This page is all about games, books, movies, music and more that you should check out. I will update it from time to time when I feel compelled to do so. For starters, however, I will urge you to dust off your Sega CD and Saturn. All gamers have their favorite games and series. While I have many that are close to my heart, the games of Hideo Kojima hold a special place. I came upon Metal Gear in 1988 and fell in love with it. Of course, later in life I would play through the Metal Gear Solid series (fantastic both in story/gameplay as well as audio production), but there was another pair of Kojima games that caught my attention in my teens: Snatcher and Policenauts. Snatcher for the Sega CD was a shocking experience for me. At the time I had not played a game with such spectacular production and story. It follows the story of a detective named Gillian Seed, a member of a police task force called JUNKER, whose goal is to track down the source of the Snatchers (robots that are murdering and replacing humans). The game was heavily influenced by the film Blade Runner and the main character bears more than a passing resemblance to Rick Deckard (played by Harrison Ford in the film). Other characters are obvious nods to other sci-fi noir flicks, and if you keep your eyes open you may even see some familiar faces lurking in the city. In one of the Japanese versions of the game, Yoda and C3PO can be seen hanging out in one of Neo Kobe's bars. Policenauts, the follow-up to Snatcher, was not exactly a sequel. Instead it borrowed the familliar format, mixed it with anime FMVs and presented a new story about a police officer named Jonathan Ingram. Jonathan is found after being frozen and stranded in space for 25 years. After this incident, he returns to Los Angeles and works as a private investigator. Shortly after his return, he is asked by his ex-wife (now 55 years old) to locate her husband who has gone missing. The game never saw an English version (despite persistent rumors), and Kojima has expressed no interest in translating the game for a future release. Several petitions have been written and sent, but to no avail. If ever a game will inspire me to learn Japanese, this is the one. Maybe one day I'll find the time. If you want to read more about these games, I would suggest the following web pages. And if you hope to find copies of these games, eBay is your friend. I've still got my copy of Snatcher, but in 2001 I tracked down a copy of the PS1 version of Policenauts on eBay. It collects dust with the Saturn version I recently acquired. Snatcher Junker HQ The Kremlin Policenauts Policenauts Official Page The UK Policenauts Home Page last updated 28 February, 2008