tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79947114858675458692024-03-21T11:46:46.479-06:00The Quiet SundayBrooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-88056628500228133252013-10-06T13:00:00.000-06:002013-10-06T13:00:03.206-06:00Review: Sam and Leo go to the Bodega Clearly this story is going to be about Leonardo Dicaprio and Sam Rockwell going to a small Spanish grocery store. I think we can all agree on that. (by the way, wouldn't that be amazing if that turned out to be true?) I think I can imagine the conversation going like this:
Leo - Sam, you know I have to say, as great as you were in Moon, I sincerely enjoyed your work in Confessions of a Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-53877268047564073152013-10-06T10:00:00.000-06:002013-10-06T10:00:05.851-06:00Review - Saving John
Oh boy. I think the real question we're dealing with is what exactly are we saving John from? From his debts to sketchy creditors? Are we saving him from death-demons from the mouth of hell? Are we saving him from his very self??? Yeeah. I'm going to go with that last guess. The title screams intimate personal drama. Perhaps John is suffering from a drug habit. Maybe it's low personal self Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-42687347687975780502013-10-06T07:30:00.000-06:002013-10-06T07:30:02.333-06:00Review - Solarium
This was one of their promo photos. Cool, no?
Solarium. Takes it's name from Sol, our sun. Reminds me of a play I was almost in this past spring. Tried to squeeze it between a production of Patrick Marber's Closer and Peter Schaffer's Black Comedy, but couldn't do it because tech week would have conflicted with the first week of rehearsals for Black Comedy. It was an original production Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-87048260430305724192013-10-04T22:30:00.000-06:002013-10-04T17:16:37.274-06:00Review - Tex Bonaventure and the Temple
Well, just going on the title alone, I'm going to guess this is pretty clearly about Mr. Bonaventure going to his local synagogue, which is nice because I'd like a game to explore some some religious culture. I grew up Lutheran and all we have is Garrison Keillor and Lutefisk, a sort of lose/lose situation however you look at it. I'm curious what happens at this temple? Do you have to wear a Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-73019044160713741012013-10-04T21:00:00.000-06:002013-10-04T14:24:18.616-06:00Review - The Challenge
The Challenge? Hmm... Do you think it's apt to be challenging? I'd make a crack about hypertext games not being challenging, but man that awesome PDF game sort of took the wind out of my sails when it comes to my unfounded stereotypes. I'm traditionally terrible at guessing things by their titles alone (let's just say I was VERY disappointed by Moby Dick) but let's play that game here. I'm Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-91674144540889578852013-10-04T18:30:00.000-06:002013-10-04T14:24:55.235-06:00Review - Threediopolis Hey gang! Are you ready for some Z-code?? I sure am! Wow. It seems like just a few short years ago nearly ALL of the Comp games were written in Inform. And now here we are. This is the fifth game I've reviewed and not only is it the first Z-code game, it's the first game that will actually involve me typing anything (unless you count me typing my name at the very beginning of Mrs. Tipsy and the Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-82522722330650948412013-10-04T10:19:00.002-06:002013-10-04T10:20:32.412-06:00Review : Trapped in Time
Okay. I'm a sucker for time travel stories. They are possibly my favorite kind of stories. However we also have the only entry entered in the "PDF" category. What the hell does that mean? PDF? Last I checked it was't a computer programming language. It was a easy and routine way to display and print static text. How on earth can this possibly be interactive. I think it is very possible I'm Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-3577127465347077602013-10-03T20:00:00.000-06:002013-10-04T07:10:16.742-06:00Review - VulseVulse... Hmm... I don't really know what that means. It's possible that my vocabulary is about to be expanded or maybe it's just a made-up name or word. Either way, to say I'm nervous is an understatement. I really don't know if I like these web based hyper text games. Right after I published my last review I noticed that Emily Short had just reviewed the same game. And guess what? She thought itBrooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-18201864120860771952013-10-03T16:00:00.000-06:002013-10-03T16:00:00.961-06:00Review - Who Among Us
What a title, amirite? Who Among Us hasn't stared forlornly at the blank computer screen waiting for the muses to will a perfect title into our heads and onto the page? Who Among Us hasn't had trepidation over doing another Web based game and hoped against hope that it won't be another hypertext choose your own adventure story? Who Among Us didn't love those books when we were kids, spending Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-18040425760206540942013-10-03T12:30:00.000-06:002013-10-03T12:30:02.228-06:00Review - Mrs. Wobbles and the Tangerine House
Okay, first of all: I think we can all agree this is a pretty amazing title. This is like one of those creative writing exercise prompts. Who is Mrs. Wobbles? Why does she live in a giant tangerine? Why is she constantly sipping gin out of a vitamin water bottle? Is that why she's so wobbly? So many questions!! Also, this is my first web game. Well, to be fair this is my first game in the Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-5219560624766681522013-10-03T08:06:00.000-06:002013-10-03T08:56:21.506-06:00Once More Into the Breach
Attention IF Authors: This is the scary mime that's about to review your work.
