INTRODUCTION

    Aside from Infocom game interpreters, the Pocket PC platform hasn't had much action on the adventure gaming front. However, an exceptionally large, long, and exciting adventure game has been created by The Fade Team. When I first heard about the game, I was immediately intrigued because Fade was the first game of its kind to be released for the Pocket PC. It wasn't until I heard about Fade that I realized what a perfect platform the Pocket PC is for adventure gaming, largely because all the input is with a mouse, or in this case, a stylus. As the Pocket PC has been around for a considerable amount of time already, I began to wonder why there weren't more adventure games for it. After talking with Alex (AKA McloaD), one of the developers, and hearing about all the work they put into Fade, I quickly figured that out. I received Fade and got to work immediately, and after just a little bit of playing, I could tell all the work was definitely worth it.

SETUP

   The installer is distributed in the form of a single executable.

      When the installer is run, a window will open displaying Fade's README file. It will explain to you how to play the game. When finished, click Next to proceed with the installation or click Exit to abort the installation.

After clicking Next you are brought to another screen where the license agreement is displayed. When you finish reading through the license agreement you can then click Yes to continue with the installation or click No causing the installer to quit.



Once the license agreement is accepted, Fade is installed through ActiveSync.

PROGRAM FEATURES

    When Fade is started, a loading screen is displayed while the game puts everything it needs into memory.



    On my Jornada 548, this takes about 15-20 seconds. However, it is well worth the wait. I am then presented with the title screen.



    Here, you can make a new game, load a game, save a game, read the credits, or quit. While loading/saving you can choose from 3 different slots. When you save, it stores your current game position, a screenshot of where you are (displayed at the load/save screen), and how long you've been playing.



    At first, being the compulsive saver that I am, I didn't like the fact that it had only 3 save slots, but I got used to it quickly. I had been playing for quite a while when I realized that there was no reason to save other than to keep your place so you can resume the game at another time. There is no reason for you to have to go back in the game, nor is there any time where you can die, causing you to start from the beginning. After taking a minute to become accustomed to the menus, I began the game and took a couple minutes to become accustomed to the UI (User Interface).



    There are four buttons in the UI, each of which I have outlined in a different color. The first button is indicated by a red circle. When clicked, this button brings you back to the menu. The second button, is indicated by a green circle. When this button is clicked, it displays your logbook.



    When something important happens, you automatically write what happened and your thoughts on it down in the log book. This is a good place to check for what you need to do next, or for more information on your current task. The third button on the UI is indicated by a blue circle. This button, when clicked, will display your inventory.



    Here is where you can access the items you've collected so far. You collect a wide variety of interesting items throughout the game, and using this menu, you can use an item with other things in the landscape, or combine an item with another item in your inventory. Finally, the fourth button in the UI which I have outlined with a yellow circle, when clicked, will display a list of exits in your current area. You can then choose where you want to go when you're done with your current location. After my quick review of the UI, I moved on to the game.

    While playing Fade, you can click on virtually anything in the room and be presented with several options on what you would like to do with the object you selected.



    Certain things can be inspected. When they are, a zoomed view of the object is displayed allowing for a more in-depth look.



    You meet a great many people throughout the game, and have a great many conversations with them. I found this was done quite easily with Fade's dialog system.



    When the person you are having a conversation with speaks, their text will be highlighted in yellow. Most of the time, you will then be presented with a couple of options of what you would like to say.

    Fade is quite a large game, and as such, includes a wide variety of locations.

    All of these have been modeled by the fantastic artists of The Fade Team with the help of Blender. Thanks to Alex, I was able to get a screenshot of this in action.



Final Product:

In addition to the amazing 3d renderings, Fade includes:

Cutscenes



Varying Times of Day



Strange People and Humorous Dialog



Including Repetitive Insinuations Regarding ASPCA No-Nos



    However, the thing you'll most likely find yourself doing is solving puzzles and the like. In Fade, there are many times where you must discover clues

and gather evidence, maybe to bring to the police station?

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

    As I said, Fade is a LARGE game. It demands a whopping 11.5 MBs of storage space and 10.5 MBs of program memory! Luckily, Fade runs great off of a storage card. Fade currently supports all 3 major Pocket PC processors (ARM, MIPS, SH3). The Fade Team warns that the SH-3 version is untested, but you know what? I just played the whole thing through and encountered no problems, so I just tested it. Go SH-3!

BUGS AND WISHES

    There are only two things that I see a problem with in Fade, and both have to do with the English version. The first thing is that a lot of French is still in there from the translation, and that needs to be gotten rid of. The second, is that the translation can be difficult to understand at some points in the game and that might want to be edited as well. Other than that, this game is absolutely perfect!

PURCHASING

    The game can be purchased from GameLoft Pocket for $29.95. If you don't have this game yet, get it! It's amazing! It took me 9 hours and 28 minutes to completely finish and that was with a walkthrough from the developers, which helped a lot, I can assure you. This should last you for hours and hours, and if you don't buy it for the game, at least buy it for the story. I played the game all the way through, and the plot was extremely interesting and unpredictable right up to the end. However, if you don't want to take my word for it, and you want to try it out first for yourself, you can download a demo from The Fade Site.

PROS

• First Game of Its Kind for Pocket PC

• Great UI

• Great Story

• Unpredictable

• Amazing 3D Art

• Long

• Humorous

• Great Dialog System

• Great Cutscene System

• Supports SH-3 Processors! WHOOHOO!

CONS

• Some French Left in the English Version

• Some Bad French->English Translation

• Some Puzzles Very Hard