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Fahrenheit - Hands On Preview

Chris Leyton

20/06/2005

Quantic Dreams follow-up to Omnikron continues the synergy between videogames and movies...

Youâd be forgiven for missing out on Quantic Dreamâs previous debut release, Omnikron: The Nomad Soul; despite an appearance and soundtrack contribution from David Bowie, the quintessentially French title didnât go down too well for those more accustomed with shooting everything that moves.

Despite boasting an impressive vision on the definition of cinematic videogames, The Nomad Soul wasnât without its faults; unabashed however Quantic Dreams have continued in the same vein with its latest title, Fahrenheit, which has left us literally gasping for more.

Given the unique experience on offer and the past history of Omnikron, itâs likely that youâve not heard a great deal about Fahrenheit in the past. The game however does have a long history; passed between publishers whoâve presumably lost confidence in Cage and his teamâs ability to bring the vision to reality, Fahrenheit began with a fanfare of startling innovations back in 2001, none more so then the promise of episodic content explained by Cage in a previous interview. At the time such radical changes to game structures was the buzz-phrase of the moment, with claims even coming from Core Design regarding a similar approach for the new Tomb Raider. Since then however the concept has died down a little, however Fahrenheit very much retains the âTV seriesâ concept behind its every angle of design â“ at times you wish these guys had the 24 license!

Fahrenheit takes place in New York, initially focussing on Lucas Kane whoâs popped into a diner for a spot to eat presumably after a tough day at work. Itâs no ordinary day for Kane however, with the gameâs bleak introductory sequence beginning after a series of âhellishâ flashbacks in one of the dinerâs toilet cubicles. While sitting on the jon, Kane twitches into action and drags himself out of the cubicle to slaughter a seemingly innocent citizen from behind.

The direction behind this sequence easily highlights the dark nature of the subsequent events throughout the game, with heavy influences such as Se7en, Fight Club and David Lynch becoming immediately evident. The actual game however is an entirely different prospect, hard to nail down specifically and certainly coming as a welcoming change. Fahrenheit merges what looks to be a fantastic story with the production values youâd associate of a high-budget TV series; if development hadnât begun on Fahrenheit before the hit TV series, 24, then it would be easy to label the gameâs multitude of smart cinematic touches as a blatant rip-off â“ as it stands development began a long time before Jack Bauer resurrected Kiefer Sutherlandâs career.

The latest build begins after the aforementioned introductory sequence and provides the first opportunity to get a good feel of what the final game will offer. A tutorial section, voiced and presented by a virtual David Cage, provides the explanation behind Fahrenheit, and its many differences between a typical third-person. To begin with itâs the natural animation of the main character as he gracefully switches between stances and motions, which suggests Fahrenheit is worth keeping an eye out for. Quantic Dreamâs internal motion-capture has certainly paid dividends with the most graceful animation weâve yet to see in a a videogame; although itâs fair to say the actual visual quality is no superior to the vast amount of games in the genre, the animation easily lifts it above its rivals and creates a very believable experience that sucks the player in.

Fahnrenheit makes innovative use of the second analogue stick, acting as a context-sensitive action that requires careful motions to play out the designated deed. During the initial stage youâre posed with the problem of a corpse lying on a blood riddled floor, a murder weapon, blood on your hands and no explanation for whatâs happened. The first action of the player is likely to be hiding the body in one of the cubicles, with a subtle push of the stick opening the door calmly while a quick flick will have Kane slamming the door open. After a short duration in the restroom, a pop-up box divides the screen in half to inform the player that a NYPD cop is about to answer the call of nature; hence a desperate scuffle to mop the floor with appropriate motions of the analogue stick, a quick hand wash and youâre hopefully out of there in time.

Thereâs a great deal of satisfaction stemming from the way in which these fluid motions are tied into Fahrenheitâs stunning animation, however it can occasionally be irksome attempting to find the right spot to activate an action (bizarrely more so on the PS2 then Xbox) â“ hopefully Quantic Dreams can use the time to continue tweaking and tightening such areas.

