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I picked up Fahrenheit last weekend, but didn't get a chance to play it until tonight.

First impressions are good; whilst it doesn't sport the most incredible graphics I've ever seen (although they are good), the atmosphere, soundtrack and concept are all of a really high standard. The voice acting isn't bad either.

Fahrenheit sells itself as an "interactive movie", so much so that you don't start a new game, you start a new "movie". "Interactive Movie" was a phrase that was popular a few years back when FMV had only just been introduced into games. The interactive movies of old were actually only barely that; the player was called upon to hit a couple of keys now and then, or click on something in the FMV. Fahrenheit appears to have actually managed to achieve the goal of a truly interactive movie.

So far I know nothing about the plot, suffice to say that the game starts with your character murdering someone for no apparent reason, and then leaves you to clean up the mess. Control then switches to a different character - the police officer investigating the murder that you just ran away from…

The game uses split screen and panel effects (which most people will be familiar with from tv's 24) to improve tension. In one sequence, the police officer that's threatening to kick down your door can be seen in one panel, whilst the character under your control hides incriminating evidence in his apartment in the other. So far, the technique works well, and does serve to enhance the atmosphere, rather than impede it.

You control your character with mouse and keyboard (I'm playing the PC version). The process of moving your character around is a familiar one - left and right to rotate, forwards to walk forwards, and back to turn around 180 degrees. What Fahrenheit does differently though, is that to interact with the environment, you must perform gestures with the mouse. For example, to open a door, you slide the mouse forward. To drink a cup of coffee, you slide the mouse forward, then around to the side, to simulate a reaching and picking up motion. Certain sequences require button bashing (used to represent physical exertion), whilst others require you to quickly repeat a key sequence (a la Dragons Lair, or Shenmue).

After an hour and a half of play, Fahrenheit has impressed me, and intrigued me enough for me to come back to it; I want to know what happens next!