I finished my first run through the game the other day. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was interesting to see how the game changed after this first version. Here’s a basic rundown, accompanied with pictures. Sorry they’re not direct feed, but I don’t have the equipment to do that here. And most of them turned out fine, but a few are kinda wonky, so my apologies. The game runs fine on my monitor, but some distortion gets thrown in during the photographing process (most noticably the text becoming blurred). Snake Plissken's direct feed captures (
viewtopic.php?t=1048) will give you a better idea of the image nature of the game (though I also like the softer look these photos give it).
Again, there are some spoilers in the summary and pictures; you'll be okay if you've played the game once, though.
First, as most of you know there are no anime sequences in the game, so in that sense it’s a lot like Snatcher. There is movement (like the driving sequences and such), but the scenes that were later turned into anime are presented using a series of hand-drawn images.
A big difference is the way it starts. The game begins in Old LA, without any narration regarding Beyond Coast. You hear about the accident from Jonathan’s monologue and read about it in the newspaper clippings on the wall in his office. I actually prefer it this way, since you aren’t given any idea it was sabotaged, and by one of the Policenauts. When you go to the Beyond Corner in AMM and click on the Yuri, you see a flashback to the accident. You see the same flashback in Act 5 when Salvatore reveals he sabotaged it.
Another thing I like about this version is that all the graphics are hand-drawn, meaning no CG. I like the consistency that has. Most characters also look slightly different than the later versions, as AIC redesigned the characters to adapt them for the anime sequences. You can see these differences in the pictures. Also present is motion in the stills not found in the console versions. Characters’ earrings dangle back and forth, Jonathan’s finger is fidgeting around on the spaceplane, Gatse’s hand moves when you talk to him, etc. As you can see in the pictures, many locations look different, too. Because of this, there are some clickable objects present not found in the console versions, and vice versa. You also have the nice talking head portraits, but no subtitles. However, after you’ve finished the game once, you do get the option to turn the voice and heads off and play through the game with clickable subtitles.
The music is pretty much the same, though some placement is different. When Lorraine first appears, you hear Call Your Name instead of L’Amour Impossible, for instance. Some songs from the later versions are missing, like Still Walking (as there’s no summary screen when you load a file) and Home (the very end of Act 7). Speaking of which, you can actually read many of the titles (printed in English) on the sides of the CDs in Karen’s house. There is also English voice in the game! When you arrive at the airport, you can hear the PA system saying things like, "Ladies and gentlemen, Metro Airways Flight 566 is now ready for boarding at Gate 16. Metro Airways Flight 566 now boarding at Gate 16" and "This is the final call for TransEurope Express Flight 106 to Paris, Frankfurt, and Rome now boarding at Gate 12. Final call for Trans Europe Express, Gate 12" etc.
There is also a lot of dialogue present in this version that was removed in later versions for space and tempo; I’d say about an hour’s worth. It’s actually all worthwhile stuff, fleshing out the world and giving you more information about the characters. A lot of the text in the game is slightly different, too. Here’s a comparison of Jonathan’s opening monologue:
PC98
Jonathan: My name's Jonathan Ingram. 30 years ago, I was a Policenaut on the space colony known as Beyond Coast. Of course, it feels like it was practically yesterday, thanks to that EMPS accident that sent me drifting through space. They're vivid memories. I’m a regular Taro Urashima, except in my case I didn’t get any fancy souvenirs. That accident took everything from me. Now I'm a private eye-cum-negotiator in this sinner's paradise, Old LA. My wife, friends, my job... I left them all behind. Here I am 30 years later, all by myself. Now all my memories involve this city. In the past, being a private eye mainly meant spying on adulterers and searching for runaways. In today’s LA, we negotiate with child kidnappers and human traffickers, intermediate ransom exchanges, track down escaped cons, support insurance investigators... It's dangerous work.
Snow in LA... Gives new meaning to the word "Homesick". Me, this city, Home... We’ve all gone nuts. But for a gumshoe at the end of his rope like me, if that kinda scum didn't exist, I wouldn't be able to make a living. I guess I just have to keep taking it one day at a time...
Consoles
J: My name's Jonathan Ingram. 30 years ago, I was a Policenaut on the space colony known as Beyond Coast. Of course, it feels like it was practically yesterday, thanks to that EMPS accident that sent me drifting through space. They're vivid memories. I had a wife, friends, a job... I left them all behind. That accident took everything from me. Now I'm a private eye-cum-negotiator in this sinner's paradise, Old LA. I negotiate with child kidnappers and human traffickers, intermediate ransom exchanges, track down escaped cons... It's dangerous work. But for a guy at the end of his rope like me, if that kinda scum didn't exist, I wouldn't be able to make a living. I guess I just have to keep taking it one day at a time...
Then the start of Act 7:
PC98
Meryl: How’s the chief doing?
