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Games that have been brought back from the dead are always going to be a risky proposition, especially ones that were never completed. Now throw in American Hero being a FMV game from the 90s originally intended for the Atari Jaguar that trends towards being a reflection of much less respectful attitudes towards women in particular and it starts to get a bit dicey. I’ll give the developer credit, before you begin playing they lay down a very clear picture of the situation, the challenges in making the game happen, its limitations, and its generally problematic nature put up against modern attitudes. The thing is, if the gameplay was somehow a revelation in some way it could have all been worth the lead up, but the end product is simply pretty bad all around, and not even in a cheesy B-movie charm sort of way. The story, thin as it seems to be, is actually pretty hard to follow depending on your choices, the acting is spotty at best, and aside from wanting to see the train wreck to the end I can’t say there’s really much to make it compelling aside from perhaps as a time capsule of sorts and a sign of how so many things have changed completely since it was originally conceived.
Justin Nation, Score:Fair [6.8]