The Richard Mines – Evan Wright (IF Comp entry 2017)
Into the historical Czech Republic, with not a lot to run the borders bar the clothes on your back and the will for freedom. What a concept for a new adventure game. Well, not quite. This game has more of the vibe of a museum tour. We take a look at Czechoslovakian past troubles (has Czechoslovakia ever been free of troubles ?), but unfortunately this only amounts to trawling a few caves with no attempt at drama.
Though I like old 8-bit text Adventures even I found the descriptions a little sparse.
In some curious way it reminded me of the original Colossal Cave Adventure. Another reviewer commented that back in the latter days of the ’80s, having no instructions could be abided, as both computer memory space and packaging were limited; but that there is no excuse today. Funnily enough magazine reviewers often managed to grab as much as they could from the inlay and game itself, and then begin their reviews with a background story more cohesive than within the instructions. I could tolerate this absence in “The Richard Mines” if there was some exposé in the actual game, but alas, there is not. There were spelling errors as well, like “escarpment”, and worst is an object which is either not described very well or subverts the laws of physics a little during your “escape”, though it never feels like you’re escaping from anything. At best this could be a demo or neat easy intro into the genre.
Similar-themed games to try out on the old ZX Spectrum:
Castle Colditz, Colditz, Escape Colditz, The Colditz Story, The Great Escape.
