Reviews by RickyD
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More interesting than it appears at first glance, October 26, 2015First time I played this, I realized very quickly that I was essentially an outside observer. However, I initially thought I was ONLY an outside observer and could do very little to impact the course of the game. (Basically the only thing you can do is say words, though your vocabulary is a bit bigger than I initially thought.) It wasn't until I played it a few more times that I realized I had more control than I initially thought, and that's when it started to get interesting. In the end, I discovered half a dozen different endings from my own playing around (and I had some help finding the last one (Spoiler - click to show)where you're sold to pirates and don't even get to see how the story ends.)
At the very least, it's worth playing for the "novelty" factor, but I recommend playing it multiple times, trying different words to see what the outcomes might be (or even to find different paths to the same outcome.)
Hook Line and Sinker!, October 24, 2015Wonderful little game. The whole time I played it, I felt a little uneasy and kept wondering what the "catch" was. Superbly done! I've played it several times since and found three different endings, and I'm sure I've missed a few details here and there along the way.
The environment is a little sparse (though it does include a working toilet, of all things!) Commands are very basic. Unfortunately, I kept running into "Noun error" or "Command not understood" errors doing things that I thought were relatively normal. That was a little bit annoying, but not the end of the world. Once I got a feel for what you could and couldn't do, it was OK.
Absolutely worth playing, and if you do play it, you have to play it again.
Short Game, Sticks with You, October 23, 2015What a game! It really messed with my head. Although I've never faced the exact dilemma faced by the protagonist, (Spoiler - click to show)I am the father of a young child and know what its like to try to calm an inconsolable baby, especially when you're both sleep-deprived. As such, finding the happy endings was fairly easy, and I couldn't bring myself to try the "unhappy" one, even though I know it's just a game. Yes, to me it was that compelling of a story, even though it was a short one.
Maybe I just get too caught up in it, but that says a lot about the game itself.
If I had to nitpick one thing -- there are a lot of places mentioned in the narration that you can't actually visit. I know it hints at a larger world "out there", but I don't know that it was necessary. But that's a minor thing that I'm willing to overlook.
Interesting Premise, Abrupt Ending, October 23, 2015Really liked the premise of the game, and I thoroughly enjoyed the imagination sequences. What kid hasn't dressed up and pretended his house was some sort of fortress (be it a space fortress, fort in the old west, or whatever)? Then you actually find (Spoiler - click to show)the titular rocket man from the sea, and just when you think the story might get interesting, it ends, with a Twilight Zone-esque twist.
Or rather, after one more "puzzle" it turns into exposition, exposition, exposition followed by talk to, talk to, talk to, until time runs out. The End.
Played several times, getting a couple different endings, eventually deciding that one of the ones I initially considered a "bad ending" (interestingly enough, the first ending I tried) may have been the best for all involved.
Gameplay itself is OK. There are several spots were a seemingly obvious object (mentioned in the narration) can't be examined or interacted with, and there are several areas that are mentioned but permanently blocked off for one reason or another. Not a deal-breaker, but a bit annoying.
The game had a lot of potential, and it was good for what it was, but I would've preferred more interaction in the second half, and perhaps even a chance to change the outcome ((Spoiler - click to show)talk to your parents, attempt to send a radio message, let someone know what you've found out.) I would love to see another IF game by this author, but sadly, it doesn't appear there are any at the moment.
Funniest game I've played in a long time, October 22, 2015I absolutely loved this game -- both the premise and the execution. Of course, I have a twisted sense of humor, so that probably helps. It deliberately makes fun of itself, and showcases common pitfalls of making IF games (including making objects takeable that shouldn't be, ambiguous verbs, making you use objects in ways that they're not intended, etc.) Of course, it takes some of these to absurd levels, but that's really just part of the fun.
I hate to admit, but I had to check out the walkthrough a time or two, just because I couldn't quite figure out the "wrong" way to accomplish the task at hand. It's a quick game and certainly worth playing again, if for no other reason than to see what other crazy responses it'll give you that you may have missed the first time around.
If you're looking for a lighthearted but slightly twisted game to break up the monotony, this one's certainly for you.
All in all, a good game, October 22, 2015This is an enjoyable game with an interesting premise -- you've been recruited by a scientist to help with an experiment that you know very little about, and you end up in a fantasy environment where magical creatures actually exist.
The environment is very interactive and the NPC's are decent. The conversation system is very nice and certainly beats the old "talk to [x] about [y]" or "ask [x] about [y]" guess-the-word system. Some of the puzzles are interesting -- I particularly enjoyed (Spoiler - click to show)the one that opens the portal -- and the storyline is easy to follow. I only got stuck in one place trying to guess the proper sequence of words, but I was able to find a way around it, so I wasn't stuck for long. There's a lot of exposition, but the vast majority of it is optional. The map is fairly linear and doesn't require too much backtracking.
The ending is satisfactory and fitting, though not quite how I personally would've wrapped it up. It's short enough to play in a single sitting but long enough to be interesting. Re-playability (if that's even a word) isn't extremely high -- after I went through it once, there were a couple of things I wanted to go back and play with some more, but after I did that, I wasn't in a hurry to play it a third time. (Of course, some games barely warrant a second play-through.)
All in all, a good game -- one I would certainly recommend to others.
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