The X-Files Game

About

The X-Files Game is a point-and-click adventure built for fans of the TV series. Released in 1998, it follows Craig Willmore a rookie FBI agent tracking down Mulder and Scully after they vanish near Everett Washington. Using gadgets like night vision goggles a digital camera and an Apple Newton Willmore navigates Seattle’s shadows piecing together clues about alien takeovers and government conspiracies. The gameplay mixes exploration inventory puzzles and timed actions as you balance investigation with a developing dynamic between Willmore and a local detective. The game leans heavily on its source material with David Duchovny Gillian Anderson and Mitch Pileggi reprising their roles. Filmed on location in Seattle it mirrors the show’s third season bridging episodes like "Avatar" and "Wetwired." The plot weaves in the black oil mythology and features branching outcomes that occasionally let you cross paths with familiar antagonists. Though dated by modern standards its tight script by Frank Spotnitz and faithful recreation of the X-Files tone keep it a cult favorite among fans who remember the late 90s TV landscape.

Storyline

The game takes place somewhere within the timeline of the third season of The X-Files series. The story follows a young Seattle-based FBI agent named Craig Willmore (played by Jordan Lee Williams) who is assigned by Assistant Director Walter Skinner to investigate the disappearance of agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who were last seen in the Everett, Washington area. Agent Willmore must use his state-of-the-art spy tools: night vision goggles, a digital camera, PDA (an Apple Newton), lock picks, evidence kit, a standard issue handgun, a pair of handcuffs, and a badge to follow their trail. Along the way, he is partnered with a Seattle Police Department detective named Mary Astadourian (played by Paige Witte) and a minor subplot involves a relationship developing between the two. Several of the actors from the TV series reprise their roles in the game, including David Duchovny (Mulder), Gillian Anderson (Scully), Mitch Pileggi (Skinner), Steven Williams (X), Bruce Harwood, Tom Braidwood and Dean Haglund (The Lone Gunmen) and—very briefly and depending upon the outcome of the game—William B. Davis (The Smoking Man). The game is set and was filmed in Seattle. The TV series actors filmed their relatively brief appearances in the game just before entering production on the feature film. The game's plotline involves aliens taking over the bodies of humans and contains many references to the show's extraterrestrial mythology. During the course of the game the "present day" date of April 1996 is displayed alongside certain locations, placing this "episode" after the season three episode "Avatar" and before "Wetwired" , which take place March 7 and April 27 respectively. This time is also after the first incident with the alien black oil in the episode "Piper Maru" of the third season. The screenplay for X-Files The Game was written by Richard Dowdy, Greg Roach and Frank Spotnitz, from a story by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz.