Reviews by kba
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Solid menu-driven chat simulation, December 30, 2008Halb Zwei is not an adventure in a classical sense but consists of a single, menu-driven dialog about a movie. However, you can deduce to identity of who you're talking to and your relationship to him/her from little clues alongside the dialog.
As every answer marks a branch in the event tree, there are a lot of possible ways to finish the game, but they all lead to one (Spoiler - click to show)little spectacular end.
The technical idea is interesting, the story not really exciting, the interaction very limited. A solid chat simulation, that entertained for the first dozen replays for the information it revealed, but then quickly faded from my memory.
Absurd, silly, but mostly coherent, December 29, 2008The premise of this game is a typical one for IF: You wake up in an unknown room, suffering from total amnesia. What unfolds now could be described as a kafkaesque tongue-in-cheek college humor version of the movie Cube with only one protagonist. Rooms are linked randomly (Spoiler - click to show)- or so it seems at first - and what absurd, confusing rooms!
The puzzles are a blend of combining items, magic and trial and error, though they largely adhere to the logic of the game. The tone is light-hearted and crude at times, fans of toilet humour won't be disappointed, as the game reacts to a multitude of words for bodily functions, excrements and sexual actions, but they are not necessary to finish the game. (Spoiler - click to show)For whatever reason, the author mapped F7 to the 'fart' command. Now that's just silly...
If you like that kind of humour or not: If a game reacts to almost anything you throw at it, that shows that the creator really made an effort and for me, that is always a good thing. You can examine everything and ask the one all-knowing NPC about everything. You can also communicate with this half-philosopher half-lunatic using a menu about a variety of existentialist matters which tends to get tedious at times, but some lines are funny(Spoiler - click to show), like the dialog: "What is the meaning of life?" - "We are manure. Now what?". Makes me chuckle like a koan.
Apart from possible but easily avoidable deaths, there are five different endings that range from religious to self-referential (that one is surprisingly funny). Except for one riddle (Spoiler - click to show)that is just a big hint for the final puzzle in a deliberately incorrect anachronistic style a basic level of the german language should be enough to finish it.
If you like self-mocking puzzle games with an existentialist undertone (existentialist as in Beckett/Ionesco, not as in Nietzsche/Kierkegaard) then give Der Fünfte Raum a try.
Good introduction to IF, December 29, 2008Your task is simple: Enter the building, take the lift to the 13th floor and make a good impression at the job interview... 13th floor? That doesn't sound right. And it is not.
As the game is really short, it's impossible to explain details of the story without spoiling the fun. Let's just say, it's theme changes from slice of life to greek mythology and back. The conclusion could have been more elaborate, but the idea is clever(Spoiler - click to show), though predictable and a bit "deus ex machina".
A short, linear game, probably good as an introduction to IF and, other than Max' later games Das Felleisen and Das Kopialbuch, not as heavy on the historical background.
Thin plot, lots of historical background, December 29, 2008Another historical IF game by Max Kalus that is set in 16th century Germany. Similarily to Das Felleisen this one also seems not so much an adventure as a vehicle for the historic background.
The plot itself is short and linear and in the ending phase there is a time strict limit. But the extensive help function offers both tips (based on location) and a textual walkthrough. The historical background seems to be accurate (at least, I guess so) and both the interface as well as the description use anachronistic german (Spoiler - click to show)- some items are really written in the style of the 16th century which is hard to understand even for a native speaker which adds a lot to immersion.
I would rate it with 4 Stars if it weren't for the fact that I actually sympathise more with the antagonist than with the hero and would love it to be implemented that way. It's fairly short and considering the extensive help function it is a nice fifteen minutes of playing and another half hour to read on the historical background in-game :-)
Well-done historical miniature, December 28, 2008As there aren't that many german IF games, this one should get a review and seeing that there aren't that many german IF reviewers, I should do the first one.
The game isn't very long, it is not so much focussed on the plot but on historical background. It's set in the era of the "communication revolution" that was the introduction of a general postal service in the 16th century (the HILFE section has a nice article on this). The few NPCs are not very talkative but solid and the puzzles are mostly straightforward (Spoiler - click to show)except one encryption puzzle but the TIPP function is your friend here.
I'd recommend this to every german-speaking IF player, if not for the plot than for the historical atmosphere and the fact that is in german language. Non-native speakers will have to have a dictionary nearby as it uses a lot of anachronistic words.
Moreover this would be a great game to play on a kiosk computer in a (german) museum for history of postal services.
Technically great, full of symbolistic smugness, December 28, 2008I played Blue Chairs because I looked specifically for games with a surreal setting and surreal is what I got. The opening scene is really great, both technically and as a plot device, and it seems like the start of some psychedelic fun. But it isn't really psychedelic, it felt more like the stoned ramblings of a preachy zen-buddhist who read too much wikipedia on Freudian pychoanalysis. Then again, I don't know what kind of drug I, the player that is, is on.
I have no problem with games with a message, but either I didn't really get it or I'm not interested in it.
But mine is a very subjective point of view: The game is flawles technically, has various endings and if you are into psychology of the sub-consiciousness, symbolism and new-age-isms or just more tolerant than me, you will love it.
Even though I didn't like it I advise you to play it, it deserves it!
Good game, bit short, December 28, 2008The magic elements of the story are mostly well clued and there is a hint system which is always a big plus for me.
The plot is not very eleaborate and consequently, neither the PC nor the NPCs are fully developed. However, the twists aren't really surprising for anyone who played fantasy IF before.
All in all, Wearing the Claw has an entertaining story, a technically flawless implementation and is all in all a rewarding experience, though quickly finished.
grotesquely stupid and very funny, December 21, 2008The minute it took me to play was hilarious.
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