Ratings and Reviews by kala
View this member's profileShow reviews only | ratings only
Showing All | Show by PageTinyHillside, by Emily Short
kala's Rating: 
The Mary Jane of Tomorrow, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
Brain Guzzlers from Beyond!, by Steph Cherrywell
kala's Rating:
Bonehead, by Sean M. Shore
kala's Rating:
Color the Truth, by mathbrush
kala's Rating:
Detectiveland, by Robin Johnson
kala's Rating:
Stone Harbor, by Liza Daly
kala's Rating:
Cactus Blue Motel, by Astrid Dalmady
kala's Rating:
Heroine's Mantle, by Andy Phillips
kala's Rating:
Kerkerkruip, by Victor Gijsbers
kala's Rating:
For a Change, by Dan Schmidt
kala's Rating:
1893: A World's Fair Mystery, by Peter Nepstad
kala's Rating:
Mentula Macanus: Apocolocyntosis, by One of the Bruces and Drunken Bastard
kala's Rating:
Stiffy Makane: The Undiscovered Country, by Adam Thornton
kala's Rating:
The Incredible Erotic Adventures of Stiffy Makane, by Mark Ryan
kala's Rating:
Stiffy Makane: Mystery Science Theater 3000, by Anonymous
kala's Rating:
Creatures Such As We, by Lynnea Glasser
kala's Rating:
their angelical understanding, by Porpentine
kala's Rating:
Coloratura, by Lynnea Glasser
kala's Rating:
Bigger Than You Think, by Andrew Plotkin
kala's Rating:
Aisle, by Sam Barlow
kala's Rating:
Violet, by Jeremy Freese
kala's Rating:
Blue Lacuna, by Aaron A. Reed
kala's Rating:
Ad Verbum, by Nick Montfort
kala's Rating:
With Those We Love Alive, by Porpentine and Brenda Neotenomie
kala's Rating:
Hadean Lands, by Andrew Plotkin
kala's Rating:
Ditch Day Drifter, by Michael J. Roberts
kala's Rating:
The Reliques of Tolti-Aph, by Graham Nelson
kala's Rating:
Hunter, in Darkness, by Andrew Plotkin
kala's Rating:
Dead Reckoning, by David Whyld
kala's Rating:
Shattered Memory, by Andrés Viedma Peláez (as 'Akbarr')
kala's Rating:
Return to Ditch Day, by M.J. Roberts
kala's Rating:
Mystery House Possessed, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
The Shadow in the Cathedral, by Ian Finley and Jon Ingold
kala's Rating:
Earth And Sky 3: Luminous Horizon, by Paul O'Brian
kala's Rating:
Earth and Sky 2: Another Earth, Another Sky, by Paul O'Brian
kala's Rating:
Earth and Sky, by Paul O'Brian
kala's Rating:
Blighted Isle, by Eric Eve
kala's Rating:
Adventurer's Consumer Guide, by Řyvind Thorsby
kala's Rating:
Invisible Parties, by Sam Kabo Ashwell (as Psychopup)
kala's Rating:
Jigsaw, by Graham Nelson
kala's Rating:
Hoist Sail for the Heliopause and Home, by Andrew Plotkin
kala's Rating:
Blue Chairs, by Chris Klimas
kala's Rating:
Kicker, by Pippin Barr
kala's Rating:
Everybody Dies, by Jim Munroe
kala's Rating:
Aotearoa, by Matt Wigdahl
kala's Rating:
Ultimate Quest, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
Dr. Dumont's Wild P.A.R.T.I., by Muffy Berlyn and Michael Berlyn
kala's Rating:
Delightful Wallpaper, by Andrew Plotkin ('Edgar O. Weyrd')
kala's Rating:
Kaged, by Ian Finley
kala's Rating:
howling dogs, by Porpentine
kala's Rating:
First Things First, by J. Robinson Wheeler
kala's Rating:
Treasures of a Slaver's Kingdom, by S. John Ross
kala's Rating:
Worlds Apart, by Suzanne Britton
kala's Rating:
Shadows of Mordor, by Philip Mitchell, John Haward
kala's Rating:
Lord of the Rings: Game One, by Philip Mitchell, Michael O'Rourke, Paul Kidd, Lyn C
kala's Rating:
Animals, by David Fisher
kala's Rating:
Delusions, by C. E. Forman
kala's Rating:
Sunset Over Savannah, by Ivan Cockrum
kala's Rating:
Gun Mute, by C.E.J. Pacian
kala's Rating:
Rameses, by Stephen Bond
kala's Rating:
Counterfeit Monkey, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
Balances, by Graham Nelson
kala's Rating:
All Things Devours, by half sick of shadows
kala's Rating:
