game seems to run fine, except the pointer only shows up in the corner of the screens, can't see it anywhere else on screen. any ideas?

nevermind, figured it out, there isn't supposed to be a pointer lol. just made the assumption because the other games were point and click. certainly an odd control scheme this game uses.

As you found out yourself, the game isn't supposed to be played by mouse ;-)
It's optimized for keyboard, gamepad or joystick use.

Default keyboard controls according to manual:
(all keys can be redefined)
=====================================
Arrow keys
Control movement of character, Scroll through inventory, Scroll through conversation topics.

Left Shift
Run when moving character.

Left Ctrl
Crouch / Creep when moving character.

Space Bar
Display Inventory / Hide Inventory.

Page Up / Page Down
Cycle between multiple highlights

Esc
Pause game - enter Pause Menu.

A key
Special actions as indicated by the action-map.

S key
Primary action as indicated by the action-map.

D key
Special actions as indicated by the action-map (usually examine).

W key
Special actions as indicated by the action-map.

In Menus: (default keys)
=====================================
Arrow keys
Navigate menu options.

Enter
Select an option.

Esc
Go back to the previous menu screen