Ratings and Reviews by Trajectory
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Fiendish Mechanisms, October 17, 2007The player character enters a mansion, anticipating a party which is to occur there later. He cannot interact with the environment in the usual way - however, the mansion reacts to his presence, reconfiguring itself depending on his actions.
This is a fascinating game - especially at first, when trying to work out exactly what is going on. The lack of the ability to pick up or manipulate objects in the normal way seems frustrating initially, but it's easy to adjust to. One great feature is a notepad that tracks what the player character has discovered about the workings of the mansion - a nice touch.
The second part of the game has split reviewers more. This takes place in the same mansion, while aforementioned party is going on. The events of the party are fractured in time: the same characters appear in different locations simultaneously, to indicate their participation in events at different stages of the evening. The player must collect "intentions" and unite them with the appropriate person. In doing this, a murderous (albeit poetic) tapestry is unravelled.
I thought both parts were intriguing and original. The first is indeed a stronger concept and more satisfying to solve, but the second part is startling (and, in places, baffling) enough to make it distinctive.
One of the better two-word parser style games, October 17, 2007You always have to factor nostalgia into reviews of old games. This is probably the first text adventure I ever played, so it's inevitable I have a certain fondness for it that might not be justified by the game itself.
It's the usual stuff - castles, monsters, random objects, improbable ways of killing the monsters, of the GET CROSS, KILL VAMPIRE WITH CROSS type. The plot is some nonsense about rescuing various heroes to save the land.
It is, however, superior to the Scott Adams games by far. Whereas I've always felt with the latter that I was receiving responses to my commands by telegram, this game has brief sentences to describe its locations, which are at least slightly evocative:
"Pilgrims' Hill
The path is worn deep by the passing of many travellers driven by the fires of faith."
The graphics on the Spectrum and Amstrad versions are OK - although I remember them taking an age to draw on the original machines.
Unlike other games by the same company, this one doesn't have a maze in it. Worth trying, even if just for a nostalgic look at the simplicity of older games.
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