Fox Interactive successfully transforms the popular science-fiction television series The X-Files into an exciting, but not entirely flawless, multimedia adventure game. Spanning a massive seven CDs, The X-Files Game places you in the role of FBI agent Craig Willmore, assigned to investigate the disappearance of special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). Over the course of the investigation, you'll interact with other X-Files characters, such as Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) and "X" (Steven Williams); use a wide range of FBI gadgetry; and unravel many challenging puzzles.

Graphically, The X-Files Game is fantastic. All events are presented in crisp, colorful, television-like full-motion video that looks incredible on any Microsoft Windows 95/98 compatible video card. Sound and music are also topnotch; the show's familiar theme song resonates throughout the adventure. Both adventure-genre novices and experts should feel at ease with the intuitive mouse-driven interface and the puzzles, which never exceed medium difficulty. The X-Files Game's biggest downer is the lack of the television show's principle characters, Mulder and Scully, who, after the cryptic introduction, don't make an appearance until the very end stages of the story. Still, if you're an X-Files fan who can't get enough alien conspiracy theories, you'll likely enjoy this interactive episode. --Doug Radcliffe

The truth is out there. And this game, based on one of the best sci-fi TV series in history, is way, way "out there." Despite performances by original cast members David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, and a few other favorites, The X-Files puts the "normal" back into paranormal.

Collaboration with the TV show's creator, Chris Carter, ensures that the game attains the eerie visual quality of the show, but the lack of any tension or pacing makes one wonder why the game is spread across an unusually voluminous four PlayStation discs.

Mulder and Scully have gone missing, and as the poorly acted Craig Willmore, a local FBI agent, you must find the clues that lead to their whereabouts. Most of the game is spent aimlessly wandering from location to location, hoping to find screen hotspots that may possibly give players a clue as to what they are supposed to do next.

Conversations with others seem strangely stilted, and often the script offers up red herrings that will frustrate players who try to play the game as if it were logically designed. In a number of instances, even though you know what course of action you should take, you're forced to wait for the game to catch up with you before taking it. Unless you are a die-hard X-Files collector, there is little reason to own this game. --Jeff Young

Pros:

• Lots of well-produced video

Cons:

• No sense of pacing
• Limited interaction
• Poor documentation
• Illogical design
• Scully and Mulder's appearances no more than cameos