Oh man, guys. Oh. man. It's been a long time. Too long. How have you been? Husband and kids fine? Hmm? Oh good. Okay, stop talking.
I think it's been roughly two to three YEARS since I last played IF. I have missed it. But, you know, not enough to actually get myself caught up. Long story short, two years ago I Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-64594647518159003952012-11-22T22:00:00.000-07:002012-11-22T22:00:09.865-07:00IF Comp 2012 Review - The Test is Now READY
Okay boys and goils, we're back in the realm of traditional IF! Parsers! Z-code! Blue background and white font! Ahh, the memories. And I like the title. It puts me a bit in mind of the Portal series, which despite involving some reflexes and the necessity of shooting a "gun", I deeply loved. Both for being wonderfully exciting puzzle experiences and also for being probably the funniest and Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-34112008101886394992012-11-22T21:00:00.000-07:002012-11-22T21:00:00.838-07:00IF Comp 2012 Review - Transit
Uh oh, guys. It's another web one. I've got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. The last one... not so good... not so comprehensible if you catch what I'm saying. But I shall keep an open mind. Lord knows there's been a lot of dreck written for Z-code and TADS while obviously there have been many many great games written for those platforms as well. I can't generalize about a medium based Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-65410192888967963702012-11-22T18:30:00.000-07:002012-11-22T18:30:00.258-07:00IF Comp 2012 Review - Valkyrie
Hmm, a curious start to the competition. Now granted, I've been out of the loop for roughly two years now, but this I think this is the first entry in a comp that I've had to play online... (maybe I'm wrong about that... I'm trying to remember) More than that this game is not alone. There are seven games in the same category, easily besting Tads which only has one. (Sad face emoticon) Oh well. Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-38782780293378762532012-11-22T16:00:00.000-07:002012-11-22T16:00:01.446-07:00IF COMP 2012!!! - Better Late Than Never!!Hello friends! Long time no see. I know. I know. I'm super late to the game on this one. The competition has been over and done with for 22 days now. Not only that, but I didn't even play ANY of the games from last year's competition. But, in my defense, last year at this time I was in the middle of moving to Boston, and readjusting, and blah blah blah. Why didn't I review the games promptly thisBrooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com1Cambridge, MA, USA42.3736158 -71.109733542.3266938 -71.1886975 42.420537800000005 -71.0307695tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-69919622956778488232011-07-21T15:02:00.000-06:002011-07-21T15:02:00.917-06:00Spring Thing - WetlandsAlright, after some helpful hints by some readers I decided to forge ahead and plow through the first entry early! The first game of the competition is Wetlands by Clara Raubertas. Unlike the IF Comp I'm writing this preliminary passage after playing through the game. I say that I "plowed" through this, but frankly it was more like playing morsel sized bites of it. I'd play it for a while and Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-48964410042409740042011-07-20T10:20:00.001-06:002011-07-20T10:20:00.856-06:00Looking at the Spring Thing
The great thing about IF? The graphics.
So... there are a few IF competitions throughout the year. There's the generically titled "IF Comp" which begins mid-fall but the other "big" competition is the "Spring Thing". There are several differences between these two competitions. For one, the annual IF Comp gets much more attention (at least from outside the IF community) and it gets a ton more Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-25994625074547444972010-10-09T08:54:00.000-06:002010-10-09T08:54:00.155-06:00Mite – A review
Believe it or not this is a stuffed dust mite.
