With the advent of this amazing new Compact Disc technology, some game developers, filled with- depending on who you talk to- hubris or naive enthusiasm, decided that now was the time that they would revolutionise gaming with a grand new idea: Interactive Movies. Much Full-Motion Video was recorded and spliced into small clips, which were in turn packed around an even tinier plot. The 'player' then chose from a series of options (where the word 'series' here means: 'pick one or the other'), and the consequences played out on the screen. There were a couple of decent games like Dragon's Lair and Phantasmagoria, as well as some truly woeful titles like Night Trap and Harvester.

Despite enjoying some early success and interest, much like Kriss-Kross, the Interactive Movie vanished by the mid 90's, destined only to resurface in an evolved form in games like Spycraft and a few half-decent Tex Murphy games. Now, almost a decade on (well not really, but it sounds more exciting!), the Interactive Movie returns, with nary a frame of low-budget FMV to be seen. But is Fahrenheit worth watching?

The answer is a resounding yes: Fahrenheit is without a doubt the best Interactive Movie you'll ever play. Interestingly, the entire game is rendered in 3D, and in every location control of the camera is solely in your hands. Indoor arenas often take clever cinematic angles to heighten the tension, while in larger outdoor spaces you'll have full 360 degree rotation around your character. In either circumstance, moving the right thumbstick allows you to pan the camera multi-directionally to afford you a better view and a more flexible angle if necessary. The effect is almost as though you are directing your own big-budget thriller as well as starring and writing your own script.

Indeed, any adventure game worth its salt needs to have a compelling storyline, and Fahrenheit has one of the most intriguing premises in a videogame. You are Lucas Kane, an average Joe who works at a bank, enjoys unwinding to a little Shakespeare (okay, maybe not so average') and enjoying a meal at a nearby diner. Yet one chilly night as you're sitting on the can, a strange force possesses you, and compels you to carve strange symbols into your arms before sending you to ritually murder another patron as he's about to zip up his fly.

You'll play as Lucas initially, but as you flee from the scene the action suddenly jolts back to the diner, where you'll now be controlling a pair of detectives investigating the seemingly random slaying. Playing as both fugitive criminal and pursuing cops is an exciting and engaging plot device, and creates some really tense moments in the game. As a player, it puts you in a challenging position; who do you root for, do you leave behind evidence, do you try hard to find said evidence, and so on. You'll get to guide a few other characters along the way too, in fact, most of the main players will be user-controlled at one time or another.

The controlling itself is mildly infuriating; much like Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon and other games of its ilk, the directions you move in correspond to the particular scene you're in rather than the thumbstick itself. Put more simply, left isn't always just left, it's what they call 'character-relative', meaning directionality is in the eyes of the beholder. When transitioning between angles/scenes, you may suddenly find yourself moving in an undesirable direction. The controls aren't terribly responsive in the free-roaming mode either. It's more a nuisance than anything else though, simply because you don't often engage in any crucial actions during the adventuring sections, but during time-critical sequences, the awkward controls can easily be your downfall.

Fahrenheit makes extensive use of action sequences to advance the story, and you'll either love or hate them. Basically, two parallel circles appear on the screen to represent the thumbsticks, divided into the four major cardinal points. As each quadrant lights up, you have to push the corresponding direction on the relevant thumbstick to succeed. This ambidextrous affray requires more concentration than you might suspect, especially on higher difficulties and faster speeds. Failing to hit enough of the correct targets in these dexterity/agility challenges will see you 'fail' a particular sequence, which may lead to A) certain death or B) much pain being inflicted.

Either way, you will probably lose a 'life' if you fail these action sequences. You start with three though and can find another 3 along the way, so it doesn't automatically mean game over, man. Same goes for the second type of action sequence, which sees you vigorously alternating (read: button mashing) the left and right triggers to raise a bar. These are usually strength or endurance related challenges, like lifting weights or enduring gale-force winds in your apartment (don't ask).

