Snatcher (Video Game)

Snatcher is a cyberpunk graphic adventure game.

Developed by Hideo Kojima the same lead developer for Metal Gear Sold and the recent Death Stranding video. Kojima wanted Snatcher to have a cinematic feel, so the setting and story are heavily influenced by science fiction films, especially Blade Runner, and other cyberpunk works such as Akira and The Terminator.

Released in 1988, now experience this classic for yourself on the web.

Storyline:
Snatcher is set in a future East Asian metropolis where humanoid robots dubbed “Snatchers” have been discovered killing humans and replacing them in society. The player takes on the role of Gillian Seed, an amnesiac who joins a Snatcher hunting agency hoping it will help him remember his past. Gameplay takes place primarily through a menu-based interface through which the player can choose to examine items, search rooms, speak to characters, explore a semi-open world, and perform other actions.

Snatcher is set in the mid-21st century, fifty years after a biological weapon known as Lucifer-Alpha killed much of the world’s population. In Neo Kobe City, a metropolis on an artificial island in eastern Asia, humanoid robots dubbed “Snatchers” have been recently discovered killing humans, donning their skin as a disguise, and replacing them in society. The Neo Kobe government closes the city from the outside world and establishes JUNKER,[b] a task force to hunt Snatchers. The player takes on the role of Gillian Seed, an amnesiac who can only remember that his past is somehow related to Snatchers. He starts working at JUNKER in hopes that hunting Snatchers will bring his past to light.

After Gillian Seed arrives at the JUNKER headquarters, he is introduced to Chief Cunningham and receives a robot navigator named “Metal Gear” from JUNKER’s engineer Harry Benson. Metal Gear receives a distress call from Jean-Jack Gibson, the only other JUNKER agent, so Gillian travels there with Metal Gear, only to find a pair of Snatchers have killed him. They try to pursue the Snatchers, but are forced to make a quick escape as the factory explodes. Gillian begins searching for the identity of the Snatchers that murdered Jean-Jack, and after searching his house and speaking with his informant, Gillian identifies a pair of suspects. When hunting down the Snatchers, he is nearly killed but is saved by Random Hajile, a Snatcher bounty hunter. Random joins Gillian and Metal Gear as they travel to a hospital Jean-Jack identified as suspicious during his investigation. They learn it has been abandoned for several years and harbors a secret basement where they find skeletons of Snatcher victims. Among them, they find Chief Cunningham, meaning the JUNKER chief is a Snatcher. Some Snatchers attack the group, but Random distracts them to allow Gillian and Metal Gear to escape. Back at JUNKER headquarters, Gillian kills the Chief and speaks to Harry briefly before he dies, having been mortally wounded by the Chief.[c] Immediately after this, Gillian receives a call from his estranged wife Jamie, telling him she is being held in the “Kremlin”.

Gillian and Metal Gear travel to an abandoned church resembling the Kremlin, where they find Jamie being held captive by a scientist named Elijah Modnar, who explains Gillian’s past. He, his father and Jamie were involved in a secret experiment taken under by the Soviet Union over 50 years prior during the Cold War to create Snatchers, which were designed to kill and replace world leaders, giving the Soviets more power. Gillian was a CIA agent spying on the project, who married Jamie and had a child with her, Harry Benson. Gillian and Jamie were placed in a cryogenic sleep when Elijah released Lucifer-Alpha into the atmosphere. The pair were saved by the army, and lost their memories due to the extended period of time they had been frozen. Having become corrupt with power, Elijah reveals that he intends for the Snatchers to wipe out and replace humanity as proof of mankind’s follies; he also reveals that Random was an anti-Snatcher created by his late father based on Elijah’s appearance and memories, and presents his deactivated body. At this point, Random reactivates and holds Elijah at bay, allowing Gillian and Jamie to escape. Metal Gear activates an orbital weapon, which destroys the Snatcher base, killing Elijah and Random. Having learned of a larger Snatcher factory in Moscow, Gillian prepares to embark on a mission there in the hope of finally destroying the Snatcher menace and rekindling his romance with Jamie.

Gameplay:
Snatcher is a graphic adventure game with visual novel elements. The player takes the role of protagonist Gillian Seed as he investigates and hunts “Snatchers”, dangerous humanoid robots disguised as humans roaming Neo Kobe City. The game’s visuals are static images with some animations that display at the top of the screen. There is no point-and-click interface, with all actions made through a text menu with commands such as move, look, and investigate. The game’s puzzles and dialogue trees are simple, lending to an emphasis on linear storytelling. Sometimes character panels are shown below the main graphics window during conversations to convey their facial expressions.

(SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA)

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