21.9.2005

Films and games are probably best described as cousins who see each other occasionally, but don't really like eachother, and generally try to avoid being seen in the same room together. But increasingly, games are becoming more and more like films. Games like Half life and Metal Gear Solid have pushed the bar in terms of cinematic experiences in games, but 'interactive films' have long been a dead duck in the gaming industry. There's been a few attempts here and there but they've pretty much all been flops. Until now. Fahrenheit is trying to change the way people view films and games alike. Will it? No, of course not,but it's nevertheless a good step in an entirely unfamiliar direction.The game starts in a café toilet with a random innocent man being violently murdered by another random man (you). You fall into some kind of weird trance and watch yourself kill this guy, not in control of your actions. Some mere puppet. You 'awake' to find the man dead, the knife in your hands. You have to act. Quickly. There's a cop outside eating, and nature's about to call. Hide the body, clean the blood, get rid of the knife. Or don't - it's your call, and although there are limits, you can do or not do a lot of things which alter the game in a significant way. It would be a little pretentious to say no two games would ever be alike, or something like that, but to be honest it's not far from the truth. I won't divulge anything about the central plot except to say that while it's relatively straightforward compared with what you might find in a book or a film, it carries the game well and is pretty interesting.There are two major elements to the gameplay, which I shall tentatively name freeform and traintrack gameplay. The freeform sections see you exploring the impressively detailed (yet extremely limited) environments, ranging from the café to the murderer's apartment to the police station. Things like this. Here you can interact with characters and the environment using a simple mouse or control pad system where moving the mouse or analogue stick in a direction corresponding to a certain actions, such as sit down, take a swig of wine, hide the mutilated corpse, usual things. The traintrack moments are scripted scenes, such as an escape from the police that, while running along a traintrack so to speak in that they are linear and you don't really have control, you do still have a sense of being involved in the game as there is an interesting mechanic where two sets of lights flash on the screen and you have to quickly press corresponding buttons on your keyboard or push the analogue sticks in the right direction. Get it right and your character will do something good like dodge a car, or you might be able to hear their thoughts during a conversation, get it wrong and you might find yourself flat on your back. There is also a vigorous effort system in the game which plays out in a similar way, you have to tap left and right on keyboard or joystick quickly to perform whatever action you're doing, like for example hanging out of a building. It's all very simple, but it makes the player involved directly in the action, and works pretty well.You control a few characters throughout the game, Marcus - the murderer, his brother - a priest, and two cops who are trying to find him. This means you are both the cat and the mouse which I found really interesting as you're literally competing with yourself as the plot goes on.Visually the game is solid at console standards - comparable to some of the best the consoles, the PS2 at least, has to offer - it really is quite good looking, yet sorely lacking at pc standards, it looks like something from 2 years ago - but it still looks fine on all machines. The ps2 version suffers some dubious framerates at times, but it's not enough of an issue to complain about, in no small part due to the fact that the gameplay itself is so slow paced, I suspect. The sound quality is fine, but nothing special, the voice acting is solid and the score is pleasant enough but not particularly memorable.The developers tried to add an emotional characterisation type thing to the proceedings, but frankly it falls pretty flat on account of the script being so poorly worded, the characters so two dimensional. I often found myself thinking, 'wow, this is terrible!'. There's also a lot of frankly annoying attempts at humour regarding the characters 'not being in a video game' and such. It's cheap and cheesy and doesn't belong in something trying to be as important as it thinks it is. David Cage is also perhaps the most pretentious game developer since Hideo Kojima (except Hideo has earned it, David Cage certainly hasn't). And it really sours the experience at times.If Fahrenheit was a live action film (with the gameplay removed etc), it would be regarded as a very bad film, by my own personal tastes at least - the plot is relatively straightforward, there are a lot of scenes where I found myself just thinking, ' this is totally pointless non-development of characters', and as a game - in the purest sense of the word - it's not very good either, yet combining the two in the way that they have, it creates something so much more than the sum of its parts, and although it's not without its flaws, it has a lot of charm and is an enjoyable and unique game which has earned the right to be experienced.

