External Links

Steam
for Windows, Mac, and Linux
App Store
for iPhone, iPad, and iPod
Google Play Store
for Android

Have you played this game?

You can rate this game, record that you've played it, or put it on your wish list after you log in.

Playlists and Wishlists

RSS Feeds

New member reviews
Updates to external links
All updates to this page

The Martian Job

by M. Darusha Wehm

Science Fiction
2018

Web Site

(based on 2 ratings)
1 review

About the Story

Rob the first Martian casino and find out who really rules the planet! Crack a safe, break some hearts, start a revolution, or get rich beyond the stars!

The Martian Job is a 155,000-word interactive novel by M. Darusha Wehm. It’s entirely text-based, without graphics or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

Welcome to Mars, where one last safecracking job could nab you enough platinum to last a lifetime. But how will you pull off your heist? Do you hack into the vault, blast your way in, or finesse the locks? Can you trust your misfit team of grifters and con artists? Can they trust you?

Succeed in your mission and win power, love, and money—or fail and spend the rest of your life tending bar on another planet. Pay enough attention, and you’ll learn about the corrupt Martian government as you go—along with the rebels who oppose it and the corporation trying to take it over. Will you choose to save the planet’s troubled colonists, or use the information for your own gain? You’ll also encounter opportunities to avenge an old comrade, thwart the machinations of a power-hungry tycoon, or start a revolution. Decide where your loyalty lies: with your team, with Mars, or only with yourself.

Can you shape the destiny of humanity’s first interplanetary colony—and walk away with a trunk full of platinum?

• Play as non-binary, female, or male, as ace/aro or as monogamous or poly, and find romance with people of all genders.
• Raid the first casino on Mars.
• Master real casino games like blackjack and roulette.
• Lead a crack team of expert thieves, or sell out anyone for a shard of platinum.
• Infiltrate the center of Martian power to control, destroy, or join forces with the planet’s rulers.
• Start a revolution to topple the government, or defeat the rebels from within.
• Dominate the corporate world with an elite interplanetary industrialist, force him out of business, or execute a hostile takeover.
• Control the future of humanity on another planet!


Game Details

Tags

- View the most common tags (What's a tag?)

(Log in to add your own tags)
Tags you added are shown below with checkmarks. To remove one of your tags, simply un-check it.

Enter new tags here (use commas to separate tags):

Member Reviews

5 star:
(1)
4 star:
(0)
3 star:
(0)
2 star:
(1)
1 star:
(0)
Average Rating:
Number of Reviews: 1
Write a review


3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Solid writing in a space-themed heist game, July 25, 2020
by MathBrush
Related reviews: about 2 hours

I'll discuss this game on my five point scale. For an overview, you are a former safecracker who's running out of money and is looking for a new job. This one's a casino, on Mars. You have to work with a team and pull of the heist; but things go wrong.

Polish: This game is thoroughly polished. Even the stats screen looks nice, and the names of stats are a clever treat (you have three stats about your interactions with Mars, named 'Curiosity', 'Sojourner', and 'Spirit').

Descriptiveness: This is where the game shines. This feels like the kind of writing you'd expect picking up a crime or mystery novel from the bestseller table at a bookstore. It's a higher caliber than most the IF I've played, for sure.

Interactivity: This is where it differs a lot from other Choicescript games, and the area I have the most to say about. Most Choicescript games are power fantasies where you max/min or strategize and get to do all sorts of great things, but at the same time sacrificing other goals. This game felt less powerful and more by-the-skin-of-your-teeth. There are very few opportunities to raise your stats. Many choices were more about reaction than action, and I could see that be why another reviewer gave it less stars. I'm a fan of games that invite reflection (ironically, one of my favorite such games is Polish the Glass, which has a similar writing style and features the same day job as this game's protagonist). There are still power fantasy elements; you can fall in love with many people, change the whole world, become rich. I became rich, but it felt hollow. Maybe I should try again?

Emotional Impact: I felt it. The game had an intense blackjack simulation that I liked. I don't gamble in real life, but in the game it was fun (lost everything, of course). I felt tense at times, laughed at the portrait in the crime lord's office. A strong area for the game.

Would I play again? Absolutely. If I time traveled to tell my past self about which Choicescript games I should play, I'd definitely include this one, and I want to see if I can save Mars this time.

I was provided a review copy of this game.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

The Martian Job on IFDB

Recommended Lists

The Martian Job appears in the following Recommended Lists:

Mars master list by Kinetic Mouse Car
All about Mars. Does not need to take place on the surface of Mars. Games that take place under Mars' surface, orbiting Mars, on Mars' moons, or even just about traveling to Mars are included. Simply ones that add an interesting twist or...

Great games set in space by MathBrush
My list for best sci-fi games has grown too large again, and so I'm splitting it off again. This list only includes games whose primary action is off-planet, or which feature exploring an unfamiliar planet, or which feature...

Crime and Heist games by MathBrush
I've played a lot of these recently, so I'm making a list. A contrast to my Detective and Mystery games list and similar to my Espionage and Spy game list, where I put Spider and Web, for instance.




This is version 1 of this page, edited by R.E.Towers on 5 October 2018 at 2:15pm. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page