So, I figured since I started on the bottom of the games list with the web-only games, I may as well continue that trend and work my way up from there. This particular game then comes up next on the list. At the very top it says there were no beta testers for it, which is kind of like a Hollywood movie that doesn’t screen for the critics: not a great sign. One wonders why he’d be so proud of that fact as to put it at the top of the screen like that. Nevertheless, I’ll continue.
The premise here is that a somewhat-typical secret agent scenario, involving extraction of a kidnapped researcher, is happening in the world. You have the opportunity to affect this scenario, but in a very limited fashion, by using text cues to jump around between different parts of the environment. I guess it’s a little like Night Trap, except without the panties or controversy.
You can fail the mission, which seems to reliably happen on Turn 46 if you don’t change the scenario. It’s really not clear why, at first, because I was always observing something else when I got the “Mission Failed” message at Turn 46.
I was able to solve the scenario eventually, mostly by following the various agents around until I hit choice points, then choosing different options from the bottom. To solve the game I spent more time just clicking back and forth between the agents’ names, on the left side of my screen, than actually exploring the world as presented, since only the agents could solve the kidnapping. When I finally did win (at the cost of an agent), I didn’t feel particularly rewarded by this act, since I didn’t have much reason to be invested. The problem with the format is that I have no real reason – as an outside observer – to root for the secret agents in the first place.
An interesting experiment, I guess, but it would’ve benefited from some testing, and having some characters in it.
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