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Consequences Reviews
Author: David Whyld
Date: 2005
ADRIFT 4.0
Reviewed by Grimm Sharlak (Inside Erin: The AIF Newsletter, Volume 2 Number 1, January, 2006)
Basic Plot:
This, the next game in David Whyld’s ever-expanding series of adult choose-your-own-adventure series that began with Choices and continued with Options and
Decisions, sees you reprising the role of Melissa Shelton. Our favourite vigilante lesbian has had some harrowing experiences over the course of the
three previous games, but just when she thought all was resolved, she receives a
letter indicating that someone knows of the lengths she’s had to go to preserve
her and her girlfriend’s safety. And they want revenge.
Overall Thoughts:
Sequels always deserve special mention here in AIF, as outside of Crossworlds and Sam Shooter, we don’t really have a recurring theme/character setting. This
is the fourth game in this series, so the first question we must ask is – is it
an improvement over the previous titles? Does it offer anything new?
To be perfectly frank, I approached the game with some trepidation. In each game
so far the object of your affections, Susan Harris, has had some part of her dark past come back to haunt her and you’ve had to save her arse, usually at the
expense of your own. Reading the introduction to the game had me rolling my eyes
at yet another similar setup. Gladly, the plot does deviate from previous efforts later, so it stands up in that respect.
So, on the other hand, does the game offer anything new, gameplay-wise? This becomes especially important in these CYOA games, as the mechanics are going to
be exactly the same every time. With your average text adventure, you can have different types of puzzles and situations, whereas with this type of game it’s
always going to be selecting from a list and seeing what happens. This means that if you’ve played the first three games in this series then this one is more
of the same old, same old. And as each game has gotten bigger, replayability has
suffered due to having to play through sections you’ve already seen just to make
that one different choice. I’m not kidding when I had over twenty separate save
files on hand when reviewing this game, and prodigious use of the undo command was also required. If you’re after a game where you get to see everything in one
go, then steer clear.
Puzzles/Gameplay:
Again, this is a choose your own adventure game. Read some text, look at the choices and make one. In some cases there are many choices, in some only one.
This means there are no traditional AIF puzzles to speak of, but you have to think about where your decisions might take you, and of course, undo’s are going
to be prevalent and frequent saves recommended.
All this leads to quick, easy gameplay, but the game can become frustrating in certain areas where your decisions have no obvious effect. However, such issues
have been a problem even in CYOA books, so it’s more a case that if you like this genre you’re going to put up with these things.
Sex:
Sex again is pretty sparse, and sometimes even used as a punishment rather than a reward. Melissa can get raped if you go down the wrong route, but in other
cases you can have sweet little scenes if you do things right. As with the rest of the series, my complaint with the sex scenes is that while they are longer
this time around, they are still rather short. There is more interactivity than in previous versions, however this only extends to the choice to ending the
scene or continuing (which in some cases is a very important decision).
Technical:
Another seeming problem with the growing size of these games is the growing number problems you encounter. For one, at a handful of points the game referred
to choices I’d made; but indicated the wrong choices. For example, at one point
I could storm out, or punch one person or another in rage. I chose to leave, but
barely two paragraphs later I was being chastised for how I’d punched someone out. At another point I was with one character, but then I left the area via a
decision and it says I was accompanied by a different character – one I hadn’t
even met.
I also came across one game-killing bug in my playthrough. At the previously mentioned scene, you meet up with a recurring character from the other games in
the series and after your conversation with him, you leave. And the game doesn’t
end, it simply prints out a paragraph with no following decisions and no input outside of system commands are accepted. While I understand that games of this
nature are complex and hard to test, such things make a) the game unfinishable in some cases, and b) make the player feel like the main gameplay crutch, the
choices you make, irrelevant.
Intangibles:
Considering the various terrible situations she’s been in previously, the game
begins with a simple choice; are you still the happy go lucky girl from Choices,
or have things changed you? It’s a nice start, and does affect some of the text
in the game, which I thought was a good feature.
Final Thoughts:
Consequences apparently ends the Choices series, and while I enjoyed the games, they are becoming too similar and the play style is becoming a bit long in the
tooth, so I welcome the end of the series. Things wrap up rather well with the various endings, so there’s no complaints there. However, if you play AIF just
for the sex, or didn’t enjoy the gameplay offered in the earlier games of the series, this isn’t the game for you.
Rating: C+
Reviews should be considered copyrighted by their respective authors.
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