Next on the docket, we have “mite”, and “might” I say I am a “mite” intrigued by the title. Are we playing a tiny spider? Is this in reference to size (a nice contrast to the other size related title “gigantomania” (which I haven’t played yet)? I don’t know. What I do know is that it takes a certain amount of confidence to give your story such a Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-3595813772528344402010-10-08T11:01:00.000-06:002010-10-08T11:01:30.722-06:00Ninja’s Fate – A ReviewI’m going to go out on a limb here, and guess we’re going to be a ninja in this one. Call it a premonition, call E.S.P. Maybe I picked up powers of “concentration” from the previous game (god, I hope not. I could live a nice long happy life without those kind of visions, thank-you-very-much). I just hope there’s not much combat. I’m not much of a combat-game kinda guy. I like to consider myself aBrooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-83443698411667480392010-10-07T11:34:00.000-06:002010-10-07T11:34:36.739-06:00One Eye Open – A Review
Here's another thing with only one eye.
Another glulx game, eh? Well, the last one was pretty awesome so here’s hoping this one is too! It’s called “One Eye Open”. Hmmm… What are some things that have only one eye? Let’s see, there’s telescopes, victims of botched Lasik surgery, and pirates… Oh wait, no. Not another pirate game!! For the love of Graham Nelson, not another pirate game!
Don’t Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-13895045435893175552010-10-07T07:43:00.000-06:002010-10-07T07:43:00.738-06:00Oxygen – A reviewAt long last, I’m reviewing the first of many (nice!) Glulx games! Glulx games and Z-code games are actually pretty similar beasts, considering they both compile the same programming code. But Glulx has multi-media capacity and also allows for much larger (memory-wise) games than Z-code interpreters do. The larger the code, the more work one can (sometimes falsely) assume the writer put into the Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-85079866639850874162010-10-06T11:18:00.000-06:002010-10-06T11:18:00.236-06:00Pen and Paint – A reviewOn to the next entry in the IF Comp! This one’s called “Pen and Paint”. Hmm… Are we an artist? Are we a writer? Perhaps we’re locked in a room with a set of water colors and big tub of Indian Ink. Obviously the correct solution is to embrace the sweet kiss of death by downing the entire contents of the tub. Why more escape the room games don’t take the easy way out is beyond me.
Note: A reminder.Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-4793690332405470352010-10-06T08:02:00.000-06:002010-10-06T08:02:00.259-06:00A Quiet Evening At Home – A ReviewWell, frankly after reviewing four games, I’m placing my bets that we’re already past the slump. Actually the first two games were pretty good! And after the last debacle, I predict smooth sailing from here on out. So what’s up for today? Why it’s “A Quiet Evening At Home” by… well… I don’t know. Someone! But I like the title. It sort of reminds me of the title of this blog. I like Quiet EveningsBrooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-66124869342007371982010-10-05T13:21:00.004-06:002010-10-05T12:48:28.154-06:00R – A ReviewThat’s right folks. Your eyes do not deceive you. The game I’m reviewing next consists of one letter: namely the letter R. I guess letters of the alphabet moonlight for IF titles when they’re not off sponsoring episodes of Sesame Street. Who knew?
What more: this is the only game of the competition using a home-brew interpreter, meaning it’s not written in one of the major IF languages. As Brooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994711485867545869.post-28705217816339162652010-10-05T08:07:00.008-06:002010-10-05T08:07:00.324-06:00The People’s Glorious Revolutionary Text Adventure Game – A ReviewSo… what’d ya think about that title, eh? Quite a mouthful. Either this game is an earnest piece of Marxist propaganda or it’s a scathing satire from the Tea Party crowd. Or maybe it’ll just be a fun adventure game. Here’s hoping for the later!
Note: As always, the full review will be replete with spoilers. I’d advise against reading it until after you’ve played the game.
Final Verdict: HaltinglyBrooks Reeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05357016118404835027noreply@blogger.com0