Fahrenheit (Fahrenheit (PC))

Member Name: Nancy1428

Product:	Fahrenheit (PC)
Date:	15/12/05 (1899 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great storyline, good group game, interesting and fun

Disadvantages: Would be easier to control on a console than it is on a PC

My friends and I sat down in front of the TV (which was connected up to a PC) at approximately 8pm on Sunday night. We reluctantly saved and packed up at close to midnight due to the fact that we all had work on Monday morning and needed to start making the journey home. Now, this may not seem like anything outstanding to some people, but I am a person who only very occasionally plays games, and when I do, I often get restless after an hour or so. To play Fahrenheit for what was at least four hours - and want to continue playing - is quite the feat.


Fahrenheit was released on 16th September, published by Atari, developed by Quantic Dream and is rated 15 by the BBFC.



**THE GAME**

It is quite difficult to put Fahrenheit into a category, because it really is quite different to any game I have played before. The closest I can get is to call it an 'interactive thriller/action' game. Fahrenheit is set in New York, and as the game opens, we are playing the character of Lucas. Lucas is in the bathroom of a diner, and before you have any control over him, during the opening cut scene, he kills a stranger.

As you take control of Lucas, it becomes apparent that he was in a 'daze', and has no idea why he has just committed murder. He panics, and it is up to you (with a cop sitting in the diner outside) to work out where to go from here. It becomes apparent that this is no straightforward murder case, when Lucas continues to feel strange and has 'visions'.


Fahrenheit plays more like a movie that you can interact in that a computer game, but everything you do affects what happens next, and it is quite easy to make the wrong choice, finding yourself arrested or dead, and it's game over for you. Luckily, there are save points, so whenever you do mess up and lose a life, there is the option of going back and changing something to alter the course of events. Without this, the game would get frustrating rather quickly.


This 'movie' style of playing makes it an excellent game fro team playing along with your friends. There were four of us playing, and despite the fact that the same person controlled it all the way, it never got boring for the rest of us to watch and make suggestions - often three different suggestions all at once, making it confusing for the person controlling (fun though!).

What gives Fahrenheit that extra something is that you have a choice of characters to play. By this, I don't mean the traditional choice, where you choose a character from the options at the beginning of the game and then stick with him/her. There is constant swapping throughout this game.


Once you have finished with Lucas, you move onto playing Carla, a feisty Detective in charge of the murder case. This would present you with a dilemma - as Lucas, you don't want to be caught, but as Carla you want to solve the case. This is true to some extent, but more than anything, you just want to get to the bottom of what happened, know the truth.

The game becomes more and more interesting, as more things happen to Lucas, and as the game goes on, you have the option to control more of the characters, including Carla's partner Detective Tyler Miles.

I can't go into much more detail than that on the gameplay, as despite having played for four or five hours, we were just getting into it.



**THE SCIENCE BIT**

I'm not a person who knows a lot about the inner workings of games, so I unfortunately can't provide a technical analysis of the game engine or anything as fancy as that, but what I can say is the graphics look good, the movement of the characters is very detailed and the camera angles have been thought about carefully for the most part. The only downer of the control system is the way you play the mini-games. There are several mini-games within the larger game, which you can do well at or fail depending on your skill at following a pattern using your analogue sticks or other controller. This is an excellent addition to the game, and provides not only extra entertainment, but the outcome also affects the game.


One good example to use here is a mini-game where you (as Lucas) serenade your ex-girlfriend by playing your guitar in the hope of winning her back. If you do well….actually, I don't know the answer to this, because we didn't(!), but if you do badly, you play horribly, put her off, she leaves and Lucas is left unhappy. It's good fun, but playing on a PC means that you have to use two different sections of the keyboard simultaneously, which is difficult. So to make the most of the mini-games, you'd really be better off playing a console version.


Aside from that, the controls are fairly straightforward and easy to use, and there is a tutorial before you begin the game. The tutorial, although not really a part of the game, is probably worth mentioning anyway, because it's quite unique. Your guide through the tutorial is a virtual version of the game's creator David Cage, and unlike many tutorials is short and concise. It gives you the basics, everything you need to know to get started, but enough is left for you to work out that you don't emerge from the tutorial feeling like you've played the whole game.



**CONCLUSION**

Overall, an extremely entertaining game, good to play in a group with your friends or alone, whichever you prefer. Please note: I have written this review before I have finished playing the game - if there is anything more that I feel could enhance this review once I reach the end, I will update it.


**PARENTAL GUIDANCE**

The only thing I do think I should warn potential buyers about is the rating, which I think some people may feel is slightly inappropriate, particularly parents thinking about buying it for their 15-year-old son or daughter. Fahrenheit is rated a 15 in the UK, but does include what some may feel are questionable elements for a game rated as such. For example, once you have collected enough bonus points, you have the option to 'buy' extra items out on the menu screen, one of which is "Sam's Dance". Sam is the girlfriend of Tyler (the Detective), and her dance is an erotic one, ending with (albeit virtual) full-frontal nudity.


nother element some may feel is unsuitable is the violence at the beginning. It IS all implied, which is probably why it got the rating that it did, however, it is also brutal. Lucas kills the man in the diner by stabbing him over and over with a knife, and there is quite a lot of blood. Lucas has also carved symbols into his arms prior to his attack on the stranger, and although you don't see him do this, there is the blood and his cut up arms to show for it, so anyone who is worried about their child self-harming should possibly give this one a miss.



**OTHER DETAILS**
Min. spec of a PC to play this game should be:

800 Mhz Processor
128 MB RAM
G-Force 1 or equivalent graphics card
2.1 GB Hard Disk Space

Fahrenheit is available on PC, X-Box and PS2 from all good games stores for approximately £30.

For more info on this product, you can visit http://www.uk.atari.com/index.php?pg=product&i d=15

Summary: Excellent storyline, good to play with friends.