The answer to the above heading I would say is "quite possibly". I will put forward an argument to encourage readers of this comment to ponder over it.
Firstly, I disagree with one of my fellow fans of the game who has commented on this page because I believe you do not need to be a fan of the TV series to enjoy it. In fact not knowing anything about the TV series adds to the excitement because you would see all events depicted in the game from the point of view of the character you play in the game - Craig Willmore. And Craig Willmore is an outsider. He was never in the TV series nor was any reference made to him. At the beginning of the game, he knows nothing at all about Mulder and Scully except for the fact that they are FBI agents just like he is.
This brings me on to the plot of the game - to find Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who have disappeared without trace. Despite the very simple set-up, the plot expands to include false suspects, questionable motives, supernatural events and a series of more questions than answers. This is in keeping with the tag-line of the TV series: "The truth is out there".
The game is entirely rendered in FMV (Full Motion Video). The digital photography is absolutely superb and fans of the TV series will definitely get the feeling that they are watching an actual episode of it. This style of gaming develops upon that of such classics as GABRIEL KNIGHT: THE BEAST WITHIN, PHANTASMAGORIA (and its even better sequel), RIPPER, BLACK DAHLIA and many others. THE X-FILES GAME is perhaps the only one of these games not to use still images or computer rendered images for its backgrounds. Due to this, every scene feels like a scene in a movie, fulfilling the original purpose of FMV gaming.
In this game, we get to find out much about Craig Willmore - his background, his beliefs, his style of investigation, his mannerisms and so on. Much of this is determined by the choices made by the player but in any case common themes occur that give clear information about the character. I won't give too much away but I'll say that those who focus on the game long enough could learn more about Craig Willmore in this one game than we learn about Fox Mulder during the entire franchise! For this reason, Craig Willmore seems like a real person with real strengths and weaknesses. It is easier to connect with him as we guide him through this roller-coaster of an adventure.
Aiding Agent Willmore in the investigation is Detective Mary Astadourian. Unlike Mulder and Scully, the relationship between Willmore and Astadourian is a very tense one (with the degree of tension guided by the choices the player makes), caused partly by the fact that one is an FBI agent and the other is a Seattle state cop. The tension between them ranges from distrust in each other to conflicting opinions about aspects of the case they are investigating. This draws the gamer into the game to an extent that only a top-notch suspenseful movie could match. For these reasons, it could be said with credibility that the characters of Willmore and Astadourian are far more interesting than those of Mulder and Scully.
The chemistry between the actors playing Agent Willmore and Detective Astadourian, Jordan Lee Williams and Paige Witte, is equally electrifying. Indeed it could be said that the chemistry between these two actors far surpasses that of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson (who played Mulder and Scully).
Fans of the TV series will be pleased to see David Duchnovny and Gillian Anderson reprising the roles they are famous for, although they do not feature much in the game. Other familiar faces from the TV series include AD Walter Skinner played by Mitch Pileggi, the cigarette smoking man played by William B Davis, along with Mulder and Scully's assistants (Frohike, Byers and Langly). All of these actors deliver superb performances.
But the best returning character from the TV series is X, played by Steven Williams. Those who have not seen the TV series are likely to be seriously freaked out when they see this guy for the first time. It is perhaps the best introduction of a character in any video game. And the actor's performance is amongst the best in the whole game.
However, the real kudos should go to Jordan Lee Williams and Paige Witte, whose portrayal of what are perhaps the most interesting characters created by The X-Files franchise is superb in every single respect. It's a real shame that a sequel wasn't produced and an even greater shame that the two actors in question did not move on to higher profile productions.
The game has the right mixture of tension, suspense, horror, science fiction, comedy and intrigue to make it a true masterpiece. In terms of length, it is the equivalent of a three or four-part episode. I seriously doubt many fans of the TV series could gain as much entertainment from a 3-part episode of the TV series than they could from this game.
But more importantly is the fact that the two strong leads in the game and the superb supporting cast (both returning characters from the TV series and the new characters) ensures the game stands as a true landmark in its own right.
The game is now long out of print, but can be easily purchased through online auctions and trading websites. It comes on 7 CDs, although I hope one day some company will take advantage of the DVD medium to re-release this game on a single disc!
In short, this is a masterpiece in video gaming and is highly recommended for anyone interested in science fiction, FMV games or The X-Files franchise itself.
