What a story! While an engrossing cautionary tale about societal reform projects, it's also suggests some deep (and some trite) philosophical points as well:
1. If Perry (the protagonist, the player) is a simulation, might the greater world be as well (and then, of course, the player's world)?
2. Are the simulations really accurate?
3. Is Perelman (the creator of the simulation) truly being altruistic, or is he deliberately trying to sink the Plan?
4. Does Perry make the right choice at the end of the game?
5. Is the story of the game "fake", and the (early) simulation reality? Is it just one of Perry's written works?

The puzzles aren't too tough, but it can't be stressed enough that you MUST save at the beginning of the third "act".

For WinXP users, you'll want to play this in DOSBox. It just doesn't work right otherwise.

Neat interface; as the summary indicates, it's reminiscent of the Neuromancer game, though the resemblance goes deeper than that.

The game makes *substantially* more sense, not only in terms of plot but the interface and puzzles as well, if you've read When Gravity Fails and even more if you've read A Fire in the Sun as well. Of course, for die-hard Effinger fans, there are a lot of glaring mistakes or omissions that didn't make it into the game. Marîd's lack of a beard, for example. Same for the lifting of his status as a pariah. And a number of conversation topics that should exist simply don't (the late Lt. Okking, for example). However, the game does explain some odd continuity points between the first and second novels... which is nice.

The overall story is, like the Neuromancer game, a vague bastardization and simplification of the original novel's story. One of Friedlander Bey's "associates" is brutally murdered. Bey calls upon you to exact his revenge. Following up on seemingly unconnected crimes, you stumble across more murders and more danger. Locations mentioned in the novels appear where they should, along with some locations unique to this game.

This game skirts a very thin line between adventure and IF... and in fact, one can pretty easily eliminate the combat aspect of the game early off (as any walkthrough will tell you). There are a LOT of time-critical events in the game as well, and failure to meet them will result in failing the game. Nonetheless it's a fun title and worth playing at least once. I only wish more had been done with it, and the universe of the Budayeen explored in greater depth.

The game's more enjoyable for the nostalgia of the first couple seasons of TNG (considering certain contextual clues in the game). The animations are cool, but of course ancient technology.

Unfortunately, the plot is something of a combination of several other rehashed Star Trek and other sci-fi storylines. Really though, there's about as much depth as a single episode, or maybe a two-parter. Some features are annoying, however.