Burn:Cycle

Developer(s): Trip Media
Publisher: Philips Interactive Media
Released: 1994

Burn:Cycle is a first-person adventure game, and was considered one of the flagship CD-i exclusives when it was originally released (though of course it would be ported to home computers the following year). You play as Sol Cutter, a Johnny Mnemonic-style data courier, who, after a job gone wrong, finds himself infected with the Burn:Cycle virus, giving him only two hours to live. The game proceeds in something approximating real time, with a counter ticking down that you can check whenever you enter the menu, though in reality I found this time crunch not to be as stressful as I initially expected, as you’ll die frequently anyway, reload saved games, and even find some in-game ways to extend the deadline.

As the game opens, you’re thrown right into the action, with little explanation for who you are or how you got there. A woman, Kris, shouts at you through your comms, and as you try to make your way back to her and your getaway vehicle, you engage in point-and-click shootouts with enemy agents. Before you reach the exit, Kris is killed by an unseen gunman, and you’ll spend the rest of the game trying to save yourself from the virus and solve her murder. Shootouts are one of the many ways you’ll interact with the game world, though they’re fairly spread out, and it was often unclear to me whether I was armed at that moment in the story or not, as many bad choices end with you simply gunned down, with no possibility of firing back.

Most of the time you’ll be navigating your way through a 3D space, trying to find something to interact with. This isn’t one of those adventure games where you can click on almost anything and hear your protagonist’s thoughts on it, but I suppose you simply don’t have time for that anyway, what with the timebomb in your head and all. When you can interact with something, the cursor changes shape, and this often leads to a puzzle. Most of the puzzles in Burn:Cycle are logic-type puzzles, arranging some shapes or trying to connect some lines together, but you do have an inventory, and occasionally need to give something to someone or apply an item to a situation, which, as an old-school adventure game fan, I appreciated. Some of these puzzles are incredibly obtuse, and at least one I “solved” without being entirely clear what I did or why it even worked (fixing the car). The only time I got so helplessly stuck that I needed a walkthrough, the solution turned out to be something I’d already tried, except the exact pixel I needed to click was ultra-tiny, and my earlier attempt to click it had apparently failed, so that was frustrating.

Your actual objective at any given instant isn’t always clear, but you can helpfully get a little nudge sometimes by entering the menu, where Cutter might say something about heading to the church to drop off some of his data and get some spending money. I’d say my biggest gripe with Burn:Cycle is that the story was, well, kind of all over the place. Maybe they were trying to evoke the sense of a lived-in world, and a protagonist with a deep past, but instead it just felt like I was missing whole chapters of the narrative. Sometimes characters would do or say things that seemed liked they were supposed to mean something to me, and they just didn’t. I don’t want to give too much away about the late-game plot, but there were multiple times where some big twist would fall flat for me or suddenly Cutter would say he desperately needed something and I had no idea what he was talking about. Also, the story’s biggest twist is spoiled if you simply choose to exit back to the CD-i menu and let it show you the game’s credits, so be careful there.

For better or worse, Burn:Cycle is a perfect example of the full-motion video adventure game from the 90s. Actors you’ve never seen before and never will again do their best to emote in front of early green-screen tech. For the most part, the acting is at least B-movie acceptable, though some lines are a little mumbled, and there is no subtitle option. The non-FMV graphics are very hit-and-miss, and your reaction will depend on how much you’re already on board for the cyberpunk aesthetic (which is not really my thing). The music, on the other hand, is very strong, with a great soundtrack that really evokes the mood the game is going for. Though you’re always aware of the ticking clock hanging over your head, the ability to save anywhere, with seemingly unlimited save slots (though sometimes I wished I could save over a previous game, instead of always making a new save), makes it so the game isn’t too terribly punishing. In the end, I enjoyed my time exploring the “televerse” with Cutter and friends, but I wish I’d found the story more compelling, and that some of the puzzles had clearer objectives.

Graphics – 7
Goes hard into the 90s cyberpunk aesthetic, though your mileage may vary on how much you actually appreciate that

Sound – 9
The soundtrack is very strong, evoking the game’s mood nicely

Gameplay – 7
There are some good puzzles, and some notable gameplay variety, but occasionally it’s completely unclear what the game is asking you to do, and by what method this task can even be accomplished

Value – 7
You’ll probably spend more than two hours with it in the end, but this is still a fairly short experience

Reviewer’s Tilt – 7
I’m an adventure game fan, and can appreciate some B-movie silliness, but a stronger story and more engaging puzzles would’ve been appreciated

Final Score – 7.2