System: PS2
Rating: T for Teen
Company: Agetec
Date Released: June 2007
Just by looking at the cover, you can tell that this is one INTENSE game. Before I tell you about the overall ups and downs of this game, let me start off with an excerpt that really won't give that much information about it...
You start the game as a 22-year-old waiter, serving guests at a Christmas banquet, which is also celebrating the construction of an underground system of structures in the city of Del Ray, New York. The year is 2010. So far, all is well. You follow a waitress around, helping her, and occasionally get scolded by your boss. The Head Chef is also making you rush back and forth between guests. But, you're getting paid, right?
But disturbing things are happening. A leak breaks out in the hallway, and a pipe is dripping. And when you give the mayor his water, his assistant is urgent. The managers round up the guests and take them to the main hall. You're in the bathroom to check for more guests, and... the world falls apart.
You can find this beginning online, but basically, you're trapped in the building as rising water licks at your feet. You constantly dodge rushing waters, broken electrical outlets, and crumbling floors. Again, you're with the waitress, and as you try to move through the city, a story and a huge conspiracy theory becomes apparent to you. You solve the mystery of the flood and a murder by playing several characters, including a doctor, a convict, a taxi driver, and a high school student. All of these people are somehow connected, and they are all in huge danger.
Be aware, Agetec doesn't have access to the technology of the ages (coincidentally) so the graphics, although pretty good, aren't the best. The character's feet will more than once melt into a wall or object, and minor characters have the same response to your presence every time you try to talk to them. Plus, when someone turns around, they don't walk, they rotate.
The controls are generally easy to use. That is, before you're trying to push a cart or a ladder. You will constantly be frustrated by your inability to move the object in the direction you want it to, but luckily, it doesn't happen so much. Other characters will ask for your help, even ones that you will play later in the game, so you will have to move rubble, drive cars, and hang from wires. This is generally easy, if you know what to do.
The interesting part about the game is that whatever you do in previous levels will sometimes dramatically affect what happen later in the game. If you treat your partner right, they could consider you your best friend or even your boyfriend. And if you move a piece of rubble out of the way to pass through, it will create a problem for the next character you play. Even items you leave inside a dumpster will stay there in order for someone else to find it.
That's it. Believe me, it's an awesome game! If you're not too accustomed to state-of-the-art graphics, you may want to play it again and again. You can find it at most GameStop stores, and sometimes a rental shop. It's only $14.95 + tax, and it's a deal! Hope you have fun!
