The X-Files (TV Series) First Person Shooter (2000) User Reviews

Girl-in-thong Power!

[andyetris · 7/10 · 24 October 2006]

Mulder is literally drawn into the world of computer gaming by a sexy sprite who puts the hooters in First-Person-Shooters!

Some X-Files are terrific, others terrible. Every once in a while, however, there's one that is SO bad, but in SUCH an endearing way, that it's truly memorable, if mostly for the wrong reasons. This "Tron"-derived silliness is just such an exercise.

It's hard to believe that "Neuromancer" author William Gibson could have generated this absurd idea of an F-P-S - or that the originator of "Harsh Realm" could have accepted it!!! I assume that most of the budget was spent on the 3-D graphics rendering, but even so - can Chris Carter really never have played "Doom"? "Duke Nukem?" Not even "Wolfenstein 3D?" Surely SOMEONE on the creative staff must have protested the lameness of this dumb shooting-gallery caricature?

The real problem with the story is not so much the phoniness of the game, but the phoniness of the "gal outdoes guy at guy stuff" plot device. That the thin plot ends with Scully in a thong carrying a machine gun is painfully stereotypical, and the idea of a mousy computer geek finding 'empowerment' in a stripper/hooker character BEGS for parody. Alas, all we get is same-o same-o testosterone ribbing. The helpless incompetence of the Lone Gunmen is also disappointing. No cheat codes? Come on!

The fun part of this is the treatment of Mr I-always-drop-my-gun Mulder. Initially portrayed as Mr Dark & Moody in early episodes, Mulder was gradually re-drawn as a grown-up geek boy, and in this episode we not only get the revelation that he plays F-P-S-es, we get to see him in gear saying: "Bring it on!"

Get your ya-yas out

[Muldernscully · 6/10 · 25 June 2007]

First Person Shooter is hard not to enjoy. The episode, for the most part, doesn't take itself too seriously, and neither should you. It is just good old shoot-em-up fun. Will Gibson & Tom Maddox who wrote the season five techno-episode Kill Switch, return for another go at the concept of "what if?" artificial intelligence becomes too smart for its own good. Of course its unrealistic, especially when Mulder disappears inside the game, but just go with it. Some of the dialog is corny and when the characters do talk seriously about what is going on, it becomes a bit laughable. It made me sick that the designer of the game was excited when he hears the two deaths have raised the buzz for the game. Also, the cheesy voice-over at the end by Mulder against a slow motion screen makes the ending silly, as stated by Chris Carter himself on the audio commentary. However, I can't help but enjoy watching Mulder,the Lone Gunmen AND Scully blasting the crap out of stuff. So, sit back and enjoy First Person Shooter for what it is and nothing more.

Now THAT'S entertainment!

[ccssocks · 7/10 · 5 March 2021]

Is this objectively a good episode? No. Is this episode absolutely hilarious? Yes!

"First Person Shooter" is pure, cheesy, early 2000s sci fi goodness in the mold of Hackers with Angelina Jolie. It's just made even more funny from the perspective of 2021, knowing that VR technology is not at all as it is portrayed in this episode. I found myself constantly laughing throughout this episode, at the parts that were intended to be more serious as well as the jokes. The writer's loose grasp of technological terms, Mulder's oh-so-early-2000s sunglasses, Maitreya's superspeedy backflips - what's not to love?

I do think the plot has more to offer than most people seem to perceive - gaming is a very male-dominated field, particularly in the era this was filmed (despite the fact that about 50% of gamers are women, a lot of men still seem to think they own the medium), and the narrative of Maitreya and Scully reclaiming this field - two female characters taking on the roles of unstoppable villain/hero - feels really powerful and honestly ahead of its time.

TL;DR: Don't take this episode seriously, just sit back, relax, and enjoy a slice of early 2000s cheese.

