It's a sign of the times, really: we're growing accustomed to games coming with rolling credits over their opening titles. In Fahrenheit's case the final one reads 'Written and directed by...' It's as if we're watching a movie. Because, for all intents and purposes, we are.

Fahrenheit is most tidily described as an interactive adventure, but not in a manner that should recall the horrific 1990s early examples of the genre. No, instead it's a game that clearly started with a tight script, that's packed to the gills with impressive sequence after impressive sequence, and then a few reasonably simple gaming mechanics are applied to it.

It kicks off in a small diner, where you immediate fill the shoes of Lucas Kane, one of a handful of characters you can control within the game at various points. Kane finds himself strangely possessed and, unable to stop himself, he kills a man in the diner's toilets. Your first job is to get out of the place undetected. From there, you need to find out what's happening, and why you keep getting strange flashbacks.

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To do this, for the most part you play as if Fahrenheit is a good old fashioned adventure game, albeit with a slight - but significant - twist. You need to explore, to have conversations and to puzzle your way out of several situations.

Yet whereas ye adventures of olde were fairly relaxed about you doing this, Fahrenheit constantly has a clock on you, getting you to make quick, snap decisions and these determine the path the game takes.

Crucially, there's usually more than one way out of a given situation, and neither is necessarily classed as right or wrong (although it's likewise not afraid to call Game Over). On top of this, there are also influences from - believe it or not - Track and Field, and the old electronic game Simon. You'll see what we mean when you play.

The key asset in Fahrenheit's corner is that it's genuinely engrossing. This is a story told extremely well, even to the point where we were blinded to the fact that we were watching a sizeable number of cut-scenes. It's also got a healthy sprinkling of shock moments, a few that'll genuinely make you jolt, and the intriguing narrative keeps making you to want to know more.

On the downside, oddly, is the path the narrative takes. Rarely does the game capture the intensity and downright brilliance of the first half as you head towards the conclusion. There's a lot of replay value though, as you go back and take choices you didn't follow first time around.

Still, in a market dominated by franchises, licenses and a lack of innovation, Fahrenheit should stand proud for what it is; something different. The irony, of course, is that its difference has been achieved by heading back into the annals of gaming and fully embracing a genre that many leave well alone. But, as with the movie world, it stands proof positive that if you've got a good script, it's hard to go wrong. Quality stuff.

A tense, compelling and at times quite brilliantly scripted adventure game, Fahrenheit is a firm recommendation.