Bioforge

Do you want to play one amazing game? Look no further… BioForge is a 3-D role-playing game (RPG) that was developed and published by Origin Systems in 1995. Origin Systems marketed the game as an interactive movie, as it has a comprehensive plot and a large variety of voice acting (22 different actors supplied voices for characters and computers in the game). Also, you have full control over your player’s actions, so you determine what happens in the game.

I won’t reveal too much about the game’s plot, as finding out that plot really is what the game is all about, and I don’t want to spoil that for you. Your character wakes up and has no clue who he is. His memory has been wiped clean. You find yourself in a cell in what turns out to be an alien base. You see a robot nearby. Man, are you confused. You escape the cell, and find yourself to be one of a few survivors of some event that has destroyed much of this base you are on. You explore the base in order to find out who you are, if not even what you are.
You will learn about what happened before you woke up by finding and reading logs left on PDAs (Personal Data Assistants) and on notes. You will find information about experimental subjects who lost their memories and went insane. You will discover how you ended up on the alien base and who your enemies are.
The main goal of BioForge is to make your way off of the base. The gameplay centers on exploring the base for clues about you and these aliens and some puzzle solving, along with interacting and fighting with other characters. The puzzle solving aspect of the game involves you accessing computers so you can control robots, open doors, and shut down security systems. The puzzles aren’t out of place, as they are well integrated into the plot.
Your character can turn left and right, walk and run (both forwards and backwards), sidestep, and enter a combat stance. You must go into the combat stance before you can make any combat moves, such as punching, kicking, and using weapons. There is a bit of a learning curve in getting the hang of the combat moves as you must be facing the enemies in exactly the right way in order for the moves to connect. There are a total of 24 combat moves.
There are many objects that you can pick up along your adventure to help you. When you pick up data logs and healing packs you can store them in your inventory. Your character has to maintain health by picking up batteries. Yet, these batteries, along with weapons and some other objects, can only be carried—not stored. And, only one can be carried at a time.
The graphics are superb in BioForge. The developers used texture-mapped graphics to bring the characters to life and make the backgrounds more realistic. The characters are made even more realistic in how their bodies change as they are injured. You will see wounds and blood appear, along with awkward movements such as limping. During gameplay, the camera angle can change, giving the game that movie feel. Sounds are very well done. Even simple sound effects such as doors opening and distant voices add so much to the realism.