Format: IBM CD ROM Publisher: Origin/EA
Bio Forge is the first of a series of interactive movies from EA that promises cutting edge technology combined with true interactive gameplay.
You play the role of Lex, a man who awakes in a laboratory to find his memory gone, along with half of his body. A cyborg with an attitude problem, you dimly realise through a foggy haze that perhaps your condition isn't exactly normal.
A mission of discovery unfolds as you traipse through dingy cellblocks, bizarre alien cities and eventually into space. Where Bio Forge differs from previous interactive movies according to Origin is that you have complete control over aspect of Lex's behaviour; how he runs, walks, fights and carries on his activities is up to you. Cutaways and fast edits automatically occur as you play, giving the game that professional cinematic feel.
According to the legendary Richard Garriott (Lord British): "Interactive Movies have become a buzzword, so it's being applied to games which really aren't. Just because a game has FMV that doesn't automatically make it an interactive movie, because you have very little control over the actor. Neither is a game in which you click on an icon, then sit back and watch a scene take place."
This is the first in a line up of games from Origin that use this premise, and if they are even half as good as the publicity, then Bio Forge and its ilk are bound to be instant home box office hits.
This preview is Copyright (C) 1994 by Nathan Cochran for Game Bytes Magazine. All rights reserved.