Reviews by IFforL2

Esta historia permite al usuario a escoger inglés y o español, una cosa útil para aprender este o ese idioma. Los elecciones disponibles no parecen resultar en muchas variaciones o resultados.

This story allows the reader to read in English or Spanish. I consider this somewhat useful for learning languages. However, the available choices don't result in a great variety of results. Then again, the authors' goal may simply be to enjoy several perspectives on the same story.

I was quite excited to stumble upon this game. I like having parallel texts available for language learners. Also, Scott Adams' games nearly always feature very short narrative segments and generally low-level vocabulary. For both reasons, this could potentially be a valuable resource for the language classroom. Unfortunately, I encountered bugs early on. It is impossible to "coger libros" to find the secret passage. I'd be happy to change my rating to four or five stars if such bugs are fixed. The translation is natural, not overly literal. The background and visual effects match the original game, creating (at least for me) a warm fuzzy nostalgia.

Although this is not Incanus' most polished game, it was my personal favorite until I found the time to play Ofrenda a la Pincoya. It's also the one I'd recommend for Spanish language learners--The parser never misunderstood me and didn't expect me to go through extremely detailed procedures.

Aunque este juego no es el más finamente construido de las obras de Incanus, todavía era mi favorita, hasta que leí Ofrenda a la Pincoya. También este es el que recomendaria para los que están aprendiendo el Español.

I love hiking through the mountains of southern Taiwan, and I appreciate the way Mouth of Ashes creates a long walk for the PC. I make up stories like this for my kids to keep up the pace and distract them from the potential discomfort of stamina exercise. I'll have to use this plot next time we head up Mt. Du-li.

One of the things I love about text adventures.co.uk is the unabashedly amateur nature of many of the pieces. But it is nice to see near perfect implementation, and this is one example. In my opinion, this game is as entertaining, sublime and meticulous as many of the IFComp winners that I've played. It is also one of those games you can continue to "play" away from the computer during an interminable meeting or while proctoring final exams.

The lowest English level of this game has an average grade level of about 2. It should be easily understood by 7 to 8 year olds. Although this game may seem to target a younger audience, I've had Taiwanese high schoolers ROFL at this game. It's surprisingly cute and suddenly startling.

Readability Indices:

Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease 101.4
Flesch Kincaid Grade Level 0.6
Gunning Fog Score 2.9
SMOG Index 2.4
Coleman Liau Index 5.9
Automated Readability Index -1.1

(Source: Read-able.com)

This game has an average grade level of about 5. It should be easily understood by 10 to 11 year olds. My students usually like this game less than "Escape from Simian Island" by the same author. But they appreciate the snarky humor; I usually hear some giggling as they read.

Readability Indices:

Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease 90.3
Flesch Kincaid Grade Level 4.1
Gunning Fog Score 6.4
SMOG Index 3.7
Coleman Liau Index 6.8
Automated Readability Index 3.7

(Source: read-able.com)

This game has an average grade level of about 6. It should be easily understood by 11 to 12 year olds. My students find this game to be more difficult, but also more fun than "A Day at the Beach" by the same author.

Readability Indices:

Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease 85.6
Flesch Kincaid Grade Level 5
Gunning Fog Score 7.2
SMOG Index 4.5
Coleman Liau Index 7.7
Automated Readability Index 4.7

(Source: read-able.com)