

When reviewing this game, I believe the rating has to be based on the standard of its year of release (1995) and not the year we are currently in. And with that in mind it's impossible for me to give it anything less than 5 stars. By today's standards, the FMVs are a little pixellated and the game is somewhat simple, but so what? Once you start progressing through the chapters it just draws you in - and by that I mean the storyline, the characters, the atmosphere, the music, the way things change as you progress... it all just makes you want to carry on playing. Yes, you can play it in a very linear fashion and rush through the game from start to finish, then wonder what the point of it was. However, if you explore and try new things you'll soon realise that you've missed SO MUCH of the game! There are a ton of videos that you may not see if you don't visit a certain room at a certain time or in a certain chapter. Likewise, chapter 7 has so many things you can see and do during the chase scene that you have to play that chapter lots of times to try and find all the possibilities! But I'm leaving that one there to save giving any spoilers! Part of me thinks that if you didn't play this the first time round (as in, in the 90s) then you may want to stay away as a lot of people will enjoy this for nostalgia reasons, however if you want to see what all the fuss was about and why certain countries banned it then give it a go! As I cannot find my original 7-disc set anywhere, it was a joy to find that GOG has released it here and it seems surreal to be playing it again!