Worst Episode By Far

[peterman123 · 24 July 2008]

I never watched the X-Files early on but my friend's family loved it, so one night it came on, and I decided to give it a chance. I was naturally hesitant, because they loved low budget shows and movies that ran on the sci-fi channel that I didn't often similarly enjoy. Unfortunately the first episode I got to see was this horrible one, so after that I just cast off the X-Files as the same low budget sci-fi garbage and never really payed any attention to it. It wasn't until a few years later that I discovered that a different friend, with taste in media very similar to my own, liked the show. After once more giving the X-files a few more test-viewings of episodes re-ran on TNT I discovered it was, in fact, a really good show. This horrible episode, however, should be burned for giving me such a bad first impression of such a great show.

No, Not the Worst Episode

[bkkaz · 7/10 · 3 August 2022]

The hyperbole about this episode itself is rather laughable. It follows the same basic formula as all the non-mythology episodes (meaning, the good ones) while offering a few interesting twists and turns. Is it sexist? Well, certainly no more than the actual videogames that were out at the time and pretty much still are. Yes, it seems like an idea every 11th grade English major comes up with in creative writing class, but it's actually not much different in concept than the one about a computer that gains sentience fans usually gush about.

If there is a failing, it's that the "First Person Shooter" lacks the full Gen-Xy/Late Baby Boomer sneer to make sure the people in the cheap seats realize it's satire. They're watching it literally, snickering at how bad they think it is because they're taking it seriously.

Everything about the episode is a false flag. The idea that virtual reality is more real than actual reality. The sweaty men running the company but the mousy girl being the real brains. The hot stripper turning out to be innocent.

This has less to do with the script than the direction, which is surprisingly uninspired because this was the seventh season of churning out the show. Perhaps it was because the stunt sequences took up so much time, but the dialogue scenes are done with little imagination. But at the same time, it shows how empty much of television often is if the directors and editors aren't pulling tricks to make the mundane seem creative.

So, no, this is not the worst episode. Some of those never-ending, lather/rine/repeat mythology episodes, where a bunch of stuff happens but somehow the story never moves forward, would rate that category. But it's production is lacking, too, from the sappy music to the simple camerawork. It's the style that keeps it down.

Bad

[thesoreallist · 1/10 · 10 March 2022]

Everything about this episode sucks. The way men are depicted. The way women are depicted. The entire premise of the plot.

The episode follows a group of people who have designed a game that is accidentally killing people. The game is played out in a factory-sized room that uses projectors to create the game world within. Those who play the game wear airsoft-style costumes and physically run around. It's like a cheap knock-off of Star Trek's holodeck - which is fine, whatever.

The believe-ability of this plot falls apart, though, with the game-makers panicking because these deaths have happened just as they were about to release the game, with copies ready to ship! I mean, what the hell does that mean?! Copies of what?! How are they selling this game to the mass market?! This factory-sized game-space they've created is not an entertainment location like the movies or a themepark, its apparently supposed to be available to consumers?? Are they sending out entire factories with every disk sold?!

This episode has the same issue that a lot of shows have when going into the game world - not just a lack of understanding of gaming, or programming (which is excusable), but no internal logic within their own plot of how things work. If this episode had been some kind of Westworld set up where people go to experience the game in a themepark it would have worked. If they were selling the game as some sort of VR device it would work. But as a large factory sized arena that apparently is going to be sold in stores, the whole thing was laughably wonky.

I don't really know what happens after about the halfway point, the episode was so bad I stopped watching about when the female game creator started saying that programming a scantally clad amazonian was her only way to survive as a woman surrounded by testosterone, which is ironically a line no doubt written by a man with no understanding of the 'male gaze'.

"Now thats entertainment"

[eastendthug · 8/10 · 30 July 2008]

I honestly do not understand why this episode received so many negative reviews, i felt i had to comment on this.

In the past few months i have worked my way through all seasons up to 7 so far and this episode definitely stands out to be one of the more memorable ones, please do not, i repeat not take this episode seriously, its just for laughs and a nod to game nerds.

Duchovny is on top form with his one liners and humour, and the fx for its time and budget are actually pretty good.

I have skipped a few episodes in past seasons due to poor ratings on IMDb and i very nearly done the same with this one, but trust me give it a shot, you will be hooked.

Episode 7.13 drinking game

[shomizu · 3/10 · 4 June 2008]

Take a shot every time some technical term is misappropriated in this episode, such as "download", "online", "crashed", and "wire-frame". Take a bonus three when "goosh" or "wiggy" is used, and you'll polish off your 5th.

The previous William Gibson episode "Kill Switch" was excellent, and not overly laden with computer technology jargon at all the wrong places as this episode was. This isn't a complaint so much about the lack of "realism" with regard to the portrayal of video games or the computer industry; there have been many previous X-Files episodes that were tongue in cheek as this one was apparently aiming to be, but did so in a fashion that honored the subject matter (such as sci-fi concepts like virtual reality and man being able to transfer his consciousness into "cyberspace" as in "Kill Switch") without being completely oblivious or ignorant of said subject matter (as in this episode).

The sexist undercurrent to the story was just the coup de grace on this ridiculous, fragmented, ill-informed, and completely unworthy followup to Gibson's previous contribution to the series. It's a shame he didn't get to write another episode that might have better explored some of the social changes and perceptions in the coming digital age, touched on in "Kill Switch", and that are so prevalent in his written works.

Quake II vs Unreal Tournament

[XweAponX · 10/10 · 26 March 2012]

The first "Computer" X-Files Episode, "Ghost in the Machine" was written in 1993, in that year, we had Dos 6.22 and Windows 3.11. Apple had maybe LC- II's. The fastest PC's were 486-DX2-133 MHz and the fastest Apple Motorola CPUs were about 120 MHz if that much. So that story was written well before the explosion in consumer computer development, the story was not too far from the bounds of what was possible that year. Could those PCs pass the Turing Test? That's the stretch the writers ask of us in all of these eps.

Kill Switch was written in 1998, and by that time we had a huge breakthrough in computing – Faster Machines and Laptops, CD Burners. So, that story was not too far a stretch either, and it was the first written by "Cyberpunk" William Gibson. It was just a damn good story, with a good resolution

The Year "First Person Shooter" was, er, Shot, was 2000, the year of the first person shooters. And so, the story was appropriate for the year in which this episode was made. At least Story-wise.

Because I was a Gamer that year, and this was the time of Quake and maybe even Quake II, and I used to spend quite a lot of time playing other kids around the world: So I kind of see, what Gibson was getting at. It was simply, the State of the Art of Film that year, and especially with TV Budgeting, did not allow the producers to re-create what Gibson had in his mind.

Think of the movie "Doom" where Karl Urban goes on his rampage – I think Gibson was thinking in those terms - So it just didn't translate well into an episodic TV Show. Using simple sets, they could have recreated some of the rooms from Doom I and II even, and had the characters interact in that gamespace.

It was just, at the TIME, everybody had a PC system with either Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows 2000 which had come out in 1999. I still use Windows 2000 by the way, it's a rock solid OS for running pure code programs, if you do not need to drive all kinds of graphic devices.

And this is what I think Gibson was trying to convey in this "Sequel" to Kill Switch. The AI had gotten a taste of faster puters and better graphics cards, More onboard memory, larger hard drives - I bought my first 1 GB Hard drive in maybe 1998. I thought that was a lot back then, boy was I fooled.

But this is the point of this episode - The AI has adapted, it has learned. And it wants to interact with people now, so it uses an image acquired from Jade Blue Afterglow. I don't think the AI is maliciously killing these people, it is just following the programming of a 'First person Shooter' game, it's all it understands. That, and Winning.

First it beats the head tester for FPS, then, it beats the Japanese guy, using a sword. Then it kicks Mulder's arse, but stops short of killing him, I guess the AI thought Mulder was cute or something. But then it come face to face with something it does not expect: SKULLY.

And Skully teaches the AI a thing or two about Threatening "her Man" - She basically spanks the AI. Which was why I think, when turned back on, the AI took Skully's image-Out of Respect.

