You may have heard of the term "hybrid", in relation to video-games. It refers to a title that combines genres, or elements of them. Apart from this and Deus Ex, I haven't played, nor do I know of any others. This takes place in the future, the year of 2114 to be exact, when humanity is about to travel to other systems than our own by way of the massive starship, the Von Braun. Something goes wrong aboard it, however, and you find yourself waking up with no recollection of what has gone on since it left Earth. Mixing FPS action with survival horror, sprinkling RPG and adventure, in a story which is science-fiction drama and cyberpunk, this somehow manages to make an incredible final product, with no rough edges. The writing is razor-sharp, throughout, in all cases, the interesting concept, lines, plot, everything. This transports you to this amazing, full, credible universe, and establishes a solid cast of characters, whilst building and maintaining an immensely strong atmosphere of solitude and ever-present threat. As you progress, you piece together what exactly has happened, mainly through the countless audio logs. You also develop and refine the various skills that are vital to your goal. There is an enormous amount of freedom of choice, in what you focus on using, as well as how you deal with the numerous, creatively done and scary enemies(honestly, in no other case have I been as consistently, thoroughly and completely paralyzed and disconcerted by what was coming to get me), as well as the omnipresent security systems that have been turned against you. Avoid, destroy, or hack the camera or turret? The AI is impeccable. Regardless of the foe, there are several weapons that are capable of taking it out. Which of the dozen or so well-selected, cool and distinguished guns you carry with you is always up to you, as well, since you can't keep everything you find, and whether you particularly use them, or go with Psi, the powers of your mind. Believe me, there are awesome abilities there, and in general, the alternatives are all worth exploring, and you'll discover some way you'll get into, for handling the forces that attempt to stop you. The very first thing is that you get to try the various things, then you decide what approach you will take. Each player will experience this at least reasonably differently from others. Randomization, such as opponents spawning(based on what you are equipped to handle) helps ensure that several play-throughs won't go quite the same way, even if you don't alter your methods much. There's also a Co-Op multi-player mode that allows you to team up with a couple of friends, and play through the plot together, with set-ups as similar or unlike one another as you want to. Your arsenal, except for the mêlée ones, will break slowly, as you fire them, so you have to fix them along the way... or risk them jamming suddenly. Also note that ammo is limited, so you won't get far by pretending that this is Doom. This will keep you glued to your seat, terrified of everything you hear or see. I haven't felt this engaged and involved in almost any other VG(or any film, for that matter). The possibilities of the medium are marvelously utilized. Not to give anything away, but if you don't come out of this pondering biological vs. technological, you probably never will. All of the world here, the design is perfect, so compelling, everything looks and feels as if it's real, and exists. There is something special to how you can look out the windows of the vessel, and stare right into the vastness of space. It is captured well, to boot. Levels are masterfully crafted without exception. The graphics are great, I would advise anyone playing this to download the free HD pack for it, as they are a tad underwhelming without it. Audio is magnificent, every bit sounds exactly right, the voice acting is beyond reproach, and the music is always well-composed and unsettling, and often fast... a considerable part of the effective and suspenseful mood. This runs well on a computer purchased more recently than when it was released. The story is fantastic and well-told. It was the exact right way to go, with so few fully animated cut-scenes, and a couple in-engine(think Half-Life), the linear chronology, you don't leave the situation, nothing distracts you. This is of appropriate length, and it doesn't cease to be fun at all. You'll still find this intense by the time it reaches the satisfying ending. The game-play is enjoyable and open-ended, and with four difficulty settings, this ought to provide sufficient challenge for new-comers as well as veterans. This continues to be creepy throughout, so you can't quite relax at any point in this, there's always the chance that there's something right around the next corner, and this fear doesn't go away while you play. The puzzles are well thought out and not frustrating. Missions all come off as important, and they are smart all the way. Nothing is busywork, or out of place. You are given a map in this, the best I've used, that fills out as you enter areas you haven't been to before, heck, you get a miniature version of it for the upper right corner of the screen, to aid you, and prevent you from getting lost. Hacking and other tasks of that sort is as intuitive as everything else in this. It's simple and easy to get into, and you don't tire of doing it at all. The boss fights are memorable and have a sense of purpose to them, like you really accomplish something. This has blood, violence and disturbing content, no gore, and mild, infrequent language. I recommend this to anyone who wants to try it, any fan of the types that this gets inspiration and/or aspects from... if you firmly believe that your nerves can take the mauling. 10/10
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