Scrapland review

The first thing you'll note about Scrapland is the name before it – American Mcgee. This man, this almost legendary game designer, has dabbled in some of the most popular games in PC history, most notably Doom 2, Quake and Alice. How then, does his most recent effort (and only effort for quite some time) stand up against the behemoths of today's market? Rather well, actually.

Scrapland places you in the role of D-tritus, a robot who ends up landing his ship on a huge floating planet of junk, aptly named Scrapland. The planet was originally a human paradise, but centuries of destructive exploitation reduced it to a pile of useless scrap metal. The robots that were left behind decided to create their own home, and in doing so banned all humans from their new scrap planet. A civilization arose, hosting a large array of different robot species and a financial system with which a thriving city, "Chimera", grew upon. Add to this 'the great database' - a system whereby you effectively live forever - and it's a nice place for a robot to live. Until now.

Categorising Scrapland into a specific genre would make describing the game a lot easier, but it's one of those rare games that can't be categorised explicitly, which is the wonderful thing. It's a huge pot of ideas and styles of previous games all poured into one, with a little ingenious design, eventually boiling down to a marvellous game that really is a lot of fun to play.

The game is essentially mission based, with D-tritus quickly being recruited by a city paper to obtain photos for money. While you're off completing tasks in your new freelance photographer role, you are given side missions that you may or may not want to do. The main plot however, centres around the murder of the Chimera archbishop, and you are coincidentally dumped right in the middle of it. It's your task to gather clues and evidence while avoiding anyone that may want to keep the truth a secret. Scrapland may be an action/adventure game, but there are hints of a mystery there too.

If you're wondering if Scrapland has anything in common with Grand Theft Auto, then you'd be right. It borrows the core game concept and alters it to fit the different style of game. You have a main plot route which you can fast track if you desire, and then you have all the diversionary routes that are not essential, but fun (and rewarding) if you take them. This provides a sizeable amount of freedom to do what you will, but eventually you have to progress through the plot route in order to get anywhere. I suppose if forced, you could consider Scrapland as being a first-person shooter, but it also borrows ideas from Descent, Wipeout and even Thief!

Getting from A to B in Chimera is quite simple; you fly. Big, colourful ships are the order of the day, and there are plenty to choose from. The model you're initially given when you arrive on Scrapland is quite rubbish (forgive the pun), but as you progress through the game and complete missions, you gain access to new hull types, better weapons and faster engines. It's your choice whether you use them though, as they consist of plans which are used in an assembly shop to construct your own, completely custom ship. There's nothing to stop you having a huge dreadnaught bristling with weapons, or a small speedy ship that is designed to outrun everyone. You can even own multiple ships, although more money is required if you don't recycle an existing ship. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to obtain currency in Chimera.