CD-ROM Review : CD-ROM of ‘Mnemonic’ in the Stores

B reakthrough is a word bandied about with far too much abandon in the digital world. But if any CD-ROM ever deserved the accolade, technologically speaking, it’s Johnny Mnemonic, a two-disc game arriving in software stores in sync with today’s opening of the movie of the same name.

The CD-ROM, developed by Propaganda Code (a part of the production company that turned out “Twin Peaks”) and Sony, is also based on the futuristic William Gibson short story about a “data courier” who carries information in a brain-embedded memory chip.

The game belongs to the usually deadly genre known as interactive movies. Normally, these kind of games feature grainy, stilted scenes played out on the home computer screen for a few minutes before coming to a screeching halt to allow the player to make decisions about how the action progresses. The novelty wears off fast.

But the creators of the Johnny Mnemonic CD-ROM have found a way to make the action almost continuous. The live-action scenes--far more visually accomplished than the norm in interactive movies--simply go into a letterbox format when it’s time for the player to make a decision. At that point you have to act fast, using keys on your number pad to determine what direction Johnny should move as he searches his environment for clues to a secret code that will save his life. Other keys determine what actions he or his companion, Jane, will take during fight scenes.

The results are instantaneous--you direct Johnny to throw a punch at a bad guy and the scene cuts to a cleverly integrated shot of him doing just that. If you have him do nothing or time your punches badly, he gets clobbered.

The content of the game is not quite up to the standards of the technology. It’s a kick when you successfully direct Johnny to find a key or other item that makes the game progress, but the scavenger hunt is not nearly as intriguing as in Myst or Doom. The fights are challenging at first, but then get repetitive. The direction, acting, design and special effects are generally terrific, however.

Finally, two big caveats. Being the first on your block to own this breakthrough will not come cheap. Although likely to be discounted in stores, the suggested retail price of the CD-ROM is $69.95.

Also, this game will only play on high-level equipment. The Windows version out now requires at minimum a 486/DX2 computer running at 66Mhz. The Mac version, due out in about two weeks, will need at least a 68040/25Mhz machine to run successfully.