Angel Devoid
Game Review, 1996
Angel Devoid
from Mindscape [and Electric Dreams] http://www.mindscape.com/System Requirements: 486/66, 8 MB RAM, 20 MB HD space, 2x CD-Rom, VGA or VESA compat. SVGA, sound card, mouse
Rating: Graphics: 95 Sound: 92 Interface: 75 Fun Factor: 75 Overall: 84
Your name is Hard. Jake Hard, that is. It says so on your badge. You live and work in a dangerous, futuristic place called Neo-City and your job is to fight crime. However, a nasty criminal has put something of a kink in your style. He gave you his face.
You wake up in the hospital and suddenly everyone who sees you is calling you by the name of the worst outlaw in Neo-City -- Angel Devoid. Shocked, you check the mirror. Somebody has reconstructed your face! You're lucky if you can get out of the hospital alive!
And that's how it starts. Each time you see a new animation/video sequence, it's like watching a movie from the perspective of the main character -- the sound effects immerse you in the place, the graphics are very well done, and the live-action actors play their parts well. From the bum on the street to the old girlfriend of Angel Devoid, each character you meet is unique, with their own mannerisms, their own styles -- and their own agendas.
You spend most of the game trying to figure out what happened to you (with hints from your own Personal Digital Assistant, a virtual secretary contained in a chip in your head), trying to track down Angel Devoid, and trying to figure out what he's up to. One of the fun things is choosing how to react to each character you meet. You see, whatever they did to you in the hospital has knocked out your voice, too, so you can't talk throughout the game. At times you have to choose an attitude (tough, normal, or nice) when interacting with someone, and the other characters react accordingly. At first it is strange not being able to talk, but you get used to it.
You also get used to the interface, once you try a couple of things out. As a newbie to CD-ROM games, I had to read the handbook to understand the interface. But once I started using it, everything went smoothly. Movement is easy, point-and-click with the mouse, but beware: I had several occasions where my cursor didn't indicate that I could do something (like shoot a bad guy), and it cost me a life. Don't trust the cursor to tell you what your options are every time, because it isn't always reliable.
Besides the occasional lack of options that cost a life or two, my greatest complaint with this game is that it doesn't let you skip animation sequences that you have already seen. So prepare to watch the same 3-9 minutes of video over and over until you pass that plot point successfully. If you don't have that sort of patience -- then this isn't the game for you!
However, once you piece together the clues and wander around Neo-City long enough to accomplish everything and reach the climax of the story, there are several possible endings. I won't give them away, but it's interesting to note that there are also at least two possible ways to "win." Both ways let you survive, but only one leaves you smiling.
So, if you like mystery and tracking down clues and criminals, and you like to spend the time watching well-animated sequences, then check out Angel Devoid. The replay factor on this game isn't high, but overall you get your money's worth out of the time you get to spend sleuthing and fighting crime in Neo-City.