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DELRON
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Crossworlds Part 3 - The Final Far Far Away
Frontier Reviews
Author: BBBen
Date: 2005
ADRIFT 3.9
Reviewed by A. Bomire
Basic Plot:
This is the third installment in the Crossworlds saga (or the 5th, if you count
Sleep Over and Janey's Diary). In this game, you and the three girls from the
other Crossworlds adventures - Debbie, Lin and your girlfriend Janey -
materialize on a space ship where you are the captain. Your mission is to
destroy a "wormhole suppressant" created by Empress Jessica, Janey's mother, who
has inexplicably turned to evil. To do this, there are items you will need to
retrieve and utilize. Along the way, you get several opportunities to have
sexual encounters.
Overall Thoughts:
Like all of the Crossworlds games, this one is fairly large. However, it is made
to feel smaller by being divided into several very small playing areas. While
the game pays homage to several science fiction shows, movies and books (see
BBBen's web site for a list of them all), it had for me an overall feeling of
being based in the Star Trek universe.
Like the other games in this series, it is a very light-hearted and fast-paced
game, with humor interjected at various points. For example, the protagonist
(yourself) at one point actually bemoans the fact that the plot is so
predictable (which it is). Or Lin's response of "I hate it when we get into
trouble. I prefer the sex parts." when you talk to her at certain points in the
game. This is good, considering much of the game is very sparsely described or
mundanely duplicated (all of the bedrooms are more-or-less identical, for
example).
Puzzles/Game play
Even though this game is defined as a "puzzle fest", the puzzles really aren't
that difficult. In fact, it almost feels as though the author takes you in hand
- leading you from one solution to the next. You are given specific instructions
on what to find, and talking to various characters in the game reveals exactly
what to do with the objects once you've found them. The first half of the game
has puzzles where you need to figure out whom to see and in what order. Later,
you need to utilize the various alien powers of your companions (much like what
took place in the previous game, Crossworlds 2). Again, the puzzles aren't that
difficult, just understanding which girl to use at which time.
There are some non-standard IF commands used, which BBBen takes pains to point
out and describe within the accompanying README. This is a nice touch, and all
authors should do this. Other nice touches are the non-standard responses BBBen
has added to the error messages you receive when you try something you can't do.
For example, instead of the normal "Nothing special" message you receive when
attempting to examine a non-described object, you get a message that appears to
come from the ship's computer - much like the voice-response of the computer on
Star Trek. (Is it wrong that I heard it in my head as Majel Barret's voice?)
Another non-standard technique BBBen has used in this game is to replace the
normal ASK/TELL system with a TALK TO system. I certainly can’t complain about
it as it is the system I have opted to use in most of my games, and BBBen
implements it well. There has been much discussion about the benefits of this
type of system over ASK/TELL, as well as its drawbacks, and BBBen has an article
about that on his site if you require more information. It works well in this
game.
Technical:
Like all of BBBen's works, this one is almost technically flawless. What bugs
there are (a typo here, an odd response there) are so minor that you would
probably not notice them if you weren't looking for them (as I was). The most
noticeable has to do with the TALK TO system mentioned above. There are a couple
of occasions where you attempt to TALK TO someone (usually a background or
incidental character) and you get a message of "use ask person about [subject]".
When you ASK that person ABOUT a subject, you then get a message saying to use
TALK TO. It's a pretty minor problem that doesn't really get in the way of the
game.
Sex:
For the most part, the sex in this game comes as part of a reward for solving
one of the puzzles. After 4 previous games with the three main girls, you'd
think that the sex would start to become stale and repetitious. Well, I have to
be honest and say that in some descriptions...it is. But, BBBen has thrown in
enough new female encounters to keep it interesting, as well as the differences
that arise from having sex with non-humans (Lin and Janey are an alien species,
while Debbie is a robot). While not quite set-the-computer-on-fire hot, the
sexual encounters are still interesting and enjoyable.
Final Thoughts:
While much of the game is a little predictable and has a feeling of deja vu,
there are many small things and humorous interjections that keep it interesting.
Most players who are a fan of the Crossworlds series will not be disappointed by
this game. Those who are not familiar with BBBen's other works will still find a
fairly enjoyable game to play.
Rating: B
Reviews should be considered copyrighted by their respective authors.
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