Thankfully Fahrenheit looks to have more up its sleeve then a handful of suave moves, one such factor being the issue of time and a sense of urgency to whatever youâre doing. During the admittedly brief demonstration provided by the recent build, there are not many scenes in which youâre afforded the time to scan around the whole environment to try every action possible. Take for example the above restroom scene; one cool, calculated player could play it out as described above, another could have panicked at the sight of an impending cop and rushed out of the bathroom, kicking off a different series of events and moving the plot along in a different direction.

There is a definite failure to every task throughout the game, often ending with a voice-over by Kane lamenting the fact heâs spent the rest of his life in jail and never had the opportunity to solve the mystery, along with the option of retrying the âsceneâ. Fahrenheit could have easily ended up being a frustrating trial-and-error experience, if Quantic Dreams hadnât brilliantly devised the many possible outcomes of the various events within the game. Occasionally there is the frustrating moment when youâve got to replay a scene because of a failed outcome or clumsy mistake (such as drinking wine after taking painkillers), however the player is often presented with the facts and enough scope to play the game as they wish.

The second scene of the preview build introduces two additional playable characters and throws up an interesting gameplay conundrum. Karla and Tyler are both NYPD detectives who arrive on the murder scene, shortly after Kane has made his escape by any of the multiple outcomes. Playing from both angles has allowed Quantic Dreams to develop a unique sense of progress throughout the game, as you essentially play against yourself in trying to uncover what happen from both Kane and Karlaâs point of view â“ itâs similar to playing Chess against yourself in the sense that youâre never quite sure which side to give the advantage.

This scene removed the exciting sense of urgency from the previous scene, replacing it with a good look at how dialogue is presented within the game. The task is to investigate the scene and discover whatever clues they can, initially beginning by interrogating the witness. Choosing between different options with the second analogue stick, the sense of urgency again returns as a time quickly diminishes for you to make your selection. Whereas thereâs often a general malaise regarding conversation in other videogames whereby you can take your time and make sure to choose every selection possible, a choice of one will often mean the others passing by unless theyâre crucial. The result is an enticing experience thatâs vastly superior to the traditional pick-from-list technique and results in a far more convincing set-up.

Given the woefully short nature of the preview build, weâve managed to play through the four scenes on offer on a number of different occasions. Itâs surprising just how different you can play the game and come across little things that you may have missed out on first time through; yet at the same time Fahrenheit offers a stylishly executed experience thatâs usually reserved for extremely linear affairs.

Once again urgency prevails within the third scene as Kane wakes at his apartment to the sobering thought that it wasnât all a dream. Initially itâs a relatively mild experience as you take time to acquaint yourself with your surroundings, however itâs not too long before a box-shot signals a cop at the door and a timer counting down for you to conceal the various incriminating evidence around the room.

Again highlighting the various ways in which Fahrenheit pans out, a second walkthrough this scene kicked off a flashback sequence, which required the player to input rapid-fire directions in a similar manner to God of War, Shenmue and yes some may say Dragons Lair. Thankfully the pacing is frantic and the direction is something you couldnât achieve in real-time gameplay; successfully completing this action results in a forward vision of the cop arriving at the apartment, thus providing the player with a few vital extra seconds to cover up all the evidence.

The final scene of the preview build witnesses Kane meeting up with his brother, who as a member of the cloth can hopefully help him in his predicament. Blanketed in snow, two children duck and weave while playing a game of âtouchâ, yet another reminder of the sublime animation that Quantic Dreams have been striving for. The conversation between both brothers provides a great deal of scope to the player; however itâs the concluding action that provides a fitting conclusion to this build. With a precognitive vision detailing a kid walking along the edge of a frozen pond and ultimately falling in, Kane notices the very same cop who was in the diner during the night of the murder walking past. Thus players are presented with a choice of jumping into save the kid and possibly being noticed by the cop, or simply turning away and pretending that it never happened. Thereâs also a great degree of scope between this two extremes; for example itâs possible to jump in and save the kid but leave before administering CPR.