What I do like about this dystopian future though (and this applies to the cyberpunk genre in general) is it showcases what happens when neo-liberal hypercapitalism runs rampant to the point where "unions" aren't really unions any more and have little regard for worker rights (but ironically, "corporations" seem to be the good guys). However, this isn't the Australia that you know but a weird, dystopian future version of the nation we proudly call home… one where Aussies drink Foster's Lager (DO NOT WANT!) Okay but seriously, in the future we're apparently still using Video Cassette Recorders and incandescent light globes, so something's obviously gone wrong. It's rare to find games that are actually set in Australia, especially when it's by a non-Australian developer. I only decided to play it recently though once I heard that the sequel's release was imminent.Īustralia still uses incandescent light globes in the future GOG offers a whole bunch of free games and one of their earliest offerings was Beneath a Steel Sky in fact it was the second game I acquired off GOG back in March 2010 (can you believe that's 10 years ago now?)! I've heard a lot of good things about this classic point 'n' click adventure by Revolution Software and you couldn't argue with the price so that's how it ended up in my games library. ![]() This year marked a special year for Beneath a Steel Sky fans though as more than 15 years after the release of the original game, they now get to play its sequel, Beyond a Steel Sky. Revolution Software would go on to make more point 'n' click adventures and are perhaps best known nowadays for the Broken Sword series of adventure games. The game was eventually made freeware in 2003 and is now available from sites such as GOG.com. Like its predecessor, Beneath a Steel Sky was a critical and commercial success, earning itself many awards including "Best Adventure" at the 1995 Golden Joystick Awards and selling at least 300,000 copies. As you explore Union City, you'll learn more about your past and how you're LINCed (see what I did there?) to the city's future. ![]() The helicopter malfunctions and crash lands but you manage to survive and escape into a nearby factory with a computer chip containing the personality of your robot companion, Joey. Playing the role of a man named Robert Foster, you're abducted from the Outback by security forces and taken to the smoggy metropolis of Union City which is run by a supercomputer named LINC (Logical Inter-Neural Connection). ![]() This was then followed by the 1994 release of their second point 'n' click adventure game, Beneath a Steel Sky but instead of it being set in a fantasy realm, the game is set in a dystopian, cyberpunk version of Australia. Their first game, a fantasy-inspired point 'n' click adventure game called Lure of the Temptress was released in 1992 and was a critical and commercial success. We built this city on pipes and smooooooOOOOkeīy the late 80s, point 'n' click adventures were already being pumped out by the likes of Lucasarts and Sierra On-Line but this is when British-based adventure game developer Revolution Software decided to have a go at making their own, back in 1989.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |