Reviews by Bernie
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A classic C64 game, a good pick for nostalgia, September 13, 2010Like many of the old C64 games, this one can hardly be called "fair". At least once in the game, looking at something a second time gives a second result, and you frequently die unexpectedly. The two-word parser can be downright frustrating at times and the game doesn't obey modern IF rules. It took me forever to realize that I could "Go Cabin" and "Go Bed", for example.
But the game retains all of its original charm, complete with cute graphics and quirky puzzles. And once you begin to get the hang of the parser and accept that the game doesn't play entirely fair, you begin to enjoy the simple treasure-gathering adventure in the game. If you're looking for a C64 game to bring you back to the nostalgia of your childhood, this is a good bet.
Quickly stuck and frustrated, September 13, 2010First off, this is NOT the infocom version. This is a version for the C64 with a two-word parser. It's tough to play a game with an old parser. Words such as "give" and "eat" are removed and a big part of the game becomes figuring out how to accomplish tasks using commands the parser will understand. (Spoiler - click to show)I struggled to figure out how to turn the gun on. It turns out that the command "on gun" does the trick. The game also suffers from a general lack of direction; it's tough to figure out exactly what the goal of the game is.
The game does know the word "help" and generally responds with unhelpful quips like "This is no time to be quoting Beatles tunes." There is also a basic maze in the game. Also, a note to anyone who might play this game in the future: the phrase "We're not Arcturian Megadonkeys, fellas" means that your inventory is full. Since that response first occurred when I attempted to pick up an Arcturian Megadonkey steak, I was convinced that the game was bugged until I happened to drop another item.
I'm left with the nagging feeling that I might have missed something in this game. I wish I could have gotten farther.
An interesting idea that doesn't quite deliver, September 13, 2010In this game, you play the same scene as several different characters. After my first play through, I enjoyed the story but was disappointed that there were no puzzles to speak of. (I'm a puzzlephile!) However, I did play the game back through a few more times to see if I could substantially change events. Except for the choice at the end of the story, I found that I couldn't really change the arc of the story. I tried leaving important objects behind, showing objects to people, and engaging in all sorts of ill-mannered behavior. All of this was thwarted.
(Spoiler - click to show)Even having Frank choose a coke instead of a bud didn't seem to alter the events of the story. I attempted to get Frank drunk, but could only manage to get one beer out of the fridge. Even though he drank the entire thing, the game insisted that he still had a beer to drink every time I tried to snag another. I also tried to have Frank catch Jeanie taking money, but that didn't seem to work either.
With a game that lets the story happen from multiple viewpoints, it would be fun to have more control over the events. However, I did enjoy the fact that the different characters remembered the conversation in slightly different ways and noticed different objects. And the story was a good one, worthy of the title of 'interactive fiction'.
Unfinishable and unfun, September 12, 2010This old-school IF game is really more of a maze. The pc refused to pick up any of the objects in the game, so I'm not sure that they serve any purpose other than random decoration. Exits are not labeled (hence the 'maze' aspect) and going the wrong way causes you to die in strange yet rather unamusing ways (such as running into a lamppost or being sat on by an elephant). I patiently played through as much of it as I could, but got stuck at some point when the game gave a blank response to the command "west". I confess that I didn't replay through completely to make sure that I didn't miss a turn in the maze; I just couldn't justify spending any more time with this game.
A quick game in which you train an unusual pet, September 12, 2010This cute game is very brief (about 20 minutes). You've been presented with a new pet velociraptor and must keep him from destroying your apartment. The puzzles are fairly easy, with the exception of the final puzzle, which may not be obvious to everyone. The premise is original enough to make the game an amusing and short diversion.
A brief and moving tribute to a great author, September 12, 2010The game is brief and the puzzles are easy. But for fans of the Hitchhiker's Series, it's worth playing this brief (10 minute) tribute to Douglas Adams, who died in May 2001, around the time this game was released. The game does a terrific job of preserving the personalities from the book, and the ending will stir anyone who was a fan of Adams.
Cute puzzle game, September 12, 2010This game was an entry into the Great IF Toaster Contest, in which contestants were to design a game around a toaster. In this game, you have promised to cook your girlfriend breakfast if she stayed over. Alas, your refrigerator is empty and you quickly set off on an unexpected journey to find all the ingredients.
The introduction of the game warns you that it is easy to put the game in an unwinnable state. In many cases you'll get a blatant warning that this has occurred. However, you can perform a few silly actions that will also eliminate some needed objects (Spoiler - click to show)such as eating the toast. The puzzles are very fair and unique, simple enough to keep you engaged but tough enough to give you a feeling of pride upon completion of the game. The puzzles are the basis of the game and I recommend the game assuming the player likes puzzles. Those who enjoy a less puzzle-oriented game full of plot and characterization will probably find this game less exciting.
Amusing and recommended, September 12, 2010This game was an entry into the Great IF Toaster Comp. Despite the short duration in which the game was written, it is very entertaining and well-written. Only a handful of typos and some slightly inconvenient implementations reveal that the game was written in haste.
In this game, you play a dull-witted friar's assistant. As such, the descriptions of the objects in the game are often amusing and at least a few puzzles revolve around determining what the dull pc could be describing. The game is well-crafted and each object can interact with the others in a sensible way. As the pc discovers new facts in the game, the descriptions of the objects and the rooms differ.
There is more than one logical solution for each puzzle. I had trouble finding and solving the final puzzle, but found the game so entertaining that I pulled up the source code so I could see the final scene.
Not worth playing, September 12, 2010This game was an entry into the Great IF Toaster Contest, in which contestants were to design a game around a toaster.
This extremely short game's sole point is to have you push down a lever to make toast. However, there is absolutely no obstacle to prevent you from doing so. The game suffers from a lack of implementation: almost none of the nouns in the room descriptions are able to be examined and, despite the fact that the game emphasizes the smell of burnt toast, upon typing the command "smell" the game responds with "you smell nothing unexpected".
Making Toast, September 12, 2010A simple game in which you make toast in a giant toaster. The game is quick and the puzzles are simple enough to barely merit the label of "puzzle". Upon ending this game, I was left with the irksome feeling that I might have missed something, although my score (0 out of 0) seemed to indicate that I hadn't. Perhaps it was the title of the game that left me wondering if I had missed something more fun. I played the game a second time through just to see if I could crawl into the toaster. Alas, no.
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