IFReviewed by
Andrew Plotkin on 2006-06-25 09:09
This is shorter than the previous installment, isn't it? It's a collection of "use your superpower" scenes -- each of them is satisfactory, but you're rushed from scene to scene, and the game never develops much sense of space or exploration.
The climactic battle (of course it's a battle, I'm not giving away anything, this is a superhero comic) gives you no leeway at all. You have to choose the right move each turn. It therefore becomes an undo-fest, which leaves me with little sense of making real decisions.
Positives: everything good about previous EAS games. Dialogue is snappy, descriptions are good, scenario is blatantly implausible. Big "pow!" sound-effect balloons at the appropriate points. New to this game: free swapping between characters, and you can get game hints from your partner. This is (ahem) super-smooth, comfortable to use, and keeps the game from ever becoming non-fun.
Using the phrase "salient features" before telling me what they are is always a mistake.
Final thought: I always thought the superpowers of Earth and Sky were a bit limited for IF. Games where you gain wacky abilities usually have lots of wacky abilities. Future EAS games -- if there are any -- ought to have, oh, about twice as many superpowers...