Forbidden Quest, by Donnel Cox and William Pryor
kala's Rating:
Fahrenheit 451, by Len Neufeld and Ray Bradbury
kala's Rating:
Amazon, by Michael Crichton
kala's Rating:
Tales of the Traveling Swordsman, by Mike Snyder
kala's Rating:
LASH -- Local Asynchronous Satellite Hookup, by Paul O'Brian
kala's Rating:
Wonderland, by David Bishop, Bob Coles, Paul Findley, Ken Gordon, Richard Huddy, Steve Lacey, Doug Rabson, Anita Sinclair, Hugh Steers and Mark Taylor
kala's Rating:
The Meteor, the Stone and a Long Glass of Sherbet, by Graham Nelson (as Angela M. Horns)
kala's Rating:
When in Rome 1: Accounting for Taste, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
When in Rome 2: Far from Home, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
First Draft of the Revolution, by Emily Short, Liza Daly and inkle
kala's Rating:
The King of Shreds and Patches, by Jimmy Maher
kala's Rating:
Gris et Jaune, by Jason Devlin
kala's Rating:
Sting of the Wasp, by Jason Devlin
8 of
9 people found the following review helpful:
Postmodern Vanity Fair, May 24, 2013by kala (Finland)
It is not too often that one encounters IF with cultivated social criticism. Sting of the Wasp can be considered such case, wrapped in a ludic shell of surprising success.
The author's writing deserves a special mention. It is well sophisticated, somewhat close to Emily Short's historical style samples. Responses are always enhanced with a touch of witty satire, yet never falling into descriptive excess.
The puzzles are fair. An advanced reader might consider them simple, excluding the final. Overall, most of the problems are integrated with delightful thematic functions -- a feature not too common in fiction puzzle design in general. Taking a couple of hours to finish, Sting of the Wasp becomes a short novel with a steadily paced challenging narrative.
When reading aspiring IF, it is important not to compare them to canonized literary texts like those of Thackeray's as such. IF is a distinct cultural form with its own aesthetics. How works of IF engage in satirical expression is an art that has no points of comparison outside the history of the form, and in this context, Sting of the Wasp can be seen as one of the postmodern pioneers.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
Vespers, by Jason Devlin
kala's Rating:
Legion, by Jason Devlin
kala's Rating:
Rematch, by Andrew D. Pontious
kala's Rating:
Suveh Nux, by David Fisher
kala's Rating:
Slouching Towards Bedlam, by Star Foster and Daniel Ravipinto
kala's Rating:
Voodoo Castle, by Alexis Adams and Scott Adams
kala's Rating:
Questprobe Featuring: Spider-Man, by Scott Adams and Al Milgrom
kala's Rating:
Questprobe Featuring The Hulk, by Scott Adams, John Romita Sr., Mark Gruenwald, and Kem NcNair
kala's Rating:
Secret Mission, by Scott Adams
kala's Rating:
Pirate Adventure, by Scott Adams and Alexis Adams
kala's Rating:
The Game Formerly Known as Hidden Nazi Mode, by Victor Gijsbers
kala's Rating:
'Mid the Sagebrush and the Cactus, by Victor Gijsbers
kala's Rating:
The Art of Fugue, by Victor Gijsbers, Jimmy Maher, Dorte Lassen, and Johan
kala's Rating:
Figaro, by Victor Gijsbers
kala's Rating:
De Baron, by Victor Gijsbers
kala's Rating:
Dead Cities, by Jon Ingold
kala's Rating:
Demon's Tomb - The Awakening, by Simon Price
kala's Rating:
TimeQuest, by Bob Bates
kala's Rating:
Kobyashi Naru, by Clive Wilson and Les Hogarth
0 of
1 people found the following review helpful:
Insignificant Game Wrapped in Interesting Interface, April 1, 2013by kala (Finland)
A casual player-reader should not waste time on this one. For someone with an historical interest in IF, the work does however provide some fascination moments.
