Rama

Prepare to rendezvous with Rama all over again

• Rama
• Sierra On-Line
• Windows/Mac CD-ROM
• MSRP $54.95

ore than just a game, Rama is a computer epic that blends and at the same time becomes part of the world of Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee. The game is set entirely aboard the cylindrical spacecraft Rama that first entered Earth space, and millions of fans' imaginations, in the classic Clarke novel Rendezvous at Rama. The game begins as a highly trained International Space Agency Team is dispatched to explore and investigate this extremely advanced alien ship and to try and gain an understanding of its technology.

The quest to solve the mystery of Rama lies in the hands of the ISA Team, but it appears almost immediately that there is a plot, or plots within plots, among the team members. Hidden agendas begin to show up from the moment the main character Ace, who is controlled by players, arrives on Rama. It is up to Ace to work along with the other team members to explore Rama but also to uncover or expose any plot to undermine the work of the ISA.

The game's interface is a simple first-person experience of the world around Ace. Ace moves through Rama, picking up items that can be stored in inventory and interacting with the eight other team members. Most of the game involves solving small puzzles and accomplishing simple tasks that all add together toward a final goal. To assist players, Ace is accompanied by Puck, a sort of holographic AI who explains things along the way.

Rama is an intriguing world with a complex mystery. The game can be a little frustrating since puzzles and challenges demand that previous clues have already been found. If players get off the set track, it may be difficult to get back on again. Arthur C. Clarke makes some pleasing appearances, offering suggestions, play tips and his own insight into the mysterious and marvelous experience on Rama. The CD-ROM also includes an interview with Arthur C. Clarke and a full chapter from the upcoming novel 3001.

However, the game is disappointing as an interactive movie since characters talk to Ace with obviously pre-determined dialog, much of which is filler, and then walk away. It's up to players to decide if information is filler, a red herring or a real clue. The game world itself rendered in beautiful and rich graphics, but the amount of Rama that can actually be seen is a little limited. A minor disappointment is that that the actors obviously did most of their work on a blue screen and were later fit into the action -- they walk on the screen to say their lines and then leave. But still it's nice to interact with, or rather watch, real people instead of digital cartoons.

In the final evaluation, the blending of the actors and the backgrounds usually works. And beyond that, Rama offers a challenging mix of puzzles and mysteries to solve, and it should fulfill the expectations of Myst or The Dig fans as well as those who enjoyed the novels by Clarke and Lee.

I enjoyed exploring Rama but never felt a part of the team. These people would come and talk to me for 30 seconds, tell me way too much information and then leave! -- Peter

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