fahrenheit (1st run complete) | xbox

i finished this in 2 sittings, all up it took me roughly 8 and a half hours including restarts.

first up i’d like to say that after viewing chibi-r’s ps2 version, the graphics in appearance are exactly the same as the xbox version. the only differences are that the load times are slightly longer on ps2, and occasionally you get frame drops when there’s a little bit happening on screen. this if anything would be the only reason to get the xbox or PC versions rather than the ps2, but it certainly doesn’t seem to make the game unplayable.

this has to be one of the most satisfying and memorable gaming experiences i’ve ever had.

there are certain things that prevent me from ranking this title above others such as Eternal Darkness for the Cube, but it certainly equals them, and quite easily. what prevents me from ranking it above ED is the last quarter of the game. while i was very satisfied with the ending, i perhaps would have prefered even as little as two hours more, even one – just to flesh-out and justify one or two of the story elements. as it stands now, as those few things unfold, i got the feeling i was being asked to take leaps of faith and fill in the gaps myself – thinking ‘oh ok, so basically they would have done this or that or this would have happened which led to this event unfolding’. it doesn’t feel rushed and axe-jobbed, but it does feel like it could have done with more time – so that you got to play through those things you’re assuming happened to bring the narrative to where you find it being. i think alex novaro may have said something similar in his review on gamespot, and i’m inclined now to agree with him.

other niggles are the standard control and camera issues, but these were by no means significant enough to stop my enjoyment of the game. never did they stop me from enjoying it or progressing the story, and the overall game easily overshadows these issues and the pacing of the conclusion of the story. for the first three quarters of the game, the pacing is absolutely perfect, and all of the characters, even Tyler (for me), are extremely human, and very lovable. i found Tyler’s story to be a great facet of Fahrenheit, and not just merely a comedic distraction at all as others have found. he reveals different elements to the humanity of the story in different ways, and the conclusion i chose for him was very rewarding – both for myself and for his character.

as i’ve said before in my previous entry about Fahrenheit, rarely have i experienced a game where the gameplay is so intimately tied to the narrative. this doesn’t always have to be the case to make a fantastic game, but i suppose for me it’s a big plus as i love great stories in games. the gameplay is a little on the easy side, but it is done intentionally so that the gameplay doesn’t get in the way of the narrative. it’s actually a lot of fun, and there were more than a couple of ‘action’ scenes that really impressed me and had me excited, and i absolutely felt a great sense of achievement once i’d finished them.

one of the things that impressed me the most was a song that plays in Carla’s appartment – it’s been written in the style of some of the music in The Longest Journey – in the bar where April Ryan works. it was so awesome to here this solemn style of groove again, and i really do think it’s a direct homage to The Longest Journey. Angelo Badalamenti’s orchestral pieces are absolutely breathtaking. while he didn’t do the complete soundtrack, the few tracks he did do alsmot make the game all by themselves. haunting and beautiful, it very much helps create the right sense of atmosphere at the right time, which really is what Fahrenheit is all about – atmosphere.

even with the pacing of the end-game not to my liking, there were still one or two moments that really stood out and were truly memorable. i’ll definitely be playing this through a few more times – not only to see the alternate endings, just because i so much enjoy being in the Fahrenheit world David Cage and Quantic Dream have created.