Reviews by Aintelligence
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A bit sketchy? Nah!, December 5, 2010If you've ever read the comic books Calvin and Hobbes, then you may agree with me that the protagonist reminds me enormously of "Tracer Bullet". A shady, (Spoiler - click to show) corrupt alcoholic private eye who spends his time solving cases and then deciding not to reveal the guilty because he was 'a close friend'. Yes, the characters are so alike in character and thought, I could have sworn Bill Watterson wrote this.
Really, all the characters were like this in the story; each with something to hide (except Joe who would rather do crossword puzzles) which made this mystery a classic. What was even more interesting was trying to find more information about yourself to see what was happening in the house. No other detective stories (encountered to date) has this, instead completely focusing on the other characters. In short, the characters were beautifully crafted.
The story was so original. It took me 4 tries to finally see what I had to do to win the game, because before, I was chasing a million red herrings. That's the beauty of the game though, I think. You will run through the game with no result several times before you get the feel of the characters, setting and plot, and the solution just slams into your head. Really, the whole game is a massive puzzle, designed to keep you on your toes and to anticipate every future move, as well as adapting quickly when you find yourself stuck. to those who did it on their first try.
I could talk almost all day of how good and entertaining and puzzling the story was, but I'll leave with one more point. The story was not just a good piece of work on all four cylinders but also the people (not referring to their personalities at the moment). Like many mystery adventures, you had to be at the right place at the right time to win in some parts, but the characters were really sophisticated in the programming side of things. A lot of effort was put into them to make them know a variety of topics to ask or tell them about, and I found discussions were easily carried out.
I'll just say this: If you are interested even a little in mystery, play this.
Are we there yeti?, December 5, 2010This game was a rather strange game on many plains. It, was very relaxed and humorous attitude to it, as if it was just written by a bored guy on a hot summer day in errr, Norway. The jokes were slapped in from all directions (Spoiler - click to show) you dump coffee on the man, don't you know coffee is BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH??!! and very dry humor all through. Not quite my type of humor, but even I laughed at the somewhat dry jokes.
The obvious lack of revision did, however cause the story to be less than what it could have been. The story especially suffered because no examine/search had been implemented. Sure, you could complete the story, but the lack of 'examine' hurt the story's character.
The other main issue i had with the game was that the combat was too easy. It's tagged as a puzzle shooter, but there were no puzzles involved (like backup etc.) which affected the difficulty of the combat. It was just 'shoot yeti' and it died. The puzzle combat could possibly refer to the end boss, but even so, I was expecting a little more puzzle.
So if you're looking for a simple game, with a weak plot and characters, but rather funny, this is a good game for you. I would recommend to at least give it a try.
It's chaos and thank goodness it's buried, December 3, 2010I played this on recommendation from a friend who just started playing. Right from the beginning, this so-called adventure was a massive flop. None of the puzzles made any practical sense, for example (Spoiler - click to show) why the heck did you have to turn the dial to 4 of all numbers to open the door? and you were just strolling around some cave with a whole bunch of useless codes and keys. Sure...the creators of this cave knew some day somebody would get trapped, so they decided to booby trap it. This is another suffering of the story, the fact that the setting and the story make absolutely no sense whatsoever. If there are any beginners out there who are thinking about this game, don't play it!
Rather watch grass grow, December 2, 2010Ok, this author maybe needs to realize that all of what was described did not happen, and I personally don't want to spend the day reading bogus historical essays.
Oh yeah and this really isn't a game
Why is this on here?
Ah... I love a bit of metaphysics in the morning, November 30, 2010Not only is this one of Emily Short's best works ( along with bronze, check it out), but this is a sure candidate for one of the best adventures ever. The story was bleak to say the least, with just a few hints here and there, but it works wonders for the mysterious story. You know that you're a slave sent by your master for some mission, but you slowly accumulate the story as you go along. And yes, it's one heck of a story too. Brilliant characters, brilliant story, great puzzles and the philosophy was top.
The main character, a slave is relatively unknown except for the flashbacks we have in the game. The game though focuses more on the puzzles and the philosophy though than the character, but the little we do know bought the protagonist really strengthens the plot.
The puzzles are really neat in many ways. They fit the magic that you feel in the story, in the sense that none of the puzzles feel forced, but feel like they should be there. Also unlike many adventures, the puzzles are solvable in many different ways, so the game is repeatable. These puzzles are genius. However even with the 5 star rating, not everything was perfect. I found that two puzzles in particular (Spoiler - click to show)the oven and the ball were impossible if you did a small bit wrong. Ah well, I saved. In short though, the puzzles were fair.
On a side note, I loved the Plato mixed in with the story, well actually the main part of the story, aka. The 5th element. Makes me want to read Plato again.
