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Title Interphase
Game Type 3D Combat Sim
Players 1
Compatibility Not AGA
Submission Angus Manwaring Profiled Reviewer

Review
First of all I didn`t get very far with this game, and it was a long time
ago that I played it, but with that in mind, here is my review. Interphase,
it seems, is very much a computer game based on the cult Cyberpunk novel
Neuromancer by William Gibson. Having said that, Interphase is nothing like
the computer game Neuromancer, which is essentially an adventure.

In Interphase, the game rather cleverly takes place in two forms. Firstly
in a 2D plan view of the building you`re attempting to infiltrate with
your basic hero type bloke, and secondly in a 3D context which represents
how your computer hacker type bloke sees the computer environment that he
is trying to hack. For anyone not familiar with this Cyberpunk concept of
“jacking in,”it`s simply that in the future, hackers will no longer be
gazing into monitors and frantically bashing the keyboard, they will, (we
are told) by means of a headset and portable deck, experience the
sprawling network of cyberspace in a first person 3D representation,
flying from one area of interest to another almost effortlessly.

Sounds good to me. Okay so these two aspects are incooporated as follows:
Your agent moves from one area of the building to another, coming to a halt
whenever he encounters a security door etc. Then you (in Cyberspace) track
down the 3D polygon that represents the sofware controlling the security
door and erm..... delete it. This causes the door to open and your agent
proceeds until encountering another obstacle. There are plenty of wrinkles
to make this more interesting however; sometimes it is essential to remove
a security camera before your agent can be seen, and the zoom facility on
the 2D map is essential to appreciate what you`re facing and how to deal
with it. There are some nice logical puzzles to solve where you are going
to have to think laterally, and timing is often critical. I`d have to say
though, that the game is rather let down by the 3D side of things. It`s
not bad, or anything, the engine and design are fine providing some
unusual objects and of imaginative design. The problem for me is that the
gameplay is just rather unsatisfying. You move around basically “blatting”
things, and while some of the 3D tasks demand a little more finesse, I
felt it should have been further developed to give a greater sense of
achievement and build a stronger Cyberspace atmosphere.

The 2D side of the game is beautifully functional though, and just about
perfect. In essence then, an imaginatively designed game offering some
nice logical challenges, flawed slightly by the 3D tasks which do not
quite deliver the fulfillment I would have hoped for.