The X-Files

The most striking thing about the X-Files game is how much it feels like an episode of the show. The details are impeccable, from the creepy opening credits to original video footage of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson sniffing out clues. You play the part of a young agent assigned to assist Mulder when Scully becomes indisposed—and things go from mildly unsettling to pretty darn scary real soon. Armed with a cell phone, a laptop, and various other cool gadgets, you hunt the alien menace through four CDs worth of game. Fans of the show will eat this up—it’s like usurping Chris Carter and directing your own installment of the series. Anyone looking for an involving role-playing game (that doesn’t call for black lace panties and a whip) should check it out. Although the action is slow and relies primarily on puzzle solving, the first-person perspective is absorbing and the seamlessness with which the “game” and the video footage blend adds to the realism. Best of all, when confronted by characters, you are given a choice of responses: funny, indifferent, or paranoid.