Reviews by puzzler
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I laughed out loud, January 29, 2008At one point, I actually laughed out loud. Thumbs up for the humorous writing.
I thought it was very odd that the game at first creates an illusion that it is protecting you from making game-spoiling errors (if you try to get rid of certain objects that are important it prevents you, or they come back to you). But in fact, this is not the case. There are certainly a few important objects that the game WILL allow you to get rid of prematurely. I really don't understand the design decision behind this. Either let the player get rid of anything, or stop the player from shooting himself in the foot. This middle ground is actively misleading, dropping my rating by a star.
With that in mind, however, the puzzles are mostly fair (assuming repeated plays or several save/restore cycles). I gave up on the final puzzle and got a hint, because it didn't seem well clued and I wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to do. In retrospect, I think I would have gotten it eventually, but more through trial and error than through puzzling out the solution with careful reasoning. Because I didn't like this last puzzle, I dropped my rating by another star.
As a side note, I feel the game is suitable for playing with kids (always a good thing in my book).
Frustrating, but rewarding, January 29, 2008I went through several stages while playing this game.
Stage 1: Wow! This is a very clever puzzle.
Stage 2: Man, this is frustrating. This puzzle is hard. It's tedious to type these things in over and over. Any second now, I'm going to give up and look at the answer. It's just not worth the effort.
Stage 3: I feel so close. I'm going to stick with this a bit longer.
Stage 4: I solved it! I feel great!
So yes, this game is irritating at times, but if you stick with it, it's solvable, and very rewarding to solve. All in all, it probably took me about 3-4 hours to solve, and I feel the game is well worth that kind of time investment. If you like puzzles that are tough but fair (solvable with no hints or walkthroughs), then give this game a try.
Most reviews don't bother to mention whether a game is appropriate for kids, but this is an important factor to me when playing a game, so I try to include a bit of info about this in my reviews. I would give this game a PG rating for: violent (but funny) theme, harem reference, and several instances of the partial curse word "motherf-".
Very clever, December 25, 2007This is, in effect, a one puzzle game. The puzzle is challenging, clever, and solvable.
Suitable for kids, December 9, 2007I just finished playing through this game with my two children (ages 8 and 9). They both enjoyed the game. It's not always easy to determine whether a game is fully suitable for young kids, so I thought I'd mention that, as far as I can tell, Lost Pig has no objectionable content.
Return to Mike Roberts, November 22, 2007I particularly enjoy Michael J. Roberts' games, so I was pleased to see he had released a new game. This game serves as a showpiece for what TADS 3 can do. For example, TADS 3 has a new conversation system that is exceptionally well thought out. The game is filled with rich and interesting puzzles, but because of its "showcase" nature, there are some elements that are more tedious than fun (lots of consulting various things about various topics, an elevator, lots of locked doors to show off the key ring functionality).
My only negative comment about the game is that the plot feels, well, rather geeky. Overall, I enjoyed this game quite a bit, but because of its many math, science, and tech puzzles I wouldn't recommend it to the average player. You don't really need to know much about math, science, and tech to solve the puzzles (your character refreshes his memory by consulting various references in the game) but you will enjoy the game more if you like these topics.
Entertaining, family-friendly game, November 22, 2007There are some very clever puzzles in this game. The haunted house puzzle is particularly memorable. I had played this game years ago, and played it again recently with my kids. They loved it, because it's very funny and you can't get stuck or killed.
One of my favorites, November 22, 2007Roberts knows how to write a solid adventure game. The puzzles are challenging, but reasonable and well-clued, and integrated into the story setting. Also, as the author of TADS, the technical details of his games are generally faultless. He has several excellent games, but this is his best. I only wish he'd write more!
Best IF game I've ever played, November 22, 2007This is the best IF game I've ever played. The story, puzzles, all work together perfectly.
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