Restricted Area (computer game)

The game is an action role-playing game that is heavily based on the genre founder Diablo . Many parallels can be seen in the gameplay of both titles. A special feature of Restricted Area is that, unlike most action role-playing games, it is not set in the classic fantasy scenario. Instead, the background story corresponds to cyberpunk and thus has many features of a dystopia . The developers spoke of a dark future scenario that is known from Blade Runner or Shadowrun .

The German dubbing, for which several professional dubbing actors were hired, was particularly advertised before it appeared. Among other things, the German dubbing voices of Arnold Schwarzenegger , Alicia Silverstone , Angelina Jolie and Jet Li .

Backstory

The world in the year 2083, environmental destruction, climate catastrophes and nuclear wars have made the earth an inhospitable place. Hardly usable land remains. Desert and steppes, the so-called wastelands, have spread everywhere. The remaining population of the planet lives cooped up in the megacities controlled by a weak world government that can hardly do anything without the consent of the seven gigantic megacorporations.

The few people who live outside the cities move through the wasteland as nomads , who are disparagingly called Low Techs. Many others are terribly disfigured by mutations and wander around mindlessly, attacking everything and everyone who is stupid enough to be near them. It is a dark and hopeless time, but there are countless opportunities to attain wealth and prestige for the few freelancers who have the courage to take on the fight.

Game flow

At the beginning of a new game the player has to choose one of four characters . Each character has individual skills and talents, so different ways of playing are required to master the game. In addition, not every mission is available for every character and the game ends differently depending on which character you have chosen at the beginning. The choice of the character also influences the level of difficulty , as a much more deliberate approach is sometimes necessary due to the respective strengths (see the section on characters).

If the player has decided on a character, the introductory sequence of the respective character is played to familiarize the player with his character and to introduce him to the story. Then the player finds himself in the safe city. As the game progresses, you keep coming back here. Some computer controlled characters ( NPCs ) populate the city. These offer various possibilities for interaction. Including, for example, buying and selling weapons or equipment , as well as access to random or story missions. Accepted missions can be viewed in the quest log. To carry out a mission, you have to start a conversation with glider pilot Jason. Via his conversation options, the player arrives at an overview map on which a location is drawn for each accepted mission.

The sequence of the missions is always very similar, as is typical for the genre, only the goal at the end of the mission is different. As a rule, the player fights his way through a multi-level dungeon that is populated by randomly placed opponents. The player receives experience points for deactivated opponents. If enough of these points have been collected, the character moves up one level. The player receives skill and development points for such level increases. If the player has achieved the objective, he can in most cases receive a reward from the client.

Characters

Johnson

Johnson is a former WDG employee. He is the expert in handling firearms. His skills mainly develop his ability to handle weapons and his resilience. Of all the characters, he is the easiest to play with. It is therefore particularly suitable for new players. He is spoken in the game by Thomas Danneberg , the German dubbing voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Victoria Williams

As a child, Victoria was abused by the Oxygenetic Group for PSI experiments. She represents the PSI talent in the game. She is spoken by Marion von Stengel , the German dubbing voice of Angelina Jolie.

Kenji Takahashi

As the son of a yakuza boss, he trained sword fighting as a child. He's the hand-to-hand combat expert in the game. He is spoken by Simon Jäger , the German dubbing voice of Jet Li.

Jessica Parker

In order to escape her perfectly planned life, she took refuge in cyberspace as a child . She now makes a living as a hacker . She is the only character in the game who has access to cyberspace. It is spoken by Dascha Lehmann , the German dubbing voice of Alicia Silverstone.

Reviews in gaming magazines

Single player reviews:

PC Games , issue 11/04: 82%
PC Action : 82%
GameStar , issue 11/2004: 75%

Web links

Restricted Area (computer game) at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

↑ Interview with Creative Director Jan Beuck (September 2004)
↑ Evaluation of the PC Games (October 2004)
↑ Evaluation of PC Action ( Memento from May 15, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) (October 2004)
↑ Rating of the GameStar (October 2004)

[1] Interview with Creative Director Jan Beuck (September 2004)

[2] Evaluation of the PC Games (October 2004)

[3] Evaluation of PC Action ( Memento from May 15, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) (October 2004)

[4] Rating of the GameStar (October 2004)