Cyber-Reality: Game Theory

"We'll be playing a game where the rules are important."

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: May 2018

Series: UNIT 6.01

Featuring: Kate, Osgood

Synopsis

Sam Bishop is missing. Lost at sea, imprisoned with a valuable hostage, UNIT's troubleshooter will need all his skills to survive. To save their comrade, Kate Stewart and Osgood are offered a deadly challenge. But this game might be impossible to win...

Verdict

Game Theory was an excellent start to Cyber-Reality and the sixth series of UNIT's Big Finish spinoff! If this one is anything to go by then we are in for a terrific boxset. There was immediate continuity from The Sontaran Project with the Auctioneers and Sam Bishop being missing which I thought was fantastic and I liked that there was a mini sort of recap to kick things off for any listeners who missed out on Encounters. I really love that Kate and Osgood and the modern UNIT are getting such a lengthy spinoff series and having the two female characters in the lead roles works wonders. They're a wonderful pairing and getting them together and being the team that were out to find Sam was a lot of fun. Hearing Sam actually partake in some activities with fellow captive Julia was good as it has felt like he's been missing for quite some time now. He was quick to deduce that they were in a boat which was impressive and the revelation that came later with Julia turning the gun on him and everything being a different level of test was superb. I loved the gaming theme of the episode with Osgood delving into the world of Virtual Reality. She was being tested, although the Overseer denied this, and the idea of Bristol being at risk and every drone or plane within a small radius about to come crashing out of the sky was quite the threat! Osgood not quite passing the test that wasn't a test was a surprise, but it was nice for her to delve into some Krillitane sequencing and try to find the emitter to de-code it and prevent catastrophe. Sam realising that he knew elements of his latest level was great with him getting a strong sense of deja vu. The Overseer reiterating that it was a mission for Kate and Osgood worked well and giving the clue of Heathrow was fun because Kate really did think she could trek there in less than an hour! That just wasn't happening. The conversing between Kate & Osgood and the Overseer was magnificent throughout and I loved the idea of the whole event being a power trip to show who was the boss. That felt refreshing. Osgood utilising the VR map to get to the emitter despite it being 200 miles away was brilliant and I liked that Colonel Shindi was on hand after finding the right communication frequency line to arrive. The throwaway mention of Malcolm is lovely continuity and I do wonder if we'll get a visit from him at some point in the range. Osgood deducing that it was the red wire to cut to prevent the container detonating was good and tense, and finding Sam inside wearing a VR device was a nice way to bring him back to UNIT. The Overseer explaining how it was a show of power and that they weren't interested in the Black Archive was really good, and I liked that they just wanted to be left in peace rather than have UNIT snooping around. Sam being a template for a game in a booming industry was not what I expected, but I thought it worked ever so well and just felt modern. Overall, a really strong story and a great listen! 

Rating: 9/10