Set in a dystopian future, Robert Foster in a comic book style game, entered the gaming scene in 1994. With a dark wasteland feel to it, Beneath A Steel Sky gave its players adventure, danger and a lot of humor. This classic adventure game has held its own through the years, remaining one of the most loved point-and-click personal computer games ever.
Game History
Designed by Charles Cecil and graphic designer Dave Gibbons Beneath A Steel Sky is a comic book-like, cyberpunk rendering by Revolution Software. It was the studio’s follow up work to Lure of The Temptress.
Originally released on the market on 15 floppy discs, it was later released on CD. In the gaming world, SCUMMVM is a system that is basically a DOS emulator designed so that users can play the original LucasArts adventure games on their personal computers. It stands for Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion Virtual Machine.
Players can simply get the latest version from the SCUMMVM website. Add Beneath A Steel Sky and you will be up and running for free legally. Thanks to Revolution Software making the source code for the game available, it has been considered freeware since 2003. The game was released initially on Amiga with additional PC releases. There was also an iPhone release in 2009.
Characters
Robert Foster, named appropriately by his foster guardians who find him in the Australian Outback, is the protagonist of the game who, in spite of the dark feel and theme of the game keeps things relatively light. Joey, Robert’s sidekick, wisecracks and jokes throughout the game, helping as well to keep things humorous.
One interesting fact about Beneath A Steel Sky is that it is one of the first games to have NpC’s, or non-player characters, be able to carry on dialogue apart from the main character’s pursuits. The game earned an award for “Best Dialogue” from PC Gamer Magazine.
Storyline
Set in an Australian city of the future, where things are clearly not ideal, Robert Foster has been kidnapped from his home in the Gap, where his helicopter crashed and left him orphaned.
Somehow and for some unknown reason, our protagonist has been taken to live in the pollution covered hustle and bustle of the tall meandering buildings.The upper-class citizens of the city live on the ground level where it is easier to breath.
The lower classes are relegated to living on the upper levels where the smog is thick from the factories and manufacturers. With the aid of his robot friend Joey, Robert’s goal in the game is to get back to the Gap, avoiding peril throughout the game.
The puzzles in the game can be solved by acquiring items listed on the inventory, through dialogue or using items in certain appropriate situations. It is advisable to use the guide in order to solve the puzzles if you are a new player, as it is easy to get sidetracked and stuck.
System Requirements
If you have the Beneath A Steel Sky data files, it is relatively simple to run it on your modern hardware with SCUMMVM, as it simply replaces the games executables. It can run on Windows, Dreamcast, Mac OS X, Pocket PC, AmigaOS, Linux, and PS 2.