Jonathan: He still hasn’t regained consciousness.
M: Jonathan, APs and EMPS have gathered at the Tokugawa Building.
J: Yeah. They’re waiting for me. They wouldn’t come shoot up a hospital.
M: It looks like Tokugawa completely controls BCP. Even this hospital, too... It’s just you and me now. We can’t stand up to Tokugawa or Gatse here. I tried calling some guys at BCP for backup, but...
J: It’s no use.
M: They’re all looking the other way. They’re too afraid of them. Jonathan, we have to get off Beyond. I know a couple of smuggling routes.
J: But what about Anna and Marc? And Karen and Ed?
M: We can take them with us.
J: No, we can’t move Karen or Ed in their conditions.
M: We’ll be killed! These guys are totally above the law. No one’s gonna help us.
J: Meryl, have you ever seen the movie "High Noon"? It’s an old Western from the 20th century.
M: Don’t tell me you’re going?
J: I’ve always run away from my problems in the past. Like with Lorraine...
M: What are you talking about?!
J: There are things I gotta do. I have to keep my promise to Lorraine.
M: Jonathan, you don’t stand a chance! You dying won’t help anything! They’ll have won.
J: I can’t let them get away with this. As a Policenaut.
M: Don’t be a fool! The Policenauts are over!
J: The Policenauts mean a hell of a lot to me! Besides, we have to get Gatse’s marrow to save Karen.
M: Jonathan, it’s a trap! Think about it.
J: No, they’ve gone too far. I’m going to fight.
M: ...All right. Count me in, then. I hate hanging around hospitals.
J: Meryl, there’s something I want to give you.
M: Don’t talk like that.
J: My cigarettes.
M: Your cigarettes?
J: Think of them as...everything I’ve lived with until now.
M: ...Okay.
J: Thanks.
Consoles
M: How’s the chief doing?
J: He still hasn’t regained consciousness.
M: Jonathan, APs and EMPS have gathered at the Tokugawa Building.
J: Yeah. They’re waiting for me.
M: It’s just you and me now. We can’t stand up to Tokugawa or Gatse here. I tried calling some guys at BCP for backup, but...
J: It’s no use.
M: They’re all looking the other way. They’re too afraid of them. Jonathan, we have to get off Beyond.
J: No, we can’t just leave Karen and Ed like this.
M: We’ll be killed! No one’s gonna help us.
J: I’ve always run away from my problems in the past. Like with Lorraine...
M: What are you talking about?!
J: There are things I gotta do. I have to keep my promise to Lorraine.
M: Jonathan, you don’t stand a chance!
J: I can’t let them get away with this. As a Policenaut.
M: Don’t be a fool! The Policenauts are over!
J: The Policenauts mean a hell of a lot to me! Besides, we have to get Gatse’s marrow to save Karen.
M: Jonathan, it’s a trap! Think about it.
J: No, they’ve gone too far. I’m going to fight.
M: ...All right. Count me in, then. I hate hanging around hospitals.
J: Meryl, there’s something I want to give you.
M: Don’t talk like that.
J: My cigarettes.
M: Your cigarettes?
J: Think of them as...everything I’ve lived with until now.
M: ...Okay.
J: Thanks.
Some scenes play out differently as well. When Karen comes on to Jonathan in Act 3, you have the option to accept or reject her advances. If you choose accept, you see the two of them moving in to kiss each other, with the screen fading out just before they meet. Then the phone rings and when Jonathan picks up he says to Ed, "You always interrupt things for me." Then afterwards there’s the scene where Karen is pointing the gun at Jonathan, then at the end she says, "Now get your butt over here...and give me another kiss" so it seems they do kiss the first time. There are other extra elements like this scattered around the game – when Jonathan and Ed retrieve the capsules and leaf from Redwood in Act 2, Redwood makes Jonathan sign for them. They then used his signature to forge documents for smuggled cargo containing the motorcycle on the ASL flight. The astronaut also talks to Ed just before Redwood shoots him at AMM in Act 6. Then when Jonathan confronts Chris at the end of Act 6, they talk about the linear rail incident, and how she was on the train.
The bomb defusal is also slightly different. Not only does Anna arrive in a squad car before Ed tells Jonathan it’s fake, but the bomb is shown on the screen at a 45 degree angle, making the maze more difficult. There is no red blinking light for the screws, though, and the cords at the end are easier to follow.
Well, I guess that’s about it. I’ve started a second play-through -- any requests for pictures?
Lorraine looks somewhat more aged here.
Much more snow on the street in this version.
You see this one-still flashback when you examine the Yuri on display in AMM. It also appears again in Act 5.
Still images don't do the car chase scene justice. The animation is incredibly smooth; I prefer it much more than the CG in the console versions.
The bodies are suspended by wires, some attached directly into their bones.