Robotron 2084's Verdict: I thought this was going to be a z-abuse game, but it's not. It's just abusive.
The Guy Who Hates Inventory Puzzles' Verdict: Well, that certainly wasn't a problem in this game. Unless the inventory limit is like 600 or something.
My Verdict: This could be a great game. But it's not. In other news, if my aunt had testicles she would be my uncle. I don't know what that would make my uncle.
Game Information
Game Type: AGT
Author Info: I've really been lacking on these IF author bios lately. Since I have nothing for Woody Hunt, I will give you Ian Finley's. As Ian has refered to himsef as both Anatoly Domokov and Anonymous he possibly could be Woody Hunt as well. But maybe not. Ian has created a number of high quality text adventure wares, like Exhibition, Life on Beal Street and Babel. Also that game you're supposed to play in the dark.
Other Games By This Author: None known. Er, none by Woody Hunt, I should add.
Download Link: ftp://ftp.ifarchive.org/if-archive/games/agt/electa.zip
The Review...
There's something to be said for a good, old AGT game. There's not really a whole lot of things one's cranial registers has to keep track of. For instance, an Inform game may describe a unique location in several dozen words, attempting to convey the sense of unusualness to the reader. In, say, Electrabot?
This is the most unusual room you have ever seen.
Ah, then! That room! Gotcha.
I have no idea what was going on in Electrabot. Apparently you're supposed to save your creator from some guy named Barbarith. When you save your creator you will be the most advanced piece of machinery every constructed. But, much like Alex Chiu's teleportation device, some of your abilities like flying and, oh, time travel are not yet built or tested. Rats!
I didn't get a real good indication of what the Electrabot was supposed to look like. Mr. Hunt assures us that it's nothing unusual, though. Actually, many items in the game are not unusual. Like, WTF? It's somehow reassuring to know that in the author's dystopian view of the future, a bottle of future whiskey looks just like a bottle of normal whiskey. "Somehow" being the key word.
At any rate. Gameplay is not exactly like Perry Farrell: meaning kind of cute in an intense and subsitive way. Rather, let's call it archaic and confused. It does, in fact, seem to be some kind of treasure hunt, only the treasures aren't items on the typical adventurer's menu like a bar of platinum and a pot of gold. No, they are just the mundane pack of everyday shit that you wouldn't think twice at looking at if you saw them in everyday life. Unfortunately, the strength of this game -- having nothing to worry about -- is offset by the fact that to actually do anything, you need a greater command subset than what you're likely to be given.
Essentially, Electrabot is a directionless bit of semi-interesting IF with a great premise and poor execution. Chalk it up to another author who I'd love to see work out a game using a more modern authoring system, #52 in a series.
Simple Rating: 2.7 / 10
Complicated Rating:
Story: 3.0 / 10
Writing: 2.8 / 10
Playability: 5.1 / 10
Puzzle Quality: 2 / 10
Parser Responsiveness: 1 / 10