Blade Runner

"A true cinematic experience"

The game 'Blade Runner' is based on the movie of the same name, starring Harrison Ford and directed by Ridley Scott.
The movie is a true science fiction classic, and has spawned a host of clones.
Set in Los Angeles in the year 2019, it tells of 'Rick Deckard' a 'Blade Runner' who hunts genetically created cyborgs called 'Replicants.' Banned from Earth they are restricted to off world colonies. Wanting nothing more than to be human some of them even BELIEVE that they are human.
Illegal by law, once discovered on Earth they are killed on site.
This is not called murder.
It is called retirement.
The game however, has a different lead character, Ray McCoy a rookie 'Blade Runner.'
You are called on when a store selling pets is vandalised and the animals within killed.
Few would think of killing the last few real animals, replicants may be involved.

Fans of the movie are in for a real treat with 'Blade Runner' as it not only takes the great themes from the movie, but it builds upon them, and creates it's own original storyline.
Those unfamiliar with the movie will still enjoy 'Blade Runner' but the story may be harder to understand, and many of the references to the movie will make no sense whatsoever. I advise that before you play this game that you watch the movie, as it gives you a much better understanding of the rich, detailed world present in the game.
And what a world it is! 'Blade Runner' uses pre rendered, fully animated backgrounds playing on a continuos loop.
What this means is that the world is not just static, there is animation even within the backgrounds, a breakthrough for the time. Steam rises out of grates on the street and rain sprinkles over the streets.
There are even a few familiar locations from the movie, such as Chew's eye shop, and the Tyrell building.
The characters themselves are a little more simplistic, but they blend in well with the backgrounds, and have realistic animations.
Pre-rendered cut-scenes are used to great effect, giving you an even greater insight to the game world. Plus they feature full voice-overs acted by some of the talent from the movie! That's right, Sean Young, James Hong, Joe Turkel, Brion James and William Sanderson all have voiced parts within the game, and for the most part, all the voice acting within 'Blade Runner' is of the highest standard.
The music within the game is excellent too, some of it even taken directly from the movie, providing an even more authentic feel to the game.
There were also a few tracks taken from one of Westwood's other hit games, Command & Conquer as well as a few hidden references to that series of games, such as 'Hysteria Hall' which has an arcade game called 'Red Alert.'

By far the strongest point of 'Blade Runner' is not its graphics, or sound, but its game-play.
It's amazing how deep the game is considering it’s using only a two-button mouse interface.
'Blade Runner' implements a handy feature known as a KIA or 'Knowledge Integration Assistant.' This nifty little gizmo keeps track off all the clues you have accumulated, including snippets of important conversations, pieces of evidence and the characters own thoughts. It also gives you the ability to view suspects for a certain crime, and sort them categorically.
Another cool feature is the Voigt-Kampff test. This is a test for which a suspect undertakes so you can establish whether they are human, or replicant. It featured heavily in the movie and follows the same premise within the game.
Suspects are asked a number of questions from three categories, low intensity questions, medium or high. Ask the right combination of questions and you can work out whether the character is who they say they are.

Another feature within the game is the ESPER, which allows you to look at photos of crime scenes and zoom in on places of interest. Once something important is found, a hard copy is printed which you can then use when interviewing people in relation to that crime.
With over 70 interactive characters each with their own agenda, that makes for a hell of a lot of questioning.

At its core, 'Blade Runner' is a simple point and click with a futuristic noir detective theme. There is even a little gunplay, when you have to gun down a suspected replicant. But be warned, gun down a human and your career is over.
Within the world of 'Blade Runner' you have the ability to make your own decisions, and based on your choices in the game you get a different ending. This makes for great replay value, not to mention the much-hyped 'Real time story structure.'
This feature means that each time you play the characters within the world are assigned a different agenda.
Characters who were once human may become replicants, and vice versa. Conversations will follow different paths and therefore the outcome of the game will be different.
Talk about replay value!

My only complaint about 'Blade Runner' is its length. I thought it was just too short. Still, it was an amazing game from start to finish, and one I will no doubt be playing again sometime soon. Highly recommended.
There was one other problem, but it was not fault of the game.
I found it ran TOO FAST on my computer. The backgrounds were moving faster than the characters.
This wasn’t a problem till one time dependant puzzle that I just could not get past. The problem was fixed however when I slowed down the CPU by opening multiple CPU strenuous tasks, such as a virus scanner.

Pros
+ Excellent story
+ Faithful to the movie
+ Amazing graphics, even to this day
+ Never plays the same way twice
+ Excellent voice overs and video clips
+ Multiple endings
+ Voice-overs from stars of the movie of the same name

Cons
- Too short
- A bit hard to follow for those who haven't seen the movie
- Compatibility issues with newer computers

Graphics: 9 A true achievement for the time, and still good to this day.
Sound: 10 Voice acting of the highest standard and music from the movie.
Replayability: 10 Never plays the same way twice. Multiple endings.
Longetivity: 6 Perhaps a little too short for my liking.
Overall: 10 A beautifully crafted game from start to finish. Highly recommended!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/09/02, Updated 11/09/02