And I think I see Gibson's point to this story, the AI is just playing a game, or so it thinks. Does not understand that the Humans it "shuts off" cannot be turned back on. But I think it finally learns about that by the end of the episode.

This is why I believe this "First Person Shooter" was a Highly Under- Appreciated and UnderRated X-Files Ep. And the Third "Computer Of The Week" 'Sode. It was simply written at a time of Staleness on our Computer OS's - Windows 98 and ME were about as exciting as plates of Tripe. We had CD Burners and even some DVD burners, but they were still over a hundred bucks a pop. So, good fast systems still cost over a grand to make, compared to today, I can make one for about 300 bucks if I use a used hard drive.

It was that - Stagnacity? Stagnancy? That reflected back upon this episode. The Episode was made as well as could be made for e television Show on a limited Budget. And the story could have been developed a bit more to show the Humanizing of the AI, but I think there was a conflict between Gibson's Story and Script and Chris Carter's good intentions to make this an "X Files Sode" - Before, Kill Switch worked within The X Files Mythos and MOTW arcs, this story was kind of out of place IN the X-Files, and Carter's revisions did not help the episode any.

I Kind of wish Gibson's original story had been left intact.

But it is what it is, and I like it, despite what the Critics said about it when it was first broadcast.

I watched this ep with my roommate the year it was first shown, and we both related to it, I never saw anything bad about the ep.

Technical issues aside, plot is terrible

[adrong · 2/10 · 31 December 2015]

As a software engineer who graduated college with a minor in English, I tend to give a lot of leeway to writers who attempt to create a compelling plot within the computing world. However, the plot of this episode demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of software and computing at even the most basic level. This ignorance, combined with a climax that was portrayed as a tense moment that came across as one eye gouge short of slapstick, leads me to wonder if this episode was intended to be a mid-season comedy relief episode and that the director was just effing oblivious to the author's intent.

Sadly, this episode was three sentences shy of being the standard x- files trope. Simply have the female developer, Phoebe, talk about how she programmed the character using a machine learning API, then have Mulder and the geek squad spew a line like, "Skully, what if by pouring all her anxiety into this digital character, Phoebe somehow caused the programming to become self aware?" Then remove the part where Mulder magically got sucked into the computer and then inexplicably wasn't. Even with these changes, the episode wouldn't be great, but it wouldn't be too far off the mark from previous episodes they've done (S05E11 - Kill Switch).

The only redeeming element of this episode, and the only reason why I give it two stars instead of one star, is that they address the idea that video games can be a healthy outlet for frustration and anxiety. Even here, however, they woefully missed the mark by pushing the idea that only men like video games, failing to point out how critical video games have proved to be in helping people cope with all levels of depression and that many, MANY studies have shown that there is ZERO correlation to violent video games leading to people acting out violence in real life (the caveat here being that people who are *already* violent will likely turn to violent games as an outlet -- violent games are a warning sign and symptom, not a cause).

I can only surmise that the authors had the 1yr anniversary of Columbine in their heads, wanted to write something on the topic, but never had enough time to hash out the plot properly.

Virtually sucks.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 2/10 · 22 September 2022]

Mulder and Scully are called in by The Lone Gunmen, when a man is killed by an animated character inside a complex game of virtual reality.

The previous episode was certainly different, but it worked on every level, this was different, but it absolutely sucked, this was forty five minutes of my life that I won't get back, time I could have spent re-watching Ice or Squeeze.

I'll give a tick for the originality, but I cannot award any other points, this was just terrible. The plot was laughable, this is not just the low point of series 7, but the show in general.

The visuals don't work, and the dialogue is trite, what's worse though, are the way that the men are portrayed, as mindless beings that only enjoy destruction, worse still, the women of the piece, objectified much?

Woeful, 2/10.

"Where's the rest of the film?" - Edgewalker

[LolitaHayes · 9/10 · 7 November 2010]

I, too, fail to see the reason(s) why people hate this episode so much! I can only assume that they took "First Person Shooter" WAY too seriously, whether expecting a sequel to the brilliant "Kill Switch", or as techno-geeks, took issue with the misuse of terminology. As "Booger" says to Tom Cruise's tightly wound teen in "Risky Business" sometimes you've just gotta say "What the f***?"