6.7.2007

This game is really impressive. It's just like a murder/mystery movie, only you are in full control of what is happening all the way through. This game is very interactive in the sense that you have to make the corect decisions in order to affect how the game turns out.You start off the game as Lucas Kane who has just committed a murder in a men's bathroom. From then on you have to make the correct decisions for you to move forward in the game. For example, if you don't move fast enough to hide the evidence by cleaning up and hiding the body then you may get spotted by the cop who'll stop you at that time and the game will end. You could hide the body and clean the blood off your clothes,which may give you some more time to get out of the building but just about or you could do all that and hide the murder weapon and creep out quietly and get out completely unnoticed. That's what makes this game your movie and your story.After the first scene, you're introduced to the other two main characters of the game, Carla and Tyler - the two cops hired to solve the murder. Then you play as them. Fully interactive features allow you to freely roam the crime scene and take the story at your own pace with the abilty to switch from Carla to Tyler at any time and search around for clues and question witnesses and cops.Interactive scenes when talking with people allow you to choose various answers and questions which also affect the outcome. For example, a scene with Lucas in his apartment, a cop knocks on the door and you're given a time limit before he's going to break the door down, you must hide evidence before you can answer the door, but when you do, you'll get to speak with him and depending on which options of answers you choose to answer it will affect how suspicious he becomes and whether or not you'll be busted or get him to leave.Each character as their own apartment and we get to see their workplace also. The police station for the two cops and Lucas works in a bank. They have desks and computers and in their homes you get the ability to watch televison, shower or bath, go to sleep, change clothes, open cupboards and even go the toilet if you wish! You can access their computers and belongings for clues and when you make the right decisions you'll progress through the game and the story will continue.The story itself is just like out of a blockbuster movie. Something strange is happening with Lucas and it appears he's been posessed to kill someone and he's on a journey to find out what. The cops on the other hand are trying to find their killer and will eventually be led to Lucas. The game also includes some fun mini-style games and missions such as playing basketball with Tyler or polishing up your shooting skills with Carla or even get to have the two work out in the gym together and have a boxing match. This type of gameplay resembles the gameplay in games such as GTA San Andreas.The controls may take a little getting used to when you first start but you will soon get the hang of them and also there are alot of interactive cut scenes where you have to push the right buttons in time to pass through. The controls are like no other game you've seen before and really give you full advantage of control when playing the characters of the game.The characters themselves are really great and actually interesting unlike alot of characters in games. You'll even get to go back in time and play as Lucas as a young boy which results in a fantastic mission that is one of my favourites of the game. One mission I loved was taking Carla down into a basement to find a tape to do an identity check but it's dark and confined and she is claustrophobic so you have to keep her breathing regular while operating wheels to move bookcases all while the lights are turning on and off.The graphics are great in this game and the characters move very fluidly. There's also some great shadow/light effects which come close to next-generation games of the PS3 and 360. It looks great for the PS2 and it's compatible on the PS3 also. Cut scenes are very movie-like and dramatic and the whole look and feel is very realistic.You will love this game as it offers so much and you will not be dissapointed. I really hope that a sequel will be made for this game. The game is developed by French studio Quantic Dream who deal in motion capture from real actors for games who are planning a ground-breaking title, reportedly named Heavy Rain for the PS3 next year. I hope that title will be like this game, it's truly amazing. This is possibly the best game I've ever played and you definitely get you money's worth. 5 stars!

16.1.2006

For quite a few years now, game developers have worked towards achieving a game that feels like an interactive movie. Few have come close, but Fahrenheit stands out from its rivals.Fahrenheit follows ordinary New Yorker Lucas Kane as he runs from the law for a murder he didn't commit. He claims he was possessed and had no control over the killing, but what really happened? As well as playing as Kane you take control of the two NYPD detectives in charge of the case.The cinematic edge the developers have leant to Fahrenheit means the game truly feels like an interactive movie. Swooping camera work while playing really delivers the thrills and the ability to explore the environment using the shoulder buttons means you can soak up everything,be it the atmospheric lighting or amazing details in the character's faces.Fahrenheit tends to work through 3 stages; walking around to find things, conversations and the Direct Action Sequences. These sequences so-called by the developer involve fast reactions with the analogue sticks to get out of sticky situations, as we'll see later.Every decision you make in Fahrenheit affects the story. You can work the story to Lucas Kane's liking by hiding all the evidence of the murder, or leave everything, body and all, for the police to find and do a runner. Every reply you make in conversations can change the character, and a Mental Status meter watches the state of your character. Drive them too far and they'll commit suicide. The potential for new plot routes is endless.The analog sticks are the premier form of control in the game, used for everything from walking around to opening doors. The right analog stick operates your character, and the way you operate the stick operates the character. If you pull back on the stick in front of a door, the character will pull open the door. Pressing a button? Push forward on the stick and the character leans forward to push it. To achieve a better feel of taking part in the game, the manual even advises you take each action slowly so you really feel like you're doing these things. It's a great control system and helps create the sense of actually influencing everything.As well as walking around to discover new areas of the plot, the Direct Action Sequences play a vital part too. These generally involve high adrenalin situations like dodging cars or falling objects, but sometimes they appear without warning and expect you to be ready. Two indicators appear on screen representing the analog sticks, and when parts of these indicators light up, push the stick in the corresponding direction to proceed. Despite not sounding great, when playing it works very well, and good reflexes are the order of the day as these can happen very fast. You have a certain number of lives in these sections, and if you die you can simply restart from your last save - Fahrenheit doesn't want to be impossible, it wants you to enjoy the story; the difficulty of the Action Sequences can even be adjusted if it's too hard.Other gameplay includes using the L1 and R1 buttons during sequences of exercise or stress, be it lifting weights or struggling against the wind. These sequences involve battering L1 and R1 to death to keep the on-screen meter at the top, so you feel exhausted too. L1 and R1 are also used in parts to keep a meter in the middle, such as an area where a character suffers from claustrophobia and has to keep her breath steady.The mixture of these gameplay elements and the excellent story are not complete without a rousing musical score and superb voice acting, without which the cinematic feel would be lost - a thumbs up to those working on the soundscape.Fahrenheit successfully combines cinema and videogames to great effect - despite a lot of watching, you don't seem to mind because it feels so much like a movie, and you want to watch it. Be warned however, this game is not for kids. There is some graphic language, violence and sex meaning Fahrenheit is not an 18-rating, but only just. However, it means more mature players can enjoy it and soak in everything without little ones bothering them, and with the multiple story paths you'll be playing it for a long time to come.For those turned off by the lacklustre-sounding control scheme and the fact there's a lot to watch rather than play, I can only feel sorry. Fahrenheit is one of the best video games you can ever play, period. It has one of the best stories, superb sound, astonishing graphics and it feels like something you'd go to the cinema to see. Dig out the popcorn.Graphics - 5/5Gameplay - 4.5/5Sound - 5/5Lifespan - 4/5Overall - 4/5

