Ratings and Reviews by jmmelko

First Times, by Hero Robb

Good, but an update would be nice, January 11, 2015

I like the atmosphere of this game very much and for this reason I recommend playing it.
However, this game has a big flaw, which is the incomplete implementation of many verbs. For instance, common verbs such as "kick, push, pull, touch, drink, eat, jump, scream", are either not implemented at all, or merely answered to by a laconic "you can not do that". Also, the author has chosen to use a lot the verb "use" which is common in point-and-click games but usually avoided in IF games because it is ambiguous. Even though using the "use" verb avoids the pitfall of guess-the-verb situations, it gives the impression that very little freedom is allowed to the player, while freedom is actually the most attractive illusion offered by IF games. Also, this lack of interactivity deprives the player of many possible hints, for instance sentences such as "you can not force this door in, you will have to find another solution". Worse, the verb "say" appears at first not be implemented since the game answers "I can not understand your command", but in fact it is an essential verb for one unique occasion! I do not think it is fair to the player.

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First Things First, by J. Robinson Wheeler

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent game, January 11, 2015

by jmmelko

Good story, good puzzles, good implementation of verbs, hints are given when appropriate.
Actually, I only have a very small criticism to make: in at least two situations, we can get definitely stuck without knowing it. The first case is when trying to take (Spoiler - click to show)the miracle-grow jugs in the worksheet one by one, then the game only says "you should have done this when you had the chance", but lets you continue, which is ambiguous. More generally, one object is essential to the game, and should not be disposed off too early in the game, which is not very clear at first ((Spoiler - click to show)the wheelbarrow). The second case is when (Spoiler - click to show)you jump into the window without anticipating on how to get out after that. I think it would have been nice if the game had said something like "you should have thought of this before doing that, now you seem to be stuck".