Beneath a Steel SkyTable of ContentsBeneath a Steel Sky (BaSS) is a computer game designed for MS-DOS and Amiga. It was developed by Revolution Software and published by Virgin Interactive in 1994. It is a point-and-click sci-fi adventure game. Set in a dystopian future divided between the Gap and Union City, it leads its hero, Robert Foster, from the industrial and residential sectors of Union City all the way to the old subway tunnels where evil lurked...
StoryThe story of BaSS is actually quite elaborated and could have been taken, without a shame, from a very good book! Although the story revolves around Foster's adventures to save Union City from its mad computer (more on this below!), to understand his past, his story has a deep background. The story is set in a dystopian future where some catastrophe, maybe a nuclear war or climate change, has devastated the Earth First, there are Aboriginals. They live in "The Gap", a wasteland outside Union City, where they try to survive. Second, there is Foster, who was adopted and raised by a band of Aboriginals after the helicopter carrying him as a baby crashed in The Gap. Third, inside Union City, members of Union City are fighting against the Hobart Corporation an economic war, using sabotage and cheap gimmicks to win over the market. And, fourth, there is a faction with only one member: LINC, the computer running Union City (a.k.a. Logical Inter-Neural Connection). The story is twisted, though, because in this future, "union", like Union City, are actually against labour representation and social security of any kind while "corporation", like Hobart Corporation, support workers and want greater protection for them... If anything, Hobart Corporation is the good "guy". Also, contrary to "usual" stratification of classes/masses, like typically in Metropolis, poor workers live and work in the upper levels of Union City, amid factories and pollution, while the "elite" members live in the lower level, surrounded by trees, palaces, and select night clubs. At the lowest level are abandoned subway tunnels inhabited by strange creatures... Now that the scene is set, the story... It starts with Foster being kidnapped from The Gap and the helicopter transporting him crashing in some industrial area of Union City. Foster escapes in a recycling plant and hides there to overhear a security officer, Stephen Reich, threatening to arrest Foster or worse... From this point on, Foster's aim is to unravel clues regarding his past, present, and future. The player will first direct Foster to rebuild his sentient robot, Joey, using (first) a vacuum cleaner. Then, she will help Foster navigate through Union City (using ropes and elevators), discuss with the many characters in the game (from factory manager to Diva to insurance salesman to evil computer), and perform various actions (collecting anchor, videotapes, fixing robots, playing with a nuclear core). The player must understand the role played by LINC, the mad, evil computer that is running Union City. Through various encounters and clues, she will find that LINC is actually half-machine, half-biological and that it needs a human to function. Currently, Foster's father plays the role of human host to LINC but, with his death approaching, LINC sought Foster to replace his father due to their genetic compatibility. Fortunately, Joey, then in the body of an android, will save the day by taking Foster's place and, thus, changing LINC into a benevolent computer. RealisationGraphic DesignBsSS is a point-and-click adventure game based on the Virtual Theatre engine, also used in Lure of the Temptress. It allows easy interactions through a smart, intuitive user interface. It also allows the various characters to "have a life" independently of one another. First, it is very easy and intuitive to control Foster with the mouse by clicking here or there on the screen. The mouse pointer changes into an arrow or a cross to control Foster and interact with objects and people. When the mouse is an arrow, it indicates the place where Foster could go. It can also change into a large arrow to exit a particular screen. When the mouse is a cross, it can be used to look or to use/pick an object or talk to a person. As far as I can remember, I never got stuck in a particular place because of some hidden exit or forgotten object Talking to people is a major part of the fun! First, I don't recall any dialogue that didn't make me smile... Usually, upon clicking on a person, a list of 4-5 sentences appears on the top of the screen. Any sentence will do because, as far as I can tell, they provide information but do not need to be told in a particular order. Some dialogues are very, very funny! Using objects is also very easy. Some object can even be combined in Foster's inventory by selecting one object and clicking a second one. The best example is, of course, the grappling hook made of an anchor and a rope; very useful for Foster to play Tarzan later! All-in-all, the Virtual Theatre engine makes it very easy to play the game and control Foster and interact with object and people. Another thing made easy by the Virtual Theatre engine is the lives of the other characters. Each character seems to have her/his/its own life and will go about the game minding their own business, even sometimes interacting with one another and, of course, with Foster if Foster talks to them or if the game scenario calls for some action... Sometimes, a character will actually block Foster, like this annoying robot at the beginning of the game, but generally, they integrate well in the scenario, giving it a "life-like" feeling. In addition to the game engine, BaSS is well-known and recognized for the quality of its graphics. Simply put, its graphics are awesome! The graphics were drawn by a small team of graphicians, including Adam Tween and Stephen Oades, who both also worked on Lure of the Temptress! Despite the limitations (as of today) of the OCS/ECS chipsets (state-of-the art at the time!), the team managed to convey an atmosphere in the game, at each level and place... never missing or leaving out details that could have broken the "spell". They also used the details to support the funny-side of the game, with, for example, a video of cats... maybe the first in the history of the Internet!
Music and SoundsSurprisingly, the original A500/A1200 version did not have much in term of music and sound... just some sound effects here and there! The CD32 version, on the contrary, had music, sound effect, and spoken dialogues! It is the version to play to enjoy BaSS at its maximum... It offers different voice for each character, which make the game much more lively and interesting
Animations, Characters, ObjectsOne of the major quality of BaSS is that of its animations! The characters, robots, and various details move nicely around, with great visual and nice integration with the scenery and scenario. They have many details that make it a pleasure to look at them and watch them move around. For example, when Joey is embodied into a roving vacuum cleaner, its wheel turn around as he moves. I like also the "fur" coat of Lamb...
Likewise, there are several important objects to collect and use during the game:
GameplayPoint-and-Click, ConversationsThe Virtual Theatre makes it easy to interact with the characters and objects in the game and control Foster. I can't recall any time where I got stuck and frustrated by the interface, except at the very beginning when I had to take the lift used by the robot carrying barrels... and even there...
QualityThe game is of the highest quality for its scenario and graphics and voices... too bad that the music is rather poor
MiscThe game runs very well, in particular in WinUAE! I didn't encounter any crash but you got to use the right version... SolutionIn TextMany solutions exist on-line:
In PicturesMy Facebook page contains an album showing all the steps to solve BaSS with the many actions and witty dialogs!
ConclusionBaSS is a game that you myst play if you like point-and-click games and Blade Runner-like movies. It features an interesting and deep scenario, beautiful graphics, nice animations, easy-to-use interface, funny dialogs, and great voices (for the CD32 version).
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. Specifically, the story takes place in Australia where the states became city-states. There seems to be four "factions" fighting for survival or power.
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I let you read the dialogue between Joey and Foster when Foster ask it to crank some other robot...
The first cinematic scenes are amazing, setting the tone for a 
Somewhere else, the organic/technoid horror in the underground level always reminds me of 
. It really makes the game more interesting and more exciting and captivating!
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