[IFLibComp] Belated Reviews
LoneCleric
I realize that it's getting kinda late, with the voting period beginning
and all, but here they are - my IFLibComp reviews.
As some of you may know by now, if have to somewhat unnerving tendency
to, well, like everything. So guess what? I liked all three games! But
since that statement is hardly a review, let's elaborate...
LAZY GODS
What it reminded me of:
Of Forms Unknown, The Land Beyond the Picket Fence, Leaves, and several
other games with a cute premise, but not quite enough meat on the bone
to truly satisfy.
What I liked about it:
How the game customizes itself based on what you answer in the quiz. I'm
not sure if I'd be happy with a game which would do a LOT of it, but the
lesser touches (like the ending, the giant critter...) were sweet.
What I disliked about it:
The timed "hunger" puzzle. There was only one, and it could be solved
with relative ease (if you knew where to look), but I'm against the
general idea. How long has it been? A couple hours, tops? I've just
destroyed Earth, I'm going from one strange scene to another, and all of
a sudden I *collapse and die of thirst and starvation*!? That's just
wacky. And none of those Gods will care to find me before I can't be
saved? Lazy all right...
How good I was at it:
Terrible. Thanks Heaven for the walkthrough. I kept wondering what to do
next, missing some directions & actions which should have been obvious.
Things got better by the end, fortunately. (Say, once I got past the
Goddess.)
PASSING FAMILIARITY
What it reminded me of:
Babel - for the amnesia, the sense of drama, and the plot twists
Nevermore - for the components collecting, researching & mixing
Pytho's Mask - for the whole bunch of neat & different endings, all
easily accessible once you were through with the puzzles
Oh, and the intro somehow reminded me of a passage of Piers Anthony's
"Question Quest". Oh well...
What I liked about it:
The multiple endings, showing the same story with a sometimes
drastically different perspective.
The very-well written walkthrough, making it clear how to reach each
ending. That's gold. (You hear me, folks, that's PURE GOLD!)
What I disliked about it:
I believe some commands could've been made easier to enter. I'm
especially thinking about the tome, which had to be consulted all the
time. Just allowing LOOK UP X in that room would've been great.
Oh, and the tea. Well, not the tea per se more than the fact that you
get 1 point for drinking it. Everywhere else in the story, the game
tells you if you performed a destructive action, and you can undo right
away. In this case, however, an event which increases your score
actually cuts you off HALF of the games endings, and not necessarily the
"bad" ones.
How good I was at it:
Pretty good, to my own surprise. I only got stuck because I didn't
realize reading the scrolls wouldn't destroy them (I've played too much
D&D, I guess). Aside from that (and from that tea business), I managed
to zoom through the game. That made me feel good. [:-)]
DWENODON
What it reminded me of:
Travels in the Land of Erden for the sheer openness of the game world.
"Here's this universe, here are a couple suggestions of what you should
be doing, now go."
Beside that, most of the themes are classics of the genre: the powerful
wizards everybody distrusts, the young frail kid with a special destiny...
What I liked about it:
The changing bag was a cute idea, although I don't think I would've
figured it out without the walkthrough.
Having multiple sequels for the ending you got. Although I seriously
doubt this will work in the long run. But hey, let's see.
What I disliked about it:
On the day the games were released, the author posted
"Author's note: This is my first game and my first comp, so be gentle
with me ;-)"
So of course, as I started the game, I was thinking "Oh dear what a
piece of crap this gonna be". Undeserved, as often.
Kids, kids, when you released your first game, DON'T APOLOGIZE. The
largest smiley in the world will not be enough to compensate. I know it
ain't easy - when I released NMNL, it took about 4 people to convince me
(or is that "coerce me"?) not to start explaining my decisions. But it
was worth it, I'm sure now.
How good I was at it:
The lack of an "exhaustive" walkthrough left me at 76 points and the
feeling that I'm an idiot. Pray tell that an exhaustive solution is
around the door, right, right?