Policenauts
Policenauts is an interactive movie/graphic novel/adventure game with a hard science fiction storyline, written and directed by Hideo Kojima and published by Konami. It was originally released for the PC-9821 computer platform in 1994, followed by remakes for the 3DO in 1995 and for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1996. The game was never officially released outside of Japan, although there were plans for an English localization of the Saturn version. On August 24, 2009 (in honor of the 46th birthday of Hideo Kojima, the game's developer), an unofficial English translation patch was released on the Internet. The game is set mainly in the first-person perspective and uses a point-and-click interface: The player can move the cursor and have the protagonist (Jonathan Ingram) analyze objects in his environment or talk to other characters in the game. As in Snatcher, there are shooting interludes in this game, in which the player must defend his character against incoming enemies. The player can use the shooting trainer in the police station to test his reflexes and marksmanship. There are numerous puzzles in the game, including an event in which the player must disarm a bomb by following his partner's instructions. The console versions of the game all include support for their respective mouse peripherals. The Saturn version supports light weapons for the shooting passages. The game was an early example of extensive voice acting in video games. It also had a theme centered around space exploration, and occasional full-motion video scenes. The gameplay was largely similar to Snatcher, but with an added point-and-click interface and some first-person shooter segments. Policenauts also introduced summary screens to remind the player of the action when loading a save game, an element Kojima would later use in Metal Gear Solid. The PlayStation version of Policenauts could also read the memory card and display some Easter Egg dialogue when a save file from Konami's dating sim Tokimeki Memorial was present, a technique Kojima would later use in Metal Gear Solid.
Story
The game centers on Jonathan Ingram, one of five "Policenauts," astronauts with police training who are tasked with ensuring the safety of Beyond Coast, humanity's first fully operational space colony in 2013. Johnathan is testing a new space suit, but is accidentally drifted off into space and presumed dead by his colleagues. Thanks to the cryosleep module connected to the suit, he is found alive and well 25 years later. Three years later, Jonathan (now working as a private investigator in what was once Los Angeles) is visited by his former wife Lorraine, who asks for his help in solving the disappearance of her now-husband Kenzo Hojo. The only clues he has left behind are a torn leaf, a series of capsules and the word "Plato." Jonathan is initially reluctant to take her case, but after Lorraine leaves his office, she is attacked and murdered by a man in a black motorcycle suit. Unable to catch the culprit, Jonathan decides to fulfill his ex-wife's last wish and travels to the afterlife, where he reunites with his former partner from his time with the LAPD, Ed Brown, who agrees to help Jonathan investigate the circumstances of Hojo's disappearance and Lorraine's murder. During the course of the investigation, Jonathan and Ed discover that Becker and Tokugawa were involved in an illegal drug and organ trade to offset the negative effects of their long stay in space. Hojo had become involved in the business to save his daughter Karen, and eventually wanted out, only to be murdered. During an altercation with Becker, Jonathan records Becker's confession about the scheme and has Meryl broadcast the recording live to expose the scandal to the colonists. Ed saves Jonathan from death while Meryl and the rest of the cops arrest Tokugawa. Jonathan donates his bone marrow to Karen after learning that he is her biological father and returns to Earth.