IFReviewed by
Ron Newcomb on 2007-02-09 09:54
There are some IF that reward, even require, poking into every nook and cranny, checking and re-checking your assumptions and failed previous actions. Shade is one of them.
There are some IF players who, upon finding he can't open a window (for example), presume it's unimplemented and move on. I am one of them.
This kind of IF does not mix with this kind of IF player. When I was 12, I would bomb every rock and burn every bush in the Legend Of Zelda, looking for secrets. I doubt I would have been as thorough if the secrets had been clock-dependant as well. I sure as heck am not that thorough now.
Shade is well-written, though has interface issues. For example, the OPEN verb fixes broken things, while FIX "would achieve nothing". But when it takes multiple tries to get the PC off his arse at the game's beginning, I should've known I would find Shade frustrating.
