Codename: ICEMAN was remarkably ambitious. You plan an American James Bond like character as you rescue a kidnapped diplomat from terrorists who are being bankrolled by the Russians. Game opens with you soaking up sun on the beaches of Tahiti, soon you have a whirlwind affair, get whisked away back to Washington, command a nuclear submarine, decode classified messages, have pitched naval battles, perform underwater demolitions, and begin a clandestine mission to save the live of a US ambassador. Can it be difficult at times? Sure. Is it still worth playing? 100% Absolutely. It's so sad that they never made a sequel. Codename: Phoenix sounded amazing.
I loved this game as a kid and it simply doesn't work on any modern system. I've tried everything.
This game brilliantly weaves together a mystery and builds atmosphere. It uses fun, innovative mechanics I've never seen in an AGS game before and it's just terrific. When I heard about this game, and that it was set up for a sequel, I was suspicious that this game would end without a satisfying resolution, but that's not the case at all. I can't wait for the next one.
The game advertises this as a mystery you're attempting to solve, but that's not true. It's not even a game exactly, it's an interactive movie. It's linear (the "game" even has a scene selection screen like a Blu Ray or DVD) and it walks you through every step of the way only leaving you to click on one specific hotspot to move on to the next screen which is often extremely obvious. The story makes no sense, and there's no dialog. No one says a word the entire "game". It's just a series of extremely weird, unconnected scenes. If I could give this game a 0 stars I would. It's complete crap. I want a refund.
No joke, this was one of my favorite games of all time. IIRC they intended to make a sequel, or an entire series but William Colby, the former CIA director who helped create the game died shortly after it was released. It's presumably one of the most realistic portrayals of the intelligence community in popular fiction. You play as Case Officer Thorn and you're tasked with protecting the president from a foreign attack (among other things). At your disposal are a wide variety of tools such as code-breaking software, image doctoring, satellite image analysis, etc. Great game and totally unique. I don't think I've ever played anything else like it.