In practice, there is no story more than the one on the back cover of the box. The player must simply beat three mini-worlds to get the final output. Yet the experimental interface has a kick. The output text is given normally, but the input is chosen from verb icons in the manner of later point-and-clicks. The verbs are applied to specific words by selecting them from the output -- as we do with iPads today. Unfortunately this was 25 years too early, and doesn't work with keyboard too well.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
Spellcasting 301: Spring Break, by Steve Meretzky
kala's Rating:
Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance, by Steve Meretzky
kala's Rating:
Spellcasting 101 - Sorcerers Get All The Girls, by Steve Meretzky
kala's Rating:
Lancelot, by Christina Erskin, Joan Lamb, Neil Scrimgeour, Dicken Peeke, Nusarath Jahan, Mike Austin, Nick Austin, John Jones-Steele, and Mike Bryant
kala's Rating:
Scapeghost, by Pete Austin
kala's Rating:
Adventureland, by Scott Adams
kala's Rating:
The Saga of Erik the Viking, by Pete Austin
kala's Rating:
Emerald Isle, by Shaun D. Abbott and James Horsler
1 of
4 people found the following review helpful:
A Shell of Adventure, February 5, 2013by kala (Finland)
Despite the fact that the work is indeed pretty much an empty shell in today's standards, we often forget that the aesthetics of IF have changed a lot along these years. In the early days, players / readers used to approach these works from a different perspective, enjoying the sensations of inhabiting and exploring space without necessarily expecting to proceed on the narrative level as we do nowadays. In this respect, Emerald Isle is a relatively fascinating construction of a virtual world with a load of hidden secrets -- though visibly inferior to those of later RPGs.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
The Price of Magik, by Pete Austin, Nick Austin, Mike Austin, and James Horsler
kala's Rating:
Red Moon, by David Williamson, Simon Aspinall, Pete Austin, Pete Austin, and James Horsler
kala's Rating:
Lords of Time, by Sue Gazzard and Ian Buxton
kala's Rating:
The Worm in Paradise, by Mike Austin, Nick Austin, Pete Austin, and James Horsler
kala's Rating:
Snowball, by Mike Austin, Nick Austin, Pete Austin, and Ian Buxton
kala's Rating:
Return to Eden, by Nick Austin, Chris Queen, and Tim Noyce
kala's Rating:
Twilight Zone, by Anonymous (First Row Software Publishing Inc.), Programming by Jeffrey A. Jay
kala's Rating:
Adventure (Program Power, 1983), by Program Power
kala's Rating:
Adventure, by William Crowther and Donald Woods
kala's Rating:
Adventure Quest, by Mike Austin, Nick Austin, and Pete Austin
kala's Rating:
Dungeon Adventure, by Mike Austin, Nick Austin, and Pete Austin
kala's Rating:
Till Death Makes a Monk-Fish Out of Me, by Mike Sousa and Jon Ingold
kala's Rating:
Brimstone, by James Paul
kala's Rating:
Break-In, by Jon Ingold
kala's Rating:
Insight, by Jon Ingold
kala's Rating:
My Angel, by Jon Ingold
kala's Rating:
All Roads, by Jon Ingold
kala's Rating:
The Mulldoon Murders, by Jon Ingold
kala's Rating:
The Mulldoon Legacy, by Jon Ingold
kala's Rating:
Fail-Safe, by Jon Ingold
kala's Rating:
Banana Apocalypse and the Rocket Pants of Destiny, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
Leather Goddesses of Phobos, by Steve Meretzky
kala's Rating:
Journey, by Marc Blank
kala's Rating:
Breakers, by Rodney Smith, Joe Vierra, William Mataga
kala's Rating:
Essex, by Bill Darrah, William Mataga
kala's Rating:
The Pawn, by Rob Steggles, Peter Kemp, Hugh Steers, Ken Gordon, and Geoff Quilley
kala's Rating:
Pick Up the Phone Booth and Aisle, by David Dyte, Steve Bernard, Dan Shiovitz, Iain Merrick, Liza Daly, John Cater, Ola Sverre Bauge, J. Robinson Wheeler, Jon Blask, Dan Schmidt, Stephen Granade, Rob Noyes, and Emily Short
kala's Rating:
Pick Up The Phone Booth And Die, by Rob Noyes
kala's Rating:
Pick Up The Phone Booth And Die 2, by Rob Noyes