I found "FPS" thoroughly enjoyable as what Mulder termed "entertainment", and hilarious. It was a shock, but a good one, to see the bumbling Gunmen as entrepreneurs, rambling on about IPO's and other Wall St. idiocy. Too funny. Scully finally "gets her ya-ya's out". Cool. Mulder admits (several times) that he's "down" with the virtual mayhem—but of course! (Duchovny is hysterical in this ep.!)

To me, Jade Blue Afterglow's character was more intriguing than her virtual warrior. "You'd be surprised…what I've been paid to do," she teases Mulder & Scully. Uh...no, we wouldn't! As for the Maitrea, who WOULD a female game programmer create to counteract the glut of boring, army-style macho posturing? A CHICK warrior!

As a female gamer, and long before I got addicted to GTA-San Andreas, I was thrilled to see a woman kick some virtual a**, and thankful that our (the viewers') perspective of the game was NOT really FPS (I loathe "Halo", for instance). It sometimes stinks playing as a guy, no matter how cool (e.g. Tommy Vercetti in "ViceCity" and C.J. in "San Andreas"). How many "ho" references can you utter, or dates with women can you stand (if you're straight)? I'd be Maitrea in a heartbeat, just not as sadistic. Or even as a guy, if they could make a virtual GTA, I'd be first in line to do some damage.

I especially enjoyed the way the script mocked the first three players ("Retro" and pals), rushing into the game space like a bunch of 'roid cases playing "Madden", then groaning like sissies when "shot", or freaking it if NOT shot. Was this a nod to "Reservoir Dogs", who did a LOT more whining and groaning than actual shooting?! lol

My only criticism is of the acting of those playing Phoebe and Ivan. They were SO over-the-top, snarling over a KEYBOARD? Come on!

--SPOILERS-- And Ivan gnashing his teeth when the words "Shift-Alt+Bloodbath" were uttered! Egad! He should know: kill switches are often GOOD things.

But his expression WAS cool at the end when the new warrior (Scully!) emerges on his screen. Excellent. Who cares HOW it happened? Haven't we always wanted Scully to cut loose? Well, look her for her, maybe, in GTA V as "Starbuck", a rogue FBI agent/doctor.

As Edgewalker wrote here, this could easily be made into a film (which would be better than that AWFUL second TXF one!). I'd love to see Invisigoth reappear, if only online (failing reincarnation) to really "jump" into the game.

By the way: while people lauded "Kill Switch" over this episode, was it any more believable to upload one's entire consciousness onto the web than to infiltrate somebody's video game? And as for the killing; I think it the idea was already "pitched" in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", when Jason Segal and Russell Brand rag on Marshall's lousy film about killer "mobile phones"!

Worst Episode of The Series

[TruthTeller63 · 1/10 · 9 November 2021]

This episode is disgusting, offensive, anti-Male excrement; I rate it a "1" only because it's not possible to rate it "0". If you really like "The X Files," do yourself a favor & MISS it.

From Yul Brynner to Krista Allen

[VladimirSkywalker · 8/10 · 16 April 2012]

This episode got so trashed by people who are obviously lacking imagination and love for science fiction genre, not to mention knowledge of its heritage.

It is easy to recognize, William Gibson in this episode made a pastiche to a classic Michael Crichton's sci-fi movie Westworld http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070909/, only turned to a cyberpunk version of it, and with a female goddess replacing a male cowboy villain from Westworld (Yul Brynner). However, the level 2 in the game is totally a visual citation of Westworld's set.

The idea of artificial intelligence rebelling against men, although being widely exploited (Space Oddissey 2001, Terminator, Tron, Westworld, Matrix, etc etc) is always challenging and fresh. I enjoyed this episode a lot.

The worst X-Files episode!