31.3.2007

David Cage and Quantic Dream have teamed together to produce an utterly atmospheric adventure game from start to finish, complimented by a fine cast of characters. This rollercoaster of a game is incident packed: from ritual murder to steamy adult content to a strong spiritual theme to adrenaline fuelled action sequences.You play the part of Lucas Kane the paranoid, melancholy, moody action hero. Fahrenheit opens up with a brutal murder in a diner. You find yourself in control of the murderer Lucas as he comes to his senses knife in hand, drenched in blood with a mangled corpse at his feet. He has no recollection of what has transpired, you must engineer his escape and to try to resolve the real truth before the police catch up with him.In addition to Lucas you get to play the part of two other major protagonists: Carla Valenti and Tyler Miles; the New York cops assigned to investigate the ritual murders. Later on you get to control a priest, Lucas's brother Markus. Markus is torn between the love he has for his brother and his religion, when trying to determine loyalties. This provides an interesting spiritual contrast between priest and murderer. The voice acting is impressive throughout and both minor and major characters have well developed.The story is divided into chapters and is multi-layered, events that occur in one chapter can influence and effect the storyline in subsequent chapters. Some of the action sequences can literally take your breath away. Three of the best for me would be: Lucas's escape from the cops near the beginning of the game, the Angels sequence in Saint Paul's Church and the excellent Matrix style fighting with the Oracle on the roof top. Fahrenheit utilises two segemented circles on screen that light up in sequence. Success or failure is recognised by your ability to mimic the correct sequence on your control pad. It seems a strange premise and can take a while to get used to, but is something that actually functions really well. If you succeed you progress to the next scene whereas failure is punished by the loss of a life.The graphics are really good and the characters look crisp(especially Carla)and the fact that virtually the entire game is set in a Winter Wonderland lends Fahrenheit considerable personality. Despite being an action/adventure game in large part, Fahrenheit has no inventory, instead you interact with items on screen, utilising them immediately as opposed to carrying them around with you. Often, when interacting with characters you are offered dialogue choices, up against the clock. This means you have precious little time to deliberate as to what would be the wisest selection.Fahrenheit incorporates a stress system whereby your actions and dialogue choices can impact upon your mental wellbeing. If your mental health declines too sharply, you character can reach break point, equating to game end. Another good feature is the use of a split-screen to augment dramatic tension. For example, in chapter one Lucas is in the Diner toilet striving to conceal the grisly murder. If you take too long to cover your tracks a split-screen appears whereby you see the cop in the Diner start to move in your direction. Further depth is provided by the boxing, basketball and ice skating mini games. Additionally, progressing through the game chapters results in you acquiring bonus points, which you can spend on unlocking game secrets.To conclude, there is nothing quite like this on PS2 and to allow yourself to be drawn into the world of Fahrenheit to experience its rich storyline, innovative game engine and weird and wonderful characters is certainly a choice well worth making in my estimation. Kudos to David Cage.

27.10.2005

When you buy Fahrenheit I suggest you book a few days off work. With 15 minutes of playing you simply don't want to turn it off, as it's like your watching a movie.These days I usually only play my PS2 for about 30 minutes at a time. The day I got this game I found myself playing it for 3 solid hours, stopping only because the game froze at one point!I'm guessing you've read the story, and the fact you play three different characters etc, so I won't go in to that.I'll start with the Graphics. Overall the game could be more nicely polished. The main characters look great, but some of the sub-characters look like demonic beings. The environments however are excellent and the animation excels thanks to motion captured effects.The gameplay is simple,

23.7.2006

Just a couple of thoughts, as all the above reviews make good points.First, the game time. Yes, it is a bit short, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that this is much more an interactive movie than it is a game. There is a certain amount of redundancy built into the fact that scenes can be played out in more than one way (rather like the fabulously ambitious 'Deus Ex'). If you're like me, though, you will find yourself wanting to go back to scenes to see what happens if you make different decisions. The first time I did this, I was completely stunned to find that the opening scene plays out completely differently depending on whether you panic and run, or coolly cover your traces.

7.2.2006

I didn't know what to expect when i brought this game, but this is an incredible experience to those who love stories and those who love computer games.The story follows Lucas Kane, who murders another person during a trance, he wants answers. The story also follows two cops who try to find him, and Lucas brother, Marcus. Because there are four characters you play with, you see the game from a number of perspectives.The graphics are incredible. Atari give you the game from a number of camera angles that all enhance the mood. Locations are always vaired, including cemetaries, offices, creepy old houses, the morgue etc. Characters are all detailed and different, meaning that there is a lot of variety.