Firstly, I disagree with one of my fellow fans of the game who has commented on this page because I believe you do not need to be a fan of the TV series to enjoy it. In fact not knowing anything about the TV series adds to the excitement because you would see all events depicted in the game from the point of view of the character you play in the game - Craig Willmore. And Craig Willmore is an outsider. He was never in the TV series nor was any reference made to him. At the beginning of the game, he knows nothing at all about Mulder and Scully except for the fact that they are FBI agents just like he is.
This brings me on to the plot of the game - to find Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who have disappeared without trace. Despite the very simple set-up, the plot expands to include false suspects, questionable motives, supernatural events and a series of more questions than answers. This is in keeping with the tag-line of the TV series: "The truth is out there".
The game is entirely rendered in FMV (Full Motion Video). The digital photography is absolutely superb and fans of the TV series will definitely get the feeling that they are watching an actual episode of it. This style of gaming develops upon that of such classics as GABRIEL KNIGHT: THE BEAST WITHIN, PHANTASMAGORIA (and its even better sequel), RIPPER, BLACK DAHLIA and many others. THE X-FILES GAME is perhaps the only one of these games not to use still images or computer rendered images for its backgrounds. Due to this, every scene feels like a scene in a movie, fulfilling the original purpose of FMV gaming.
In this game, we get to find out much about Craig Willmore - his background, his beliefs, his style of investigation, his mannerisms and so on. Much of this is determined by the choices made by the player but in any case common themes occur that give clear information about the character. I won't give too much away but I'll say that those who focus on the game long enough could learn more about Craig Willmore in this one game than we learn about Fox Mulder during the entire franchise! For this reason, Craig Willmore seems like a real person with real strengths and weaknesses. It is easier to connect with him as we guide him through this roller-coaster of an adventure.
Aiding Agent Willmore in the investigation is Detective Mary Astadourian. Unlike Mulder and Scully, the relationship between Willmore and Astadourian is a very tense one (with the degree of tension guided by the choices the player makes), caused partly by the fact that one is an FBI agent and the other is a Seattle state cop. The tension between them ranges from distrust in each other to conflicting opinions about aspects of the case they are investigating. This draws the gamer into the game to an extent that only a top-notch suspenseful movie could match. For these reasons, it could be said with credibility that the characters of Willmore and Astadourian are far more interesting than those of Mulder and Scully.
The chemistry between the actors playing Agent Willmore and Detective Astadourian, Jordan Lee Williams and Paige Witte, is equally electrifying. Indeed it could be said that the chemistry between these two actors far surpasses that of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson (who played Mulder and Scully).
Fans of the TV series will be pleased to see David Duchnovny and Gillian Anderson reprising the roles they are famous for, although they do not feature much in the game. Other familiar faces from the TV series include AD Walter Skinner played by Mitch Pileggi, the cigarette smoking man played by William B Davis, along with Mulder and Scully's assistants (Frohike, Byers and Langly). All of these actors deliver superb performances.
But the best returning character from the TV series is X, played by Steven Williams. Those who have not seen the TV series are likely to be seriously freaked out when they see this guy for the first time. It is perhaps the best introduction of a character in any video game. And the actor's performance is amongst the best in the whole game.
However, the real kudos should go to Jordan Lee Williams and Paige Witte, whose portrayal of what are perhaps the most interesting characters created by The X-Files franchise is superb in every single respect. It's a real shame that a sequel wasn't produced and an even greater shame that the two actors in question did not move on to higher profile productions.
The game has the right mixture of tension, suspense, horror, science fiction, comedy and intrigue to make it a true masterpiece. In terms of length, it is the equivalent of a three or four-part episode. I seriously doubt many fans of the TV series could gain as much entertainment from a 3-part episode of the TV series than they could from this game.
But more importantly is the fact that the two strong leads in the game and the superb supporting cast (both returning characters from the TV series and the new characters) ensures the game stands as a true landmark in its own right.
The game is now long out of print, but can be easily purchased through online auctions and trading websites. It comes on 7 CDs, although I hope one day some company will take advantage of the DVD medium to re-release this game on a single disc!
In short, this is a masterpiece in video gaming and is highly recommended for anyone interested in science fiction, FMV games or The X-Files franchise itself.