2X05

Game Over

SEVERAL DEATHS AROUND THE EASTERN COAST SEEM TO BE LINKED TO A BRAND NEW, VERY ADDICTIVE VIDEO GAME...AS SOON PROVED WHEN MULDER FINDS HIMSELF UNABLE TO KEEP HIS HANDS OFF THE JOYSTICK.

Alien Girl's "Game Over" is a story about the perils of addiction, in this case addiction to a violent Nintendo video game called Hybrid Rumble. Kids are getting hooked on this game and then dying, their brains addled like those of longtime speed freaks. It's up to Mulder and Scully to figure out how the game makes addicts of its players before more people die with their thumbs on the buttons. Mulder's getting hooked himself complicates their task. When he's reduced to childish petulance by his toy being taken away, Scully covers for him like any post-modern mommy would and Papa Skinner just stands there shaking his head. The American TV family has never looked so . . . surreal.

The episode itself reads like an adventure game. Fast-paced and brightly animated, it's a highly visual piece that lets its characters advance from level to similar level as they gather the clues. Monsters pop up and get dispatched; an Oz-like troll dispenses vital information, then disappears. The clock ticks, suspense escalates, and you find yourself riveted to the screen. Occasional clumsy word choices make it a little jerky in spots, but for the most part the program runs smoothly.

Behind the razzle-dazzle, the story is made-for-TV two-dimensional - not that there's anything wrong with that. The author takes a stand against both violent entertainment and predatory consumerism, as easy to agree with as an after-school special. Like a kids' special, though, the script glosses over a couple vital points. The largest of these is how, exactly, Hybrid Rumble causes the human body to produce the addictive amphetamine. Scully suggests that perhaps some sort of feedback from the game controls causes some sort of "projection" of chemical into the skin of the fingers and "steals" brains cells, but I want to know more. I'm also not satisfied with Mulder letting the game's designer out of his clutches and off the hook. This guy could have provided more, and more useful, information, but he's swallowed by the bowels of the mall, never to be seen again. (A metaphor for the irresponsible consumer, perhaps?)

But hey! It's just a game! Lighten up and enjoy it. Alien Girl has designed a gamescape colorful enough to induce Atari flashbacks - although she's probably too young to remember Atari - and I for one reveled in the guilty pleasure of playing along.

RANK:7/10

2X05 - "Game Over"
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