Games with ties to movies usually stink, but few adventure games can even begin to approach Blade Runner in terms of gameplay, production level, and respect for source material. You play the part of Blade Runner Ray McCoy, traveling throughout the Los Angeles of 2019 to gather clues and question suspects as you try to follow the threads of a series of interwoven crimes. Blade Runner is unusual in the amount of freedom it gives players. Theoretically it is your job as a Blade Runner to eliminate any Replicants you encounter in the course of your investigations. (For those of you unfamiliar with the movie, Replicants are synthetic humans banned from Earth due to their unpredictable nature). You can choose to sympathize with their cause, however, and all the choices you make in the game have a dynamic impact on the way things will turn out in one of the multiple endings.
Blade Runner has some of the most impressive and dramatic visuals ever to grace a computer monitor. The title's low resolution is more than compensated for by the myriad animations on each screen, the stunning detail present in every image, and the atmospheric lighting effects. Still shots do not do this game justice.
The game is also notable for its high-quality sounds and music. It is rare to find a game with voice acting that doesn't elicit chuckles, but the hours of voice recordings in Blade Runner are almost universally superb. The diverse characters speak in a variety of accents that rarely sound hokey, and the overall quality of sounds does much to make players feel like they are actively participating in a movie.
No game is without some problems, and Blade Runner has its share. Puzzles sometimes devolve into hunt-the-pixel searches where you try for minutes to find the exact spot to put the mouse cursor so you can pick up an object. Some of the time-based events, like trying to outrun a bomb explosion, are just plain frustrating. However, if you can live with the pixel hunts and have the discipline to save often, prepare to enjoy one of the best adventure games ever produced. Just be aware that the R-rated language and violence make for a game that is strictly for adults. --T. Byrl Baker
Pros:
- Stunning attention to detail in both graphics and audio
- Outstanding voice acting--especially for a computer game
- Captures the atmosphere and style of the movie with aplomb
Cons: - Puzzles are sometimes more cheap than challenging
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