This is an action-adventure game with very detailed and nicely done graphics that takes place in Earth’s future. The unique robotic future world created has complete freedom of movement throughout all parts of the world. There are also 15 character types that can be transformed into, each with its own personal and unique abilities. D-Tritus is the only robot with transformation abilities, but must be careful not to get detected when impersonating someone else in a restricted area. The gunship that is built as the mode of transportation for death racing, combat and cruising the neighborhood has hundreds of combinations of equipment available for use on it. Everything fits on anything. What a nice concept. If you don’t like the gunship you have just drop by a parking lot and take whatever is there. If you don’t like it then sell it to get money and go get another gunship. Use the money to upgrade the gunship. The upgrades travel to any gunship D-Tritus has and he can have more than one.

The story starts with D-Tritus (Dee-Treat-us) Debris as the main character. I think his middle name is “Like”. D-Tritus is literally a self-made man (robot). I mean he made himself from scrap in some distant scrap yard and came to Chimera (Ky-mir-ă).Chimera is the moon orbiting the destroyed wasteland of Earth (scrap yard). Once on Chimera; D-Tritus is assigned a job, in fact the only job no-one will take. The job is that of a reporter. What better way to discover a story line of murder and mayhem then being a reporter? The trick is to use all the skills a front line reporter can muster, such as being stealthy, a bit deceitful, very inquisitive and quit witted. Before you can start your adventure you must be scanned for any slimy viscous substances (to make sure you are 100% robot) and have your blueprint put into the GDB (great data base). Then you are off to discover the wonders of this challenging world and what is causing all the mayhem.

The planet is riddled with chaos and crime. The police system is corrupt; they are never around when you need them and always there to catch you doing an unfavorable act. They try to bust you for minor flying violations and extort money from everyone in the name of “protection”. Cops patrol everywhere protecting cargo ships and annoying citizens. The politicians lavish in luxury and try to spend as much time in the news headlines as possible. The free publicity helps them win elections. The bankers not only will keep track of your money they have the ability to pilfer your cash if you are not careful. The Arch Bishops live in the most lavish of environments along with the bishops. Their importance is they control the GDB that will give you your life back, for a nominal charge of course. Does that sound like confession or what? The scrap yard where the wreckage is kept and you get the spare parts for your gunship looks like a Mexican wrecking yard. The crazy gambler provides interesting and dangerous sideline entertainment bets. Every third bet you win you get a chance at a super bet and the reward is always a very good upgrade for your gunship. It’s like dealing in the sport bars on the streets in main town Tijuana. The whole structure is inundated with the politics and lifestyle one encounters south of the border. I know because this is where I live. The more I played this game the more I enjoyed taking advantage and managing the cultural challenges I face in day to day life.

Interesting side thought - the word Chimera has its base in an Ancient 7th Century BC Greek myth as a god-like beast that causes chaos, devastating the land with its fiery breath, but is slain by a single hero. D-Tritus is our hero. In modern day Chimera is a web based browser Unix based machines running the X window system designed by the “Information Science Research Institute” of UNLV that handles a large data base. “Chimera combines the social and technological sciences to generate insights into personal and social use of information and communication technologies by understanding people; what they do, how they do it, and how this changes over time. We believe that only by doing this can we design and build successful products and services or accurately inform corporate strategies and public policies”. Sound like a GDB? Also the UCSF Chimera is a extensive molecular graphics modeling program that will work on about any OS known to date and has been extensively designed to maximize and leverage the latest advances in hardware. Also a Chimera in medicine is a person composed of two genetically distinct types of cells. Guess that would make it easy to design robotic type materials with human personalities.

When I first started the playing the game I used the standard x-box game controller, but got very frustrated with the difficulty I had in moving about on foot inside the expansive buildings and flying my gunship through the street during death races and in combat situations. I switched to a “Thrustmaster” joystick and the gaming control was much easier. Isn’t that like a Mexican car? If the Ford steering wheel doesn’t work use a General Motors one.

At first glance I thought this was a young person's game and then noticed the T rating. As I played the game the truth came forward. This game provided many hours of enjoyment for me both intellectually as well as entertainment. Trying to find a good breaking point to rest is almost impossible. The immersion and focus used during the game for sleuthing along with the heart stopping death racing and combat makes time non existent. The quote “All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream” from Edgar Allen Poe would fit this game very well.