TR-49

this is great. the whole concept and interface is really interesting--it reminds me a little of "A Mind Forever Voyaging", which is a classic from way back when. the writing is really good, the story is intriguing, and on the whole it's something genuinely different.

Short and sweet. A detective puzzle-game that knows exactly what it's trying to do and exectutes it well. If you enjoy other "association" games like Her Story or The Roottrees are Dead, you will enjoy this one.

Well ... this one has me torn. I loved the deduction and reading, trying to piece things together. And I loathed the cryptic dystopian story that had me dangling mid-air all game long and even after the end. I simply couldn't make head or tail of anything, which became somewhat frustrating. The well-done deduction part and the technically well-executed game have me leaning towards the thumbs-up button. But TR-49 makes me wish there was a neutral option. While some of the things do fall in place eventually, a lot of it remains in the dark. I still don't know what "revisions" actually are in this game, which meant that I had to google the other endings (originally I ended up saving one person but not "the world" if you like - don't want to spoil anything). I still haven't got the slightest clue why it was vital to destroy a certain book, nor why the machine is supposed to be a menace to mankind. Admittedly, I may have missed a clue in the conversation (which was easy enough to miss as I was reading text on the machine at the same time that my character or her counterpart started talking). And I am not really into Sci-Fi stuff, so my brain automatically reverts to reality mode when trying to make sense of stuff. Add to that being thrown into the very deep end of a world and mechanics that you are supposed to take for granted, and I was lost at sea at the very start. As I mentioned before, I really liked the deduction work leading to new clues and entries. I also liked the novel approach of entering commands into a machine that only allows you to enter a combination of two characters and two numbers. The aesthetics are well done (keep in mind, you spend all game in front of this machine) and I think the price is very fair for what you get. If you are less rigid than I in accepting an implausible (or impossible) Sci-Fi scenario that defies reality, and if you like books and a world that revolves around the power of the word, this should be the game for you. Take your time, read everything thoroughly and let the sleuthing begin.