14.7.2006

I bought fahrenheit quite a long time ago but didn't decide to try it out until very recently.This game introduces a completely new genre of game which everyone can enjoy. The use of new controls and the way in which the game is presented is exquisite.One of the new things is that this game actually plays out like a movie with a great crime story which will keep you captivated until the very end.The way in which action sequences are played out use a special use of the right analogue stick with the left analogue stick to control the players or the use of repeatedly pressing the left and right triggers and whilst you press these buttons the action churns out in a cinematic scene right in front

15.10.2005

The phrase French Computer Game is rarely well received. They tend to be overburdened with concept, sacrificing the slick finish of Anglo-Saxon titles. But with Fahrenheit, David Cage has vindicated this approach. This is not a game as we understand it, it's interactive storytelling. Concretely, this means that rather than developing game mechanics and story in parallel, the two are developed together: the Raison D'Etre of the game mechanics is the story. So yes, it's an odd style of play, but it works. The interactive environment is full of choices that subtly affect the story (for example, in the opening sequence, I covered my tracks. This means no one can remember me...).

14.8.2008

I found Fahrenheit after discovering a ps3 video of a game from the same designers. After playing a quick demo on the PC I jumped at playing the full ps2 version! To keep it brief, and as all the other reviews all tell you parts of the story etc, this game is amazing. The soundtrack is phenominal and the story kept me engrossed for hours. The voice acting and animation half makes you forget you're even playing a game. At first I thought that playing as the murderer and the investigator wouldn't work but it does perfectly and you start to care for the wellfare of each character even though in many scenes you're kind of trying to beat the other side!

9.3.2008

Fahrenheit is more an interactive movie than a game as your progress though it depends on deft combinations of key presses to match those displayed on screen. The disadvantage here is you are concentrating so much on the symbols on screen, you miss much of the action, but you can always choose to re-watch a scene once you have finished it. There's very little scope to do anything of your own accord as each chapter is governed by a strict time element, which does seem rather rushed in places. You will however, need to keep an eye on your character's mood, which can be influenced by performing little tasks such as taking a nap or scoffing a pizza...!Your conversations are determined by a selection of joystick movements,

3.4.2018

This game is just amazing :) . Sadly I'm stuck early on (I'll get back to this) but from what I have played I love it. The choices range from extremely interesting to extremely funny. The game also gives you the option to replay levels, or chapters as they're called without saving so you can play your main game seriously, then go back and make Lucas go insane without fearing it affecting your main game save.I do however find the quick time events annoyingly difficult to the point I'm stuck on one :( . Setting the difficulty to it's easiest hasn't helped either, though I must mention I am visually impared, and I wasn't always visually impared, and when I could see fully and had tbhis game I completed it several times,

24.7.2006

i would SO love to grant this game a five-star, but that would be dishonest.firstly, its amazing: you play both the hunter and the hunted, and it mixes CSI style puzzles with sims like at-home scenes (so much fun, as you can make Lucas commit suicide with pills and alcohol!!!). there is a sense of fear, if not that prnounced, as the cop in it is clostrophobic, and gets locked in a pitch-black asylum, with the inmates running loose..very cool scene.its been said below, and its true: i was gob smacked with the games ending. i was chatting to my brother while playing this gamne, bouncing all sorts of ideas about the mystery: maybe some kidn of drug, maybe he is turning nuts,

19.9.2005

After speaking to several people about recent releases on the PS2 I decided to go for Fahrenheit. After all, a "psycho-thriller" set in New York sounded very dark and interesting! It took all of about twenty minutes for me to become absolutely absorbed in the game. The graphics were top, the atmospheric sounds added an erie touch and the characters were so life like it was hard not feel for Lucas as his world crashed to the ground around him.There are some really strange scenes in the game which made me wonder if a 15 certificate was too lenient.... tapping buttons in time to an intimate scene was a bit of a shock to say the least.. funny nonetheless!The only drawbacks of this genuinely clever thriller were the sometimes clumsy controls,

28.10.2008

This game is amazing, truly amazing. The storyline is very gripping and I like the way in which you can control both sides of the storline. At one point I was trying to cover my tracks and making sure not to leave evidence behind and moments later I was trying to uncover information about the murder.The characters are well thought out and I think the voice acting is top notch, especially Carla when she gets panicky with her claustrophobia. The graphics aren't up to much on the PS2 version but they're outstanding on the X-box version.I love the mental health meter. Perhaps this means I'm not a good gamer (I don't care!) but I was having trouble keeping Lucas in neutral.

Fahrenheit (PS2) - Reviews

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