In a nutshell:
The term "interactive movie" is justly associated with misguided attempts at combining games and film. Fahrenheit???s cinematic leanings, however, incorporate the elements that make movies different (characters, tension and plot) with well thought-out game mechanics, and the result is uniquely thrilling.

The lowdown:
Making decisions against a rapidly dwindling timer, your character wakes up having just committed a bizarre ritual murder of which he has no memory. You must switch between playing the fugitive and the cops on his trail, your conflicting jobs are to help the anti-hero escape and conversely to help put him behind bars. But what mysterious force drove him to kill in the first place?

Most exciting moment:
Frequent interludes of rapid button pressing simulate physical exertion as your character escapes a looming threat you can see catching up with you. Your heart will be palpitating. Your nerves will be frayed.

Since you ask:
The introduction and brief tutorial from the game???s "writer/director" David Cage, is actually the head of the title???s French development team, Quantic Dream, animated as a videogame character.

The bottom line:
Utterly superb movie-style thriller with genuine frights and a superbly tense climax.
Nick Gillett

This game is amazing, truly amazing. The storyline is very gripping and I like the way in which you can control both sides of the storline. At one point I was trying to cover my tracks and making sure not to leave evidence behind and moments later I was trying to uncover information about the murder.

The characters are well thought out and I think the voice acting is top notch, especially Carla when she gets panicky with her claustrophobia. The graphics aren't up to much on the PS2 version but they're outstanding on the X-box version.

I love the mental health meter. Perhaps this means I'm not a good gamer (I don't care!) but I was having trouble keeping Lucas in neutral. It gave me quite a challenge and I enjoyed that. Very different from the usual health meters I see a lot in games.

To end the review, I'll just say that if you want a game with a difference and you don't mind below average graphics, buy this game. You will not be disappointed.

I found Fahrenheit after discovering a ps3 video of a game from the same designers. After playing a quick demo on the PC I jumped at playing the full ps2 version! To keep it brief, and as all the other reviews all tell you parts of the story etc, this game is amazing. The soundtrack is phenominal and the story kept me engrossed for hours. The voice acting and animation half makes you forget you're even playing a game. At first I thought that playing as the murderer and the investigator wouldn't work but it does perfectly and you start to care for the wellfare of each character even though in many scenes you're kind of trying to beat the other side! You'll try to cover up a crime scene with one character just to try to solve it straight afterwards! It sounds crazy but it really works.

Negative aspects... there are some but they are forgivable. As most people will tell you, the camera and controls are awful... Especially during one of the timed scenes where you see a policeman walking to your room for example and you have to hurry and tidy up. The clunky controls mean you end up running into a wall unable to change directions... this can cost valuable seconds and lose the entire game!! Some parts of the game are difficult and you'll probably lose, but this gets frustrating as sometimes you lose over... and over... and over...

BUT it's very much worth it in the end! It's like you're really playing out people's lives. It'll make you laugh and it'll make you scared, and it is truely a great game!

Buy it buy it buy it!!

I have been waiting for a game like this for ages. a game where you can explore your suroundings, talk to other characters and make decisions in each level which affect the outcome of the next scene. I bought this game recently and have been playing it non-stop for a while, its so much fun and there are loads of scary and tense moments....BUT, although this game is very well made and incredibly origanal, if you are a christian or your just careful of spiritual things then I would advise you to AVOID buying this game. I have enjoyed playing what I have of this game, but as it gets on there comes a scene which you cannot avoid (I've tried everything and read faques) where your character has no option but to play a game of tarot cards. For those who don't know, Tarot Cards is a very dangerous game where you lay out the cards facedown and pick a card at random that decides your future. Although this sounds like fun, it is evil and very dangerous. I would advise you not to have anything to do with them. I have enjoyed this game very much and am very upset that I have to get rid of it, but believe me, it isn't just tarot cards.There are many things in this game that arn't a good idea to get involved with and I just want to warn those like me so you don't spend money on something you'll just find out you should get rid of. I hope you have found my review and warning helpful.

Clunky mechanics and a dull script make this game tiresome. The graphics look like a slightly upgraded PS1 game, it's looks a decade out of date already. The locations are minimal and have little texture, looking rather bland. The story (as for as I could get) was pure hokum and the dialog stilted; it's aspirations to be a movie leave something to be desired...even Dolph Lundgren would turn his nose up at such a script.
The QTE system it's based on soon defeats any 'atmosphere' the game is desperately trying to manage; one QTE that really sticks in my mind is the guitar playing. Play the blues and you 'beep' along, awful! Also QTE usually means you're looking for the colour flashes, rather than the on screen action- again removes any emotional involvement, making you feel like a lab rat pressing buttons. Whilst in autopsy, having the sign "Get Ready!" flash up and a QTE to make sure you cut the ribcage right is laughable.

Branching stories should let you feel involved more than this game, often your choices seem irrelevant. If you see a ghost, you'll get stressed, but don't worry a cup of water and a wee will calm you down; You spend much of the game in 'Neutral'.

Also another off-putting element is the characterization. The cop Tyler is straight out of 70's blaxsplotation movies. Why not call Tyler 'Shaft' and get it over and done with. It felt rather racist to me. Retro but in a really bad and unpleasant way. Couldn't the 'director' watched 'The Wire' for influence on good Afro-American characterization? And the 'sex scene' in his Austin Powers 'shagpad', really? That's the best you could do? Really?

Although for a game, the voice work is good, it doesn't help that the 'manikins' inhabiting the game look like lifeless roughly hewn Thunderbird puppets.

It ultimately fails as a movie, as a narrative and as a game. There is many more superior games that provide a fascinating atmosphere. There's much cheaper and far superior DVDs and novels to read to waste much time on such a poor hybrid. If you only read teen novels or backs of cereal boxes, even you'll be let down by this game. At best it's at the level of amateur fan fiction. The pitch: "Anemic stereotypes stumble around bland interiors"- The End.

Fahrenheit is more an interactive movie than a game as your progress though it depends on deft combinations of key presses to match those displayed on screen. The disadvantage here is you are concentrating so much on the symbols on screen, you miss much of the action, but you can always choose to re-watch a scene once you have finished it. There's very little scope to do anything of your own accord as each chapter is governed by a strict time element, which does seem rather rushed in places. You will however, need to keep an eye on your character's mood, which can be influenced by performing little tasks such as taking a nap or scoffing a pizza...!Your conversations are determined by a selection of joystick movements, depending on the questions you want to ask. You won't get the chance to ask everything however, so this adds to replay value; ask something different and find out more about the mystery next time around.
There are bonus items to find which unlock movies and artwork from the main menu as well as rare items which prolong your life, which can be ended with no warning, if you stuff up your joystick waggling.
All in all, it is an intriguing story from the get go and you will want to keep "playing" to see what happens next and solve the mystery. I liked it a lot, it's certainly different from anything else I have played and I look forward to the sequel.
One word of warning, there are some fairly adult scenes in the game (Sex! Gasp!) so definitely not one for younger gamers.