what it ended like. And why making the end look like continuation, beats me, I doubt they even considered making a sequel out of this game, this whole game suspiciously looks like an episode where two main characters appear casually, and so they thought "hey, why not making a game out of this episode instead".

The Bottom Line
For every X-Files fan, this game is most certainly worth the full price, but for me, it's worth half that price. However, it was on special discount so I got it for tenth of its value, almost missed it. What a shame would that be. 'Tis an X-Files episode nicely assembled to look like a game, and combining elements of adventure and light action (think Mad Dog) with interesting plot to say the least. Having it for PC or PSX, I doubt it can be that big of a difference. They just don't make games like this anymore, live-cast you say? Nope, that's history, m' man, take it before it's too late. Or better yet, find A Puzzle of Flesh or The Beast Within and take those instead. Me, I have all of forementioned. What can I say, I'm a sucker for blue-screen technology, especially when used in such quantities.