Much has been written in recent years about the overlap between games and film, and this is the closest to an interactive movie that I’ve yet played.

You begin as Lucas Kane, who stabs a man to death while the balance of his mind is disturbed, and then goes on the run to find out why it happened. At every turn, the choices you make affect the way the story unfolds. Do you, for instance, hide the body and clean up the blood, or bolt straight for the door? In later chapters you play a detective on Kane’s trail, and Kane’s estranged brother. Here, too, your decisions can change the plot entirely.

The result is a completely engrossing game, designed for the patience of adult players, that will stand up to an almost infinite number of sessions. It’s a technically marvellous achievement by David Cage, the writer and director (his terms), that both tests the limits of today’s consoles and highlights their shortcomings. On the PS2, for example, the graphics are sometimes choppy and the load times too long. Roll on the PS3, and more games like this!

NIGEL KENDALL

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