Beam me up Scotty, there's no intelligent life on this island, November 29, 2010This adventure is actually pretty cool in concept. You've just been set afloat by a bunch of pirates and find yourself bound in a tiny life raft with an island just in sight. The story seems really good here as well as the characters. There are a few puzzles, not too difficult, but there is hardly any control over your character except a small bit in the middle which I thought was fine. The cliffhanger was well executed, but there is just one killer that makes this game a 2 star. Ok this prologue was made in 2000. So much for the full version. Honestly just don't play this game unless you want to be tortured by the missing end.
Veni, vidi, vici, November 29, 2010I've always been a fan of Emily Short adventures because they're so creative. This is a great example of sheer creativeness which appears in all of her stories. The Emperor Augustus has recently died and tuberous is his 'successor' but Tiberious wants you dead because of the incredible power you hold. So the story goes that you have to destroy all evidence of the powers you hold which will incriminate you.
Ok so it's a one roomer ( well, technically 2) but the storyline is really well done and there are so many endings to choose from that I spent at least half an hour.
The 'magic' (Spoiler - click to show) link un link and enslave ( for those who don't want to know, but the commands are also accessible in help), was to me very puzzling at first, but once I finally understood how everything worked, it came easily. Once you get the hang of the format, the time limit is more than enough time. It's really entertaining to see how many endings you can come up with through the differant magic strategies you use. There was something wrong though... I would really love to see a much longer game of this
Hercule Poirot I presume?, November 28, 2010Let me start off by saying that I am a detective story buff. I read everything from agatha Christie to dorthy l. Sayers, so I was rather impressed by this adventure in a number of ways. The setting itself is very remminisciant of many mystery novels; taking place in a large mansion, looking over a cliff into the ocean, and of course a body has been found at the bottom of the cliff. The story is short and not too difficult, but the story changes each time you restart making it very re-playable at least the first few times. The story itself feels rather like an Agatha Christie short story, with five suspect in the house, and the musical adds a bit of originality. Don't expect a " Roger Acroyd" ending though.
I'll first start with the one thing I especially disliked. I felt that the characters had no feeling at all that the murder happened. They sat around playing pool like usual or reading the newest mystery novel, and not once did anybody show the slightest remorse that there had been a murder. I mean sure, some of them should have been uncaring, but a story should also have some who are Teary eyed. This in my opinion really took away from the characters.
Of course I thought most everything else was well done. I've played mystery adventures before which are brutally tough because of time constraints and obscure evidence, but both in this case were good. An adequate amount of time was given, and evidence took some thought, but was not too difficult. It is a game about your next move, meaning that you have to think 'what next' after everything you do.
I also loved the notebook. It made my life so much easier.
Interesting short story, November 27, 2010This is a short story about delivering candy grams to all of the classes In the school. The adventure is different from most adventures, designed not with a gripping plot, or suspenseful, or difficult, but designed to ease beginners into interactive fiction.
( side note: I was impressed at how non-linear the story was, letting you go in any order you wished)
There were two things though which could have been slightly better.
Firstly, the so-called puzzles were just word problems which had to be solved, and actually I thought that was a cool idea, but those were the only puzzles (except finding who to give the cards to but these are hardly puzzles) I thought that the riddles were ingenious, one relating largely to interactive fiction, but as I said interactive fiction needs puzzles which involve the use of examining objects and using them to their full potential.
The story includes a small middle school romance (oh those days) but all in all the story is relatively plotless and non-descript. This I feel is almost too bad. Sure,it's for beginners, but plot and characters are really what interactive fiction is all about, so it would have been nice to expose the players to a decent plot.
All in all though, it was enjoyable and a good example of interactive fiction originality.
Interesting premise, if a bit confusing, November 27, 2010I'm going to say right now that I really enjoyed this adventure. It's short- only two or three rooms- and few puzzles, but it's very well developed and maintained to keep a little horror in the main character. I will also say that the story is rather confusing during parts, but In my opinion, this adds significantly to the story. It's designed so that you are in constant 'fear' and in complete bewilderment, not knowing why things happened or where the heck you are. I mean come on, you're in a mysterious lab with frightening beasts, locked doors and other instruments, so it's bound to be a somewhat creepy story with unexplained happenings.
Critical breach is very linear, short and simple though. Puzzles are obviously aimed at the beginner so don't expect too much. What the story does have though, is fairly well done. The beginner will be pleased with the variety of tasks needed to complete the adventure, from finding a way to 'escape' the mysterious beginning to doing simple puzzles, and using the limited tools to solve problems. This adventure gives a toolbox of activities which will be needed for future, harder adventures.
It's no zork, but critical breach is perfect for the IF beginner
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