This is the One! (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
Great graphics, great plotline, intuitive control layout, interesting use of analog sticks, lots of depth
-- Bad --
Maybe some textures are little wierd, a little less Matrix influence, a little too fast in some analog stick moments, some fiddly controls sometimes
Hi there, this is Dalek300 reporting to you about Fahrenheit on the PS2.
I brought this game not too long ago after playing the demo version and boy is it a great game.
Firstly there is the plotline. You play as several characters, each integrated into the story in thier own way. Firstly there is Lucas Kaine, possessed somehow and is forced to commit murder in a bizzare trance. His brother Markus, a priest who try to help his brother without interfering with his own religion. Carla Valenti, a NYPD detective who starts investigating the bizzare murders and eventually falls in love with Lucas and finally there is Tyler Miles, Carla's partner within the investigation who unfortunately must pick between his job and his love. As the story unfolds, more murders occur that are identical to the first. Previous cases that were the same are discovered. The cold inferno worsens as more snow and ice appears. And as Lucas delves deeper into why he was possessed, he encounters a fortune teller and with her help discovers ancient origins of a certain cult and about why he in particular was chosen. During the game, Lucas develops special power remonising in Neo's glory from the matrix, powers including, running on walls, stopping bullets, flying, super strength and a cool Darth Vader-esque force choke move, unfortunately none of these moves can be used directly. These powers occur with Lucas' death and reanimation. He faces superordinary enemies, makes various choices between love and prophecy and has to face his foes in combat.
Gameplay is happily varied. There are sections of walking around various areas looking at various objects and get familiar with your surroundings. There are sections in which you must be fast and push either analog stick in the direction displayed on screen to perform a certain action like dodge something thrown at you or playing various pieces on a guitar. There are also moments in which you must tap the L1 and R1 buttons simultaniously in order to fulfil certain tasks like pushing or pulling objects. Most of these sequences are cleverly integrated into the games many movie clips inspiring games such as Resident Evil 4 or Tomb Raider: Legend. However, most of the sequences, if not performed correctly, end in the death of your player and the end of the game. Another clever factor of the game play is a sanity meter. If it is high, the character is happy with his or her surroundings and is less likely to freak out in conversations. If the meter is low then they may hesitate in conversations and reveals less options to choose. If the level is too low the character may have a nervous break down or even commit suicide, both ending in game over. The two analog sticks are also used in conversations when choosing different options as well as examining and picking up items around you. All in all the gameplay is great and clever. However, there are the odd moments of fiddly controls and some places where the sequences can be a bit demanding. But for this there is always the option of various difficulty settings to choose.
Sound wise, this game is pretty good. The music sets the scene of New York in the middle of a blizzard, with murders occuring, magic and voodoo being cast and people becoming more nervous by the second. The music creators really managed to create the sense of a movie in this game which is what was aimed by the designers. Voicing for characters is nice and crisp. Believable actors play characters that really suite thier voices makes the game that much more realisitc. The lip-sync can be a bit awkward at times but its not really anything to worry about.
Now to tie this up. Fahrenheit is a great game that ties elements of puzzle solving, button mashing, matrix style moments, magic and voodoo, unrealistic enemies, great characters, a little stealth, fighting and detective work together in one heck of a game. With extras to make you laugh and oo and aahh about after completion, I'm goin to give this an extremely respectable 9.0/10!
Thank you for reading my review. Good night, I'm Dalek300, stay classy gamerland! LOL!