I'm a fan of Peter Killworth's Doom games. The narrative and game design get better as the series progresses, but all of them have their cool features. Now, I've written a spiel about Killworth and the Doom games before, so instead of reiterating it here, I'll just point you to this write-up:
http://www.joltcountry.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=67700#67700
(To be honest, I didn't re-read the whole thing so I'll probably repeat myself in any case.)
How it Begins
(The above screenshots are from the original Topologika release even though I played the Inform port for my transcript. There are probably small differences between the two, but I thought screenshots of the original would look cooler.)
The Transcript
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i_yfEQRzEVb8XyD-CK6GgUbrX6a-pYVbtvpDGKEir4o/edit?usp=sharing
Now, when I played the game, I found mapping to be one of the fun elements. Still, if anyone is just curious about the game layout or wants to skip that part when playing themselves, here are some maps made be me (well, one map in two formats):
GUEmap file: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_4ZXs4Z_yoWTnM5N3p5aUFTNzA/edit?usp=sharing
PDF: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_4ZXs4Z_yoWZ2hLSjU3Zms2blU/edit?usp=sharing
Now, when I played the game, I found mapping to be one of the fun elements. Still, if anyone is just curious about the game layout or wants to skip that part when playing themselves, here are some maps made be me (well, one map in two formats):
GUEmap file: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_4ZXs4Z_yoWTnM5N3p5aUFTNzA/edit?usp=sharing
PDF: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_4ZXs4Z_yoWZ2hLSjU3Zms2blU/edit?usp=sharing
Final Thoughts
So, there isn't a whole lot of story, and the game design largely depends on trial-by-error. Still, it's such an interesting environment that I enjoyed exploring its mysteries despite the numerous deaths and game restarts. Even once you have figured out all of the individual puzzles, there is one final puzzle as you determine the best order. Once you know what to do, there is plenty of time to get through everything under the allotted number of turns, too.
Not every puzzle in this game is a keeper, but between the good ones and the memorable environment, I look back fondly on this game (and I look forward to sharing the great things about the other games, too).
Not every puzzle in this game is a keeper, but between the good ones and the memorable environment, I look back fondly on this game (and I look forward to sharing the great things about the other games, too).