[tandeitnik · 1/10 · 13 June 2010]

I bought a box of the 9 seasons of X-Files 6 months ago and I'm watching it slowly, it's my first time seeing x-files. Yesterday I saw FPS and, oh boy, was it a bad episode or what?? The worst episode so far! When X-files tries to do something tech it always fails. The previous attempt was in Kill Switch, another horrible episode.

Why X-files always fail with tech episodes? Well, the writers always don't have a clue about what they are writing! Wrong (VERY WRONG) use of terms and super sizing everything! Maybe this two episodes were good back in 2000, maybe and I'm being kindly, but they are such a failure 10 year later! The previous episode, X COPS, was one of the best episodes in the show, it's a shame that the next one, FPS, is for me until now the worst episode of the show.

Wooow this episode did NOT age well..

[ryangrand · 1/10 · 25 March 2019]

This entire episode is just... bad. I'm not a sensitive guy, I'm not a feminist or an activist. But even I can see how sexist this is. The writing is cringy as all get out. One hundred cops gawking at a model, the endless mention of testosterone, even Moulder mentioned the sexism at one point. Not only that, the technology is just ridiculous and the plot is worse. Nothing is explained and what is isnt even remotely feasible. This is hands down the worst episode I've ever seen and I'm seven seasons in.

The X-Files Rule

[frankraj · 10/10 · 12 April 2009]

Everyone has the opportunity to comment on their likes and dislikes. Say what you have to say and others will listen. I personally love the X-Files. I would have to agree with some of you out there though, about a few episodes that kinda.... well, suck. I guess thats true with everything. No one is ever 100% satisfied with anything. I'm the kind of person that likes to get into the mood of whatever I'm watching. I immerse myself to get the feel. I like the characters and the scenarios. This episode of the x files is pretty cool in my opinion. It has imagination, technology, murder, and a hot looking Krista Allen. I have all 9 seasons and wish there were more. I have asked buddies of mine if they liked the x files and some of them said no because they don't understand half of what they said, referring to the technical, and forensic, terminology. If you have an open mind and like the unknown, then I recommend The X-Files. I Want To Believe!

Get ready for disappointment.

[bmumford-59570 · 1/10 · 20 December 2020]

This is not only one of the worst X-Files episodes, it ranks fairly high on the all-time worst moments on television. David Duchovny must have felt humiliated after watching this episode (if he ever did, because if I was him at that point in his X-Files career, I wouldn't have). Chris Carter directed it, so you can't just blame the writers, and in my opinion it is a reminder that talent has little to do with the Hollywood/Television industry. It's more about being in the club and playing by the club's rules and furthering its goals; and in my opinion, profits and ratings are not Hollywood & Television's top priority. They are social engineers even when the episodes are great, but it makes the X-Files experience a thousand times worse when they are horrible like First Person Shooter.

"I don't know about you, Scully, but I am feeling the need to blast the crap out of something."

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 7 August 2017]

And what does Mulder do after uttering the line in my summary to Scully? He goes and blasts the crap out of something! I have to admit though, he looked like an utter geek strapped into whatever the heck costume he was wearing to do battle in a virtual world. And when he challenged his attackers with "Bring it on!" I about fell out of my chair. No doubt this affected Scully the same way, correctly observing that her FBI partner was simply getting his ya-yas out.

As often as they can, it seems the writers for these X-Files stories attempt to pay tribute to characters and situations that have gone before. You couldn't help notice that Jade Blue Afterglow (Krista Allen) offered a nod to Sharon Stone's character in 1992's "Basic Instinct". You could also tell that Mulder didn't have the same reaction as Wayne Knight did in the earlier picture, having some fun at the expense of his partner.

But then Scully turns the tables on everyone by entering the virtual world of First Person Shooter to take on the multiple Maitreya's and help pull Mulder's fat out of the fire. I took this as a tongue in cheek episode more so than a lot of their humorous excursions, what with the testosterone frenzy exhibited by Mulder and the Lone Gunmen and the implausibility of doing battle with computer generated characters in a virtual world.

Terrible. .......

