Developed by: Fox Interactive

Published by: Fox Interactive

Reviewed by: Zachary Rounds

 The X-Files game (yes, a game, and not a twenty-dollar waste of time) left me with some mixed feelings. The story is very good, showing that good writing can be an important factor in a game (although you don't get to play as Mulder or Scully.). The video was top-notch, far superior to any other game I have seen. There's also a lot of it, as the game spans seven CDs (although I think part of the space was used to keep the video compression ratio very low. There is none of the chunkiness seen in most games). The acting in the game is superb, mostly due to the fact that many of the characters in the game are (or were... I think the game takes place before the 5th season) in the actual show, and have acting experience as a result.

Unfortunately, the game has some serious drawbacks. First off is that the game is at its heart a Myst clone. Movement is carried out in a step by step manner, creating what is basically a slideshow. In addition to the movement limitations is that the screens in the game occasionally become grainy, creating many situations where the (unfortunately) time-tried method of pixel hunting becomes a requirement. The pixel hunting is fixed somewhat by a helper in the upper right hand corner of the screen that tells you where to look by showing you what the screen with the object in question looks like, or by dragging you to the object and giving it to you if you get really frustrated. I can't help but think that this wouldn't be needed if the objects in question weren't so damn hard to see. As it was, even after the game had dragged me to the object and picked it up, I had troubles seeing just where they had gotten it.

Another problem with the game is its length (or lack thereof). While you would think a game on seven CDs would have plenty of room for things to do, I managed to beat the game in less than two days. Most of the time I felt like I was being dragged around by the game from location to location. The only time I was stumped was when the game required me to ask someone about something that I had already asked about.

My final problem was the "action" sequences. These consisted of times where you could die from the following:

Not turning around in time, with no indication of a need to turn until you're dead.

Clicking on the wrong object, with no indication of danger until you're dead.

Saying the wrong thing, with death coming almost randomly at times.

Walking in the wrong direction, again with no indication that you're going to die, and often resulting from directions that you would most likely take (like following a certain character after he leaves the room (I won't say whom)).

Topping off the near random deaths is the lack of a try again option. You can save whenever you want, but since death comes almost randomly at times, I found myself being forced to load from a saved game from thirty minutes prior (this often resulted in my traditional "throw the mouse in disgust" reaction).

To sum the game up, I could only recommend it if you are an X-Files fanatic, as the game is too short to make it worth the fifty dollars. While the story is excellent and can keep you playing for a while, it's not worth the price.

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