kala's Rating:
Anchorhead, by Michael Gentry
kala's Rating:
Bee, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
Dracula, by Rod Pike
kala's Rating:
Plundered Hearts, by Amy Briggs
kala's Rating:
Bureaucracy, by Douglas Adams, The Staff of Infocom
kala's Rating:
Suspended, by Michael Berlyn
kala's Rating:
Cutthroats, by Michael Berlyn, Jerry Wolper
kala's Rating:
Infidel, by Michael Berlyn
kala's Rating:
Moonmist, by Stu Galley, Jim Lawrence
kala's Rating:
Seastalker, by Stu Galley, Jim Lawrence
kala's Rating:
The Witness, by Stu Galley
kala's Rating:
Narcolepsy, by Adam Cadre
kala's Rating:
Metamorphoses, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
Ballyhoo, by Jeff O'Neill
kala's Rating:
Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It, by Jeff O'Neill
kala's Rating:
The Rocket Man From The Sea, by Janos Honkonen
kala's Rating:
Mission Asteroid, by Roberta Williams, Ken Williams, Sierra On-line Systems
kala's Rating:
Ulysses and the Golden Fleece, by Bob Davis and Ken Williams
kala's Rating:
The Wizard and the Princess, by Roberta Williams and Ken Williams
kala's Rating:
Mystery House, by Ken Williams and Roberta Williams
kala's Rating:
Dracula Part 1: The First Night, by El Clérigo Urbatain and DEF and Rod Pike
kala's Rating:
Amnesia, by Thomas M. Disch and Kevin Bentley
kala's Rating:
Mindwheel, by Robert Pinsky, William Mataga, Steve Hales
kala's Rating:
Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels, by Bob Bates
kala's Rating:
Zork, by Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling
kala's Rating:
Suspect, by Dave Lebling
kala's Rating:
Spellbreaker, by Dave Lebling
kala's Rating:
Shogun, by James Clavell, Dave Lebling
kala's Rating:
The Lurking Horror, by Dave Lebling
kala's Rating:
Zork III, by Dave Lebling, Marc Blank
kala's Rating:
Zork II, by Dave Lebling, Marc Blank
kala's Rating:
Enchanter, by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling
kala's Rating:
Deadline, by Marc Blank
kala's Rating:
Border Zone, by Marc Blank
kala's Rating:
Make It Good, by Jon Ingold
kala's Rating:
Beyond Zork, by Brian Moriarty
kala's Rating:
Indigo, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
Glass, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
Floatpoint, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
A Day for Fresh Sushi, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
Damnatio Memoriae, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
Bronze, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
Alabaster, by John Cater, Rob Dubbin, Eric Eve, Elizabeth Heller, Jayzee, Kazuki Mishima, Sarah Morayati, Mark Musante, Emily Short, Adam Thornton, Ziv Wities
kala's Rating:
Zork Zero, by Steve Meretzky
kala's Rating:
Stationfall, by Steve Meretzky
kala's Rating:
Sorcerer, by Steve Meretzky
kala's Rating:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky
kala's Rating:
Lock & Key, by Adam Cadre
kala's Rating:
I-0, by Anonymous
kala's Rating:
9:05, by Adam Cadre
kala's Rating:
The Dreamhold, by Andrew Plotkin
kala's Rating:
A Change in the Weather, by Andrew Plotkin
kala's Rating:
So Far, by Andrew Plotkin
kala's Rating:
Planetfall, by Steve Meretzky
kala's Rating:
Arthur, by Bob Bates
kala's Rating:
Zork I, by Marc Blank and Dave Lebling
kala's Rating:
Wishbringer, by Brian Moriarty
kala's Rating:
Curses, by Graham Nelson
kala's Rating:
City of Secrets, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
Galatea, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
Varicella, by Adam Cadre
kala's Rating:
Trinity, by Brian Moriarty
kala's Rating:
Shade, by Andrew Plotkin
kala's Rating:
Shrapnel, by Adam Cadre
kala's Rating:
Savoir-Faire, by Emily Short
kala's Rating:
A Mind Forever Voyaging, by Steve Meretzky
kala's Rating:
Photopia, by Adam Cadre
kala's Rating:
Lost Pig, by Admiral Jota
kala's Rating:
Spider and Web, by Andrew Plotkin
kala's Rating:
Fate, by Victor Gijsbers
kala's Rating:
Showing All | Show by Page