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Rama (1997)
Good Accompaniment to books
As always, it could be debated whether this game is a piece of art worthy of the name it borrows from literary works of Arthur C. Clarke, or just another Myst clone. I think the game would be pretty dry to people unfamiliar with the world of Rama created in the books. The interface itself is very much like Myst -- still screens, occasional videos, occasional puzzles. Been there, done that. However, for people who have read the books (and liked them), it provides a welcome visualization of concepts found in the books. This is obviously very subjective, but I found that the environments were quite similar to the ones I imagined while reading the books. Arthur C. Clarke has been very active in production of the game, with one of the CDs including Video interviews with him. Possible spoiler: the game even features Arthur's cameos, as he explains what the player did wrong.
While the puzzles, as in other similar games, are actually quite unrelated to the plot, they have proven to be the must challenging (and to me, the must fun) puzzles of any such game. This game is NOT for the mathematically-weak-of-heart. I have decided to play it with my sister (then 13), as we explored the concepts of communications with alien beings. Universal language? Math, of course. We have had to learn the colour language of Octospiders, as well as language of Avians and Ramans themselves. The puzzles, for those who enjoy this kind of entertainment, are quite amazing, and bound to give hours of intellectual work. An excellent exercise for the grey matter, and possibly the only reason why people other than fans of the book would buy and play the game.
Blade Runner (1997)
Amazingly Lifelike Adventure Game
Most of us have come to know Westwood studios for their real-time strategy C&C series. However, folks that brought us the Hand of Fate trilogy have made an amazing re-entry into the world of adventure gaming. I have played at least 30 adventure games, from the Sierra/LucasArts/etc point-and-click style, to Virtual Reality style (such as Tex Murphy series). However, this is the first adventure game I can honestly say brings something new. The most noteworthy feature is the plot -- it actually changes every time you play. OK, we've heard this claim before, and it usually means that a few objects are randomly placed, or that some characters may show up at slightly different times. Not this time! I have played it three times so far, (rare is a game I can pay so much attention to:), and it has been a new experience every time.
The game is also extremely true to the movie. I have actually played the game first, and then seen the movie. I can honestly say that the movie would not be nearly as pleasurable experience (for me) had I not played the game. While the game does not use the same plot as the movie, it introduced me to the world, feel and the locales present in the movie. Most of the scenes in the movie have been faithfully recreated in the game, with a plethora of new ones added.
Gameplay is easy to get accustomed to, and fun throughout the game. There are really no major complaints that I can think of. If I try hard enough, I might think of few minor ones, such as character pixelization in certain close-ups, but I'm really splitting hairs here.
All in all, one of the best games I have played!