IFReviewed by
Emily Short on 2006-08-01 08:33
Neat implementation of a complex sequence of things.
I think I would have asked that the descriptions reflect a little more closely
what their current state was. (Eg, if the electric foil is plugged into the body
cord, I'd like to be able to see that just by looking at it.) I got to a point
where I'd done everything that seemed logical, and couldn't figure out what to
do next. I *think* what happened was that I had actually failed to wear one of
the items, but not noticed I hadn't put it on properly, and thus I wound up "not
ready" for the last phases of preparation. In any case, I went back and followed
the walkthrough, and all was well.
I was hoping that I would wind up being allowed to actually fence at the end of
that detailed set-up. It was a little disappointing that it was all in the form
of a cut-scene, when I had been looking forward to that as the big payoff of my
careful set-up activities.
On the whole, though, this was a lovingly implemented piece, and I was struck by
the author's enthusiasm for her subject, which was infectious and made me
interested in something I know almost nothing about. It is so exacting and
precise that I mentally subtitled the game, "An Interactive Tutorial" -- but I
think there is something to be said for this, and I found it quite enjoyable.
(You may ask whether I would like a sequence like this installed as part of a
longer game, and I confess that I probably wouldn't: if there were more of a
plot that I was anxious to move on to, I think I would have been hopping in
irritation at the prolonged guess-the-sequence-of-actions. But taken as its own
thing, where my only motivation was to find out how these pieces fit together,
it was in fact fairly satisfying.)
This was my preference for Best of Event and Best of Show.
