I first enjoyed this relic as part of some CD-ROM collection set when it was still a semi-new-ish title, even if not cutting-edge at the time. I cut my sci-fi-eye-teeth on the original film, so the chance to play through the story I loved so much was irresistible. At first, however, I was woefully disappointed. The “non-linear” promise is all but a lie, not that I can say more without spoilers. The usefulness of certain game mechanics still eludes me even now as they seemed to change nothing at all when employed in-game. A few events and many, many lines are ripped directly from the film script, and not always in the most logical manner. Some often-repeated visuals and audio components grew a little tiresome after a while. So why did I end up playing it over and over again? Six times in a row, no less, and I’m usually the kind to shelve a game for months after one or maybe two. Because, for everything I didn’t like about the game, it charmed the pants off of me. Say what you want about the graphics, they actually fit nicely for the kind of game this really is, life isn’t all about HD. The setting is cyber noir- a used future both clinging to and haunted by its own past, and the original graphics actually add to the charm of it. The real core of the gameplay, the detective work and the moral choices, actually feel like you’re investigating a crime instead of playing click-on-everything-to-win like many other adventure titles before and since. The voice acting is remarkable for its day, even if it falters once in a while, and rather than questioning whether McCoy is a replicant or not, I found myself instead questioning whether or not I felt more for the replicants than for the humans in the story, regardless of McCoy’s humanity. And one of the three endings is one of my all-time favorite game endings ever, no bull. I can’t give this game five stars. I wish I could. I’d give four and a half, or even four and three quarters. Just play it and see for yourself.
