IFReviewed by
Andrew Plotkin on 2006-06-25 10:29
Oh, blah, a third-person-prose game.
Oh, even better, an inconsistently third-person game. ("Jarod is in a dream, ... You see a map here." In fact, what does "here" mean in third-person prose?)
However, all of this is beside the point. The point is, this is a pile of laughable sentimentality. The author manages to ignore good prose, good game design, good characterization, (even good spelling,) in a single-minded quest to toe his own religious party line. Naturally, the result is lousy prose, lousy characters, a lousy game, and -- of course -- a lousy representation of his religion.
(First and last example: Outside the temple, a Pharisee is praying loudly. "Even in the short time that Jarod pauses to listen, it is obvious that the man is repeating himself." Guess what's inside the temple? A priest reading Isaiah, loudly and repetitively. And you have to "pray" repetitively, or you get tired and depressed.)
As a statement of belief, maximally unconvincing. As a game... who cares? The author doesn't.
