Preview Fahrenheit Developer: Quantic Dream Publisher: Vivendi/Sierra Release Date: 1st Quarter 2005 Platform: Preview by Randy Sluganski June 4, 2004

Fahrenheit™ is a game that will grab you by the throat and put you in a stranglehold, it is that intense and riveting. It is the seamless merge of film drama, adventure gaming and precise editing. Its innovative approach may just be the kick in the behind that the action/adventure genre needs.

We were treated to a special thirty-minute demonstration of Fahrenheit™ by Quantic Dream COO Guiliaume de Fondaumiere and CEO David Cage. Formerly with Arxel Tribe, Guiliaume was the talent behind The Legend of the Prophet and the Assassin and Faust to name just a few. David Cage’s pedigree includes the innovative Omikron, the only game to ever feature glam rocker David Bowie.

Fahrenheit™ is an action-adventure psycho thriller, set in New York. Ordinary people are randomly killing total strangers following the same rituals and patterns. You take control of each of these characters as they are haunted by strange visions and set out to discover the mystery behind the murders.

The extended demo featured character Lucas Kane as we witnessed his unwilling possession in the men’s room of a restaurant. Lucas exits from his stall and brutally butchers an unfortunate customer who is unlucky enough to be washing his hands in the restroom sink. The player takes control of Lucas just as he comes out of his possession and becomes aware that he has committed murder. Confused and scared, you must now help a blood-drenched Lucas escape from the restaurant and return to his apartment.

It is here that Fahrenheit™ enters uncharted territory as the player is now faced with a split-screen similar to the television drama ‘24’ or a classic Hitchcock film. On the left we see Lucas in the men’s room and on the right an interior view of the restaurant. The player must now use this information to best plot his escape without being seen by any of the patrons.

As we don’t want to spoil any of the puzzles, let’s skip ahead to the next morning as Lucas awakens in his own bed. We watch as he pulls down the blankets and is taken aback by the bloody sheets. A blinding, searing vision of last night’s murder stabs through his brain and we are witness to all of the gruesome images.

Once again in control of Lucas, the player searches about the apartment looking for clues as to the source of the blood stains (remember, Lucas still does not know he committed a murder!). Stumbling upon a pile of bloody clothes, Lucas now has a premonition of a knock at the door and a policeman asking if he is at home.

This is when Fahrenheit™ kicks into high-gear for every decision for here-on will influence the course of the game. Now that Lucas knows that there will soon be a knock at the door he is presented with numerous options: he can leave the apartment before the policeman arrives; he can toss the bloody clothes in the washer or the trash knowing that the policeman will request permission to search his apartment, or he can simply answer the door in which case the policeman will spot the bloody clothes on the floor and arrest Lucas for suspicion of murder. The options available throughout the game promise a level of realism never before available in an adventure game.

But wait – it gets better! For just when you get comfortable playing as Lucas, it will be time to see the game through the eyes of another character. In fact, we are told that you will play as many as four or five different characters throughout the course of the game.

Also of note is a revolutionary inventory system. Once an item is added to your inventory, you literally will not see that item again until you encounter an area where it can be used; at that point the item will appear on the screen. While this is a novel approach, one wonders if it will oversimplify the puzzles.

Finally, there are the action sequences. While we did not get much of a demonstration of these, they seem to be in a strange sort of way, dislocated from the main gameplay. Whereas most action/adventure games insert an action sequence as a means to solve a puzzle that more often than not interrupts the flow of the story, Fahrenheit™ has, so far, isolated the action sequences. We are aware of a sequence in a boxing ring and an instance of one of the characters in training – if these are indicative of what we can expect for action instead of the usual improbable jumps, clumsy fighting moves and the need to remember ten different gun types and ammo, then all I can say is hallelujah!

Fahrenheit™ is my must-play game of the E3. The cut-scenes were spectacular and the gameplay is innovative. It’s refreshing to see Quantic Dreams set their sights so high - instead of just attempting to improve on already established formulas, they have endeavored to break all of the molds and set new standards. Yet, I would expect no less from the talented teaming of Guiliaume de Fondaumiere and David Cage. Much as we now look back on games like Myst and Tomb Raider as seminal points in gaming history, I have a gut feeling that Fahrenheit™ will one day be part of this list.