Posted 16 November 2001 to rec.games.int-fiction
Here are some thoughts about the games I played. I was planning on playing them all but life intervened: after migrating last year we are now returning to our point of origin. That meant only a few hours of playing time in total (and I had to stop beta-testing some non-comp games...).
Another limiting factor was that I have, thanks to my husband, a Linux-based system but no knowledge or rights to install software. So I had to beg and crawl to get him to install two: TADS and Frotz. I didn't dare ask for more...
In all, I have played 29 games, some for a few minutes and some for an hour or so. I have written down some positive and negative remarks for each.
Here they are, in no particular order:
| Crusade - 6 | + original - difficult, no idea what to do - possibly offending (blasphemy) |
| Coast - 6 | + fun to play + puzzles not too hard - no clue that certain rooms have certain exits - spelling/typos - ending far-fetched |
| Heroes - 6 | + original concept (5 games in one) - absolutely impossible to play without walkthrough |
| Elements - 7 | + different + mysterious atmosphere - too long - no hints, no idea what to do |
| Evil Sorcerer - 5 | + atmosphere - unoriginal - boring - guess-the-verb |
| Cruise - 6 | + good descriptions + atmosphere - unoriginal and unconvincing - bugs ("you can't get the .") - last point score |
| Beetmonger - 8 | + atmosphere + fun to play + catching - typos/spelling - TADS error in flags |
| Vicious Cycles - 4 | + original - bug (when throwing something, I missed. Could not pick up again, could not undo) |
| Earth and Sky - 8 | + original + difficult in a fun way - ending sudden and unsatisfying |
| All Roads - 8 | + gripping + atmosphere - confusing, walkthrough needed |
| Eleven - 7 | + story + puzzles - unoriginal, obvious plot |
| Gostak - 5 | + original - incomprehensible - not inviting to play for longer than 5 minutes |
| Jump - 5 | + atmosphere/subject - not much interaction - predictable |
| Alys/Possess - 7 | + gripping + well written - romantic style too much at times - die too easily |
| No Time To Squeal - 5 | + atmosphere + well written - subject depressing - sense of not being to do anything |
| Kallisti - 2 | + original - sexist, disgusting ("I will have you") - boring - guess-the-memory |
| Night Guest - 6 | + funny + short - not playable without walkthrough/hintfile |
| Triune - 7 | + more than one solution/ending + atmosphere + convincing - too romantic at times |
| Volcano - 7 | + atmosphere + original + puzzles - guess-the-verb |
| Stranded - 4 | + intro - die too easily - not inviting to play |
| Fusillade - 5 | + original - confusing |
| Greyscale - 5 | + puzzles - boring - typos - unoriginal |
| Journey - 6 | + original + sheep is nice/adorable - short - unsolvable without walkthrough/hints |
| Shattered Memory - 6 | + atmosphere - unoriginal - guess-the-memory - stuck after few minutes, nothing left to ask |
| Newcomer - 5 | + atmosphere - die too easily - haven't been able to last more than a few turns |
| BB - 6 | + gripping + original - difficult - not solvable without walkthrough |
| Schroedinger - 4 | + intriguing - but only for a few minutes - what can I do/interaction? |
| Colours - 5 | + original + fun - difficult for non-native players (which word describes who) - bug (disappearing rooms before all objects cleared) |
| Castle - 2 | + probably well programmed, don't know, I don't play chess - not interactive FICTION at all - chess |
This article copyright © 2001, PolloDiablo