 |
 |
|
|
It is a pleasure to open up the review section of Lemon Amiga with this superb game. It is difficult to review adventures, I'll try to do it with as little spoilers as possible.
Beneath A Steel Sky is set in near future, in an environment which very much resembles George Orwell's masterpiece 1984. People live in a city which is basically a concrete and steel jungle. They are highly oppressed and every aspect of their lives is controlled by a super-computer called Linc. Everybody has a Linc card and a Linc status. A higher the Linc status means a better and more privileged life. The big enemy is Hobart, and everyone has to work hard to achieve the one and only goal: To defeat Hobart. Remember Oceania and Eastasia?
There are also a group of 'savages' who live out of the city borders, in a place called The Gap. They are not as advanced as the city people, their life is difficult but they are free.
You are Robert Foster, an orphaned kid who has been raised in The Gap. This is how the story starts: a helicopter full of armed forces comes to The Gap specifically to arrest you and take you back to the city. Given the inferiority of technology and weaponry of the savages compared to the city forces, you have no choice but to go with them. However, the helicopter crashes shortly after it reaches the city. Now you are on your own to get to The Gap in one piece.
They say when you lose everything you are free to do anything. This is certainly the case with Robert. He has nothing to lose. He is left in the city to figure out what is going on and how to get back. As the plot unfolds, Robert faces more and more questions...Why would a fully armed helicopter come all the way to The Gap only to pick him up? Why is he suddenly the number one enemy? Why is he addressed as Overmann by a security officer? Why does Linc save his life...?
BASS originally came on twelve disks, but the CD32 version is much better since it features voice-acting for all the characters. It is an inventory-based point and click adventure. Puzzles are on the smarter side, and are fun to solve. Not easy, but not frustrating. Every puzzle has logic behind it. The whole atmosphere of the game is dark and bleak. You will know what I mean the moment one of the people who has helped you in the past 'accidentally' gets cooked inside a nuclear reactor. However Robert's side-kick robot, Joey, is a true crack-up as his strong personality conflicts with yours. You are guaranteed to laugh many many times at what this little cynic of a robot has to say during the game. This helps to mellow down the dark mood. The graphics are top-notch and a lot of attention was paid to the details. There are many interesting and colourful NPCs in the game that you have to interact with. The game is huge (over 100 screens) and almost every screen has a puzzle in it, so none of them feel redundant.
Now it is the time for a couple of minor complaints: As a dangerous fugitive, Robert roams around the city just too easily. You'd think in such an oppressed and controlled society it would be very difficult for a public enemy to move around. And, sometimes some of the NPCs are too quick to trust a complete stranger and give out sensitive information.
However, my biggest complaint is the ending. Although it wraps everything up, it is not memorable. It doesn't leave a big impression, it is not something that you would remember it and think about it in two days. When the game has such a high quality, the ending has to match it. If I was the designer of the game, I would make the ending so strong that everybody would go on for days chanting: His name is Robert Foster, his name is Robert Foster, his name is Robert Foster...
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
The hand-drawn backgrounds, the details, the characters...Simply stunning.
|
|
|
Excellent sound-effects and voice-acting (especially Joey and Lamb). The music is also very good and mood-setting, although it gets a bit repetitive at times.
|
|
|
1984 meets Blade Runner. Simply one of the best adventure games released on Amiga.
|
|
|
| If there was an adventure-developing-school, they would be teaching Beneath A Steel Sky in it. Be Vigilant. |
|
|
 |
 |
|
Get Amiga Forever with pre-installed Workbench, games, applications, and much more.
It also contains the original Amiga ROM-files, 100% legally!
|
|
|
|
_08.png "Click to zoom!")
_06.png "Click to zoom!")
_05.png "Click to zoom!")