These action sequences can be upwards of 20 separate combination sequences chained together in one long cinematic event, and while they can be difficult they are always rewarding- watching these action events is breathtaking at times, and it really feels as though you're in a cinema watching a blockbuster movie whose protagonist's fate rests solely in your controller-calloused hands.

In stark contrast to the action sequences, the rest of the game requires you to manage the much more mundane aspects of your character's mental health. As you'd well imagine, being possessed by the forces of evil and compelled to kill is a tad stressful, and for Lucas in particular you'll need to work hard to keep him sane. Oddly, this takes on a Sims -like quality; going to the toilet, washing your face, having a drink or a bite to eat are always the easiest ways to raise your mental health, as well as a few more, how shall we say, carnal pleasures that give you substantial, er, rise, in your happiness.

Yes, Fahrenheit has sex scenes, interactive ones in fact. It also has showering, strip-scenes, and white cotton panties. While a certain demographic is rushing off to buy the game immediately, it's worth pointing out that these are all plot-centric events, and none of which is gratuitous. In fact, it's refreshing to see a videogame tackle subject matter like this in a mature, relevant way that isn't solely there to agitate the pants of teenage boys. In fact, Fahrenheit is really an adult's adventure game, dealing with some grown-up themes and content. If you're only looking for digital d-cups and guns akimbo action, this really isn't the sort of title that will appeal to you.

Visually, Fahrenheit looks like the cross-platform title it is. Models are low in their polygon count, textures are quite basic and there's aliasing aplenty. Yet somehow the captivating, cinematic flair present in the game makes all these things seem trivial, and the chances are you'll be too engrossed in the world of Fahrenheit to even notice there's no normal-mapping or [insert fancy graphics technique here]. It's really evident that the creators of the game approached the project as though it actually was a movie, to the point that the director, David Cage, actually pops up at the beginning to talk to you about Fahrenheit and what he was trying to achieve.

As you would expect, all the dialogue in the game is spoken by the characters, including incidental extras like homeless people and bystanders in the park. Due to the frigid nature of Fahrenheit, it's too cold for there to be many people out on the streets, and the low population ensures a rock-solid framerate throughout the experience. The music is exceptional, ranging from licensed tracks from bands like Theory of a Deadman to haunting orchestral pieces composed especially for the game. Oddly, whenever Tyler, the African-American cop takes the scene, you'll be blasted with what could easily have been the soundtrack to a `70's skin-flick, which always seem jarring compared to the violins and other string instruments that make up the bulk of the soundtrack.

One of the key features marketed in Fahrenheit was that the player's actions would affect the outcome of the game. While this is true, the extent to which this occurs is pretty minimal, as is so often the case. Dying horribly or getting caught by the cops may technically be a 'branching outcome', but unless the game carries on afterwards, it really doesn't count. There are a few genuine examples in the game- missing a piece of evidence somewhere may require you to find more elsewhere to make your case, and failing some of the insight challenges will limit how much of the plot you actually get to understand.

But on the whole, the most varied outcomes are how your story ends. There's three all told, and while some are 'less good', there's no really perfect ending. It's hard to discuss the endgame of Fahrenheit without heavy spoilers, but suffice to say the game really loses the plot around three-quarters in. It's kind of disappointing in a way, but it's still enjoyable enough. The multiple endings are all reached during the same sequence, so experiencing all three only requires replaying a five-minute action event a few different ways.

Fahrenheit isn't a particularly long game; in fact it's easily beatable in less than 10 hours of playtime. Mucking around with the branching outcomes and multiple endings may add another hour, but only if you're really interested in experimenting. Collecting bonus cards along the way will allow you to unlock a great range of extras though, ranging from screenshots to playable action sequences. These allow you to relive a few of the best moments from the game, either by playing them or just watching it unfold. Just like all those Special Edition DVDs, Fahrenheit comes equipped with the gaming-equivalent of deleted scenes and blooper/gag reels, as well as some interesting behind-the-scenes features about the creation of the game. There's actually quite a bit of juicy content here for those who are interested, and it helps to make Fahrenheit one of the most complete, enjoyable adventure games on the Xbox.