However, in and of themselves these aspect are lacking. The puzzles are spatial in orientation, such as arranging figures to access a bank account or redirecting energy pulses to break into a house. Strangely, they tend not to be visually pleasing and are sometimes frankly annoying. The puzzles are not nearly as intricate or engaging as they could be and are the weakest aspect of Burn:Cycle.

Veterans of Doom, Marathon and other first-person shoot 'em ups will be disappointed with the action component of Burn:Cycle. Cutter can be shot and killed, but the likelihood of that happening is slim. Since the player is allowed little movement, Cutter can only stand there and shoot as Softech security agents slide out from behind walls and drop down from overhangs. Not exciting stuff. A little more mobility and a few more agents might have spiced this section up enough so players would feel some danger.

The overall story line is well executed and brings together all aspects of the game smoothly and reasonably. Although it seems many of the ideas were stolen from Blade Runner (the game is actually advertised as having a "Blade Runner style") and a variety of William Gibson stories, there is a certain amount of charm to the gritty characters and dialogue. In its 256-color graphics mode, Burn:Cycle is relatively choppy, but in the end attractive enough with its dark disclosure of the future to be commendable. And one truly nice thing about the game is that it is unlikely to crash a player's computer.