A.I. Die Part 2

That'll be part 2, then.

A.I. Die Part 1

For a change, here's the first part of a short story, made using Second Life.

Retro Games Worth Playing 3 - Sentient

Name: Sentient
Platform: Playstation, PC
Release Date: 1997
Publisher: Psygnosis
Designers: Psygnosis
Predecessors: Brataccas, Snowball,
Return to Eden, The Worm in Paradise (The Silicon Dreams Trilogy), Planetfall
Descendants: Deus Ex




Although this is yet another space-based game, it couldn’t be more different from the previous two in terms of pacing, environment and especially plot. It’s also the third British game in a row, and the second to reference 'Icarus', neither of which are intentional, honest.

Released early in the Playstation's life, Psygnosis’ ambient tour de force was years ahead of its time. Better known for the Wipeout series and various graphically sublime, but fundamentally flawed Amiga games, Sentient was an ambitious departure for Psygnosis. Featuring complex AI, branching plot threads, multiple endings and bags of atmosphere, Sentient is also an example of that still-rare genre, the first-person adventure.



Similar to Level 9’s Silicon Dreams trilogy, to which it can be considered a spiritual and thematic successor, Sentient begins by placing you in immediate peril. As medic and Moby look-alike Garrit Sherova, you’ve been sent to assist with the outbreak of a mysterious disease on the space station Icarus. So-called due to its close orbit around a sun, a solar flare causes your shuttle to crash in the station’s docking bay. Once this is explained in the opening movie, it’s immediately game on. You’re in the radiation-flooded shuttle bay, a barely-conscious engineer to your left and no means of protection. Well, what are you waiting for?


Time and timing are cruical. Events happen only once and if they're missed, the plot is sent spinning off in another direction. The main ‘action’ of the game is either participating in, or merely listening to, conversations between the Icarus’ crew and using the information gained. Exploiting the station’s politics are the key to your success, with your actions in the radioactive opening sequence affecting allegiences from the very start. Regardless of your actions in the bay, you’ll soon find yourself unconscious and trapped in a maze of lush hedges and ornate stone pillars. The maze is the first of many and adds a delicately surreal touch to Sentient, contrasting nicely with the sterile setting of the Icarus. That’s not to say that the Icarus lacks atmosphere, station announcements appear throughout the game, with warnings of solar flares and updates on damage to the Icarus. The effect of the station's oppressive heat is conveyed by frequent brow-wiping and occasional adjustment of bumcrack-bound underwear by the Icarus' personable inhabitants.


I haven’t even mentioned the political assassin, Shatterjack, the relevance of the game’s title (think 2001, but on a far grander scale) or the effect of your facial expressions on conversations. Sentient is a thoroughly deep game, but it’s not for the impatient or those looking for all-out action. Persevere with it, however, and you’ll find a Game well Worth Playing.