[daniel-42603 · 3/10 · 6 July 2021]

If I did not know that there are still some good episodes to come, I would say that The X Files really jumped the shark with one! It is enough to make a discerning viewer give up on the programme.

Juvenile, banal nonsense suited only for the kind of teen moron who would play such a game.

However , I do know that better episodes are to follow.

Could have been better.

[NatashaJAmos2015 · 4/10 · 20 May 2020]

This episode is terrible. The actress who played the game programmer was terrible. And her character had no remorse on what happened. She was just protecting her game character.

The male character who created the game was arrogant and unlikable.

It was cool to see Scully and Mulder in those suits though. It seemed a waste of FBIs time to investigate a murder where the cops could have done it quite easily.

Goofy, but entertaining

[mattiasflgrtll6 · 8/10 · 13 May 2018]

Okay, so this is not the best episode of the entire series. But it's not the worst ever. It's not even the weakest episode of season 7. In fact, despite all its flaws, it's actually quite fun to watch.

You can't compare this episode to The Matrix. Being made for television, the effects look pretty good. They're convincing enough that they work, and some of them are pretty cool. Putting our favorite FBI agents in a video game provide some tongue-in-cheek comic moments and an opportunity for Scully to have a really badass moment. She looks great in that suit! Mulder is shown as a bit of a nerd in this episode, which fits the lighter side of his character. The back-and-forth about whether violent games have a negative impact on culture or not is interesting and amusing at the same time. The supernatural aspect is a video game character able to kill someone in the game for real. Silly? Yes, but not any sillier than elephants abducted by aliens. Considering that this was originally thought of to be the last season of the show, I would guess they decided to go all out and experiment with whatever ideas they could think of. This is not the most successful experiment, but still a fairly wellhandled one.

As for flaws, I thought it was odd how powerless The Lone Gunmen were in the long run. Aren't these guys supposed to be master computer hackers? Just a nitpick. I also thought the guest actors were pretty bad. They can't all be Doug Hutchison or Nick Chinlund, but the guy who played Ivan Martinez was so over-the-top you rolled your eyes at times.

In short, I echo the words of Fox Mulder: Bring it on.

A little more refined script would've saved this from being complete schlock

[kuarinofu · 5/10 · 1 July 2020]

FPS is an episode that was just a step away from being a clever satire on the gaming/virtual reality stereotypes and misunderstandings of the time.

All the jokes about testosterone and oversexualized women made it so childish and goofy that, if played well, it could've been a funny satirical story that just cannot exist in 2020 after all the social changes that permit us from enjoying these things anymore. For example, having such a villain in your story today would've got you obliterated on the Internet and render your career effectively obsolete since everyone has become too sensitive and you can't satirize anything anymore.

I still rate it only 5 stars but only because, while being well done in some technical aspects provided the budget, it still managed to be so implausible and silly in other technical aspects that it got me laughing out loud a couple of times. Like when TLG are connecting the power from the PSU to the hard drive while saying "we are rewiring the circuitry", that was hilarious.

I was very close to liking the message and the silliness of it, but the story was way too unrefined to be enjoyable.

This is the worst thing that ever happened.

[ulrichjudmayrkonrad · 10/10 · 15 January 2020]

So bad it's good. No wait, bad - really really bad.

I think I see what they were trying to do but it failed

[lola-nandez · 4/10 · 8 July 2020]

I didn't see the director's commentary on this particular episode, but I can see how this could sound like a good idea. I think they didn't know where to put humour and where to make it serious to make the episode work either. It seems like they were ridiculing a typical male behaviour, making fun of men basically, but the techno part is so very weak, it's hard to overlook it; it kinda ruins it. I didn't expect better from Gibson, really, he is a bit overrated. Then you have zero likeable guest stars, another problem. The look of the game itself... pretty bad. Also, why Jade kills the first guys almost instantly but toys around with Mulder? And when the door opened for Scully, Mulder could have easily left the game with her and we wouldn't have to witness the ultimate cringe-fest that followed that. The dialogue is bad throughout but the last minute voice over? Gawd. I do believe the AI theme could have generated an amazing episode. Shame.