Terminal Interface for Models RCM301-303
Victor Gijsbers (2018)
Blurb: A text terminal interface for interacting with your model RCM301-303 remote controlled mech.
This is a game that feels like it needs to be played multiple times to find out everything that's going on.
It starts off with an NPC sidekick that helps you navigate through disaster made by your own company's doing.
You're trying to clean things up before the police or army arrives. You're driving a mech, but the visual input
is broken. Lemmy, the NPC sidekick, fills you in on all the information.
The real highlight for the game is Lemmy. He has a conversation with the player as you travel through the
disaster area. It's a little long winded, and he gets off on a million tangents, but he's a colorful character
to say the least.
The game progress with Lemmy telling you what you need to do, but the puzzles are a little on the easy side.
This would have been fine if it was setting up another chapter of the story, but when this one ends, it kind of
ends in a strange way. I felt my hands were tied, I thought I should be able to PUNCH, or PULL, or even GO NORTH
just trying to connect with something, but nothing, not even a good response.
I did have trouble with one puzzle. A THINGY. I never did figure out what it was. The NPC never told me, he
was vague and would only say: "One of those things, you know?" No, sorry, I don't. This doesn't help. And
there was a chain that I could never TAKE or PULL, and getting in the THINGY and PULLing the chain didn't work
either. This could be the whole solution to the game, but I won't know, there's no walkthrough.
This quiet sort of ending feels strange with a NPC that sits around talking so much. So I disconnected hoping
that it would take me to another chapter, but nothing, the game ends. And without a SAVE command, you can't
even test the disconnect command. It just dumps you back to the desktop.
With no SAVE command and no walkthrough I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong at the end or if the author
intend for it to end that way. Like I said, it feels strange.
Overall I enjoyed the game, it might have some simple puzzles but the NPC is a character and makes up for it. Where
it failed me was at the ending, but I also saw that the game could be played both ways, basically doing
whatever you wanted, and it responds properly, so it's hard to knock.
Score: 8