Blade Runner was a success in many ways. It looked incredible and totally captured Ridley Scott’s visual interpretation of Phillip Dick’s classic novel, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.”

And yet I think that even Lou and Brett would acknowledge that the game was a noble, magnificent failure. To give it a simple “it sucks” write-off is to greatly underestimate a visionary work that, in retrospect, has had a massive influence on subsequent game designs.

It was not a financial success and, given the incredible R&D that went into the project, it’s pretty obvious why there was no sequel, nor even an attempt to retool and improve the engine. Also, it had too many gameplay flaws that kept me from coming back (you could meet the same character 15 times in a row and always have the same interaction — and why couldn’t I have and use my gun from the start of the game?

This was a project ahead of its time; it’s as simple as that. Many, many times in subsequent times (until I left Vegas two years ago), I have urged both Brett and Lou to try it again, using the advanced AI available today. And they just never wanted to talk about it. Westwood had such ambitious dreams for the game that its failure to reach their lofty goals make it a bittersweet memory, I suspect.

But no, it does NOT suck and it never did.

Story-wise, its integration of the characters from the film/book into an entirely original adventures

[Sam & Max are laughing at you. - ed.]

…and that I’m not alone on my island, which I thought I was for a second.

Thought I was taking “crazy pills” and somehow warped back to the late 80’s.

Sam and Max is a valiant effort to bring it back, but face it, it’s not well liked.

The posts that were deleted were not due to a disagreement (you may see tons of disagreements with my position in a few editorials) - it was due to the personal attacks. Difference of opinion is fine - insults are not.

All I know is that I was “hired” by Derrick, not Jonah.

And are you using “her” facetiously there, or is “Jonah Falcon” a woman? Not that it matters, really, I just find it interesting.

[I'm male, and the person is being deliberately insulting. - Jonah Falcon]

But, I do find it rather amusing that the comment(s) supporting my P.O.V. were mysteriously “moderated” out sometime today…

[They were deleted due to derogatory, personal attacks. There is a lot of flow of information here - insults are not a part of that. - Jonah Falcon]

Furthermore, Blade Runner does not translate well to any genre save advenure games. Most of the film is a detective movie - there’s very little action whatsoever that you’d see in an FPS.

It’s a detective story - and those are adventure games. Do you see gunfights? No. Deckard fires his gun twice - on two unarmed women, one running away from him. He misses Roy twice, and doesn’t even have the use of his gun for most of that chase. Rachel fires once, on an unarmed man. That’s it. Not exactly conducive to an action game, huh?

In fact, the ESPER is as adventure game-ish as it gets, as is Deckard finding a clue and investigating it. Heck, if the movie were a game, you’d be running the mouse over the screen til you get a cursor reaction when you run over the scale in the tub.

You’re harping on one (humorous) comment/opinion and missing the point of the article, which is: wouldn’t a proper, next-gen version of Blade Runner kick ass? Where you actually get to be Rick Deckard and take down Leon, Zhora, Pris and Roy…not some crappy stand-in characters.

If you don’t want to see that then you can dust off your 10 year old copy of Westwood’s game (which, I’m sure, is tucked safely under your pillow)and stroke it and pet it and tell it that everything is going to be okay…it is still loved.

Beyond a few notable exceptions (Maniac Mansion and Day of the Tentacle), I DO NOT like point-and-click adventure games because of their many limitations (I mean, how many times can you hear/see “I CAN’T USE THAT HERE.” before ripping your hair out in frustration?) and that style of gameplay (along with turn based combat systems in RPG’s) are best left in the past.

Moby Ranking: 85 (out of 100)

Computer Games Magazine: 4 stars (out of 5)

Just Adventure: A grade

RPG Fan: 93%

PC Gamer: Nominee for Best Adventure Game of the Year

Game Revolution: A-

http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3165122

Ten years ago, Westwood released its point-and-click adventure game adaptation of Blade Runner. Blade Runner was, if nothing else, a towering achievement in terms of evoking the original film’s memorable aesthetic. The game’s mo-cap sprites moved against dim, smoky noir backdrops; every exterior shot felt exhilaratingly accurate, while interior locations were ominous and claustrophobic.

So, Scott - you were saying?

Blade Runner also had the ingenious multiple endings, depending on what you did (10 years before Mass Effect) - and some random elements (ie. some games, you discovered you were human. Other games, you were a replicant.)