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This thread has been linked to the game 'Save The Date'.
Despite sounding like a terrible, terrible dating game, Save The Date is actually one of the best pieces of interactive fiction I've ever played. I hesitate to call it a game, since your options are limited to choosing a particular path, but it's hugely thought provoking. The game casts you as a guy who's arranged a date with a particular girl, your first real choice being which restaurant to take her to. You can take her to a burger bar, a chinese restaurant, or a seafood restaurant. Things go as you might expect - there's food, conversation, oh, and she dies horribly.
Wait, what? Yes. the game takes a turn for the odd in that each date seems to end with her dying. So you play the game again, and here's the clever bit. You, and your character, remember the events that have taken place, but the girl doesn't. So this time again you try to avoid her demise. It's a bit like Blind Date meets Final Destination, only without Cilla Black's head coming off.
I won't give too much more away, but things get a bit groundhog day-ish, with you playing the game again, armed with your prior knowledge, trying to save her. And does it work out? Well, I won't spoil the ending - or endings, since there a few - but the game does look at the nature of choice and just what it means to have a happy ending. And what does it mean to 'win' a game?
Okay, if you're looking for a game where you get to shoot a bad guy in the face, you're not going to find it here. Keyboard and mouse reflexes mean nothing here. If, on the other hand, you like a good story, ideally one with a few moral grey areas, then you're more than catered for. And best of all, it's free. The graphics aren't great, but they're not really the point and if you're reading this on a PC you already have a machine that can run it. You owe it to yourself to at least check it out. You can download it here.
9 out of 10
Pros:
It's really thought provoking.
It has a great storyline.
It's one of the most original games I've ever seen.
Cons:
The graphics aren't all that great.
It's not for everyone.
Wait, what? Yes. the game takes a turn for the odd in that each date seems to end with her dying. So you play the game again, and here's the clever bit. You, and your character, remember the events that have taken place, but the girl doesn't. So this time again you try to avoid her demise. It's a bit like Blind Date meets Final Destination, only without Cilla Black's head coming off.
I won't give too much more away, but things get a bit groundhog day-ish, with you playing the game again, armed with your prior knowledge, trying to save her. And does it work out? Well, I won't spoil the ending - or endings, since there a few - but the game does look at the nature of choice and just what it means to have a happy ending. And what does it mean to 'win' a game?
Okay, if you're looking for a game where you get to shoot a bad guy in the face, you're not going to find it here. Keyboard and mouse reflexes mean nothing here. If, on the other hand, you like a good story, ideally one with a few moral grey areas, then you're more than catered for. And best of all, it's free. The graphics aren't great, but they're not really the point and if you're reading this on a PC you already have a machine that can run it. You owe it to yourself to at least check it out. You can download it here.
9 out of 10
Pros:
It's really thought provoking.
It has a great storyline.
It's one of the most original games I've ever seen.
Cons:
The graphics aren't all that great.
It's not for everyone.
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Despite sounding like a terrible, terrible dating game, Save The Date is actually one of the best pieces of interactive fiction I've ever played. I hesitate to call it a game, since your options are limited to choosing a particular path, but it's hugely thought provoking. The game casts you as a guy who's arranged a date with a particular girl, your first real choice being which restaurant to take her to. You can take her to a burger bar, a chinese restaurant, or a seafood restaurant. Things go as you might expect - there's food, conversation, oh, and she dies horribly.
Wait, what? Yes. the game takes a turn for the odd in that each date seems to end with her dying. So you play the game again, and here's the clever bit. You, and your character, remember the events that have taken place, but the girl doesn't. So this time again you try to avoid her demise. It's a bit like Blind Date meets Final Destination, only without Cilla Black's head coming off.
I won't give too much more away, but things get a bit groundhog day-ish, with you playing the game again, armed with your prior knowledge, trying to save her. And does it work out? Well, I won't spoil the ending - or endings, since there a few - but the game does look at the nature of choice and just what it means to have a happy ending. And what does it mean to 'win' a game?
Okay, if you're looking for a game where you get to shoot a bad guy in the face, you're not going to find it here. Keyboard and mouse reflexes mean nothing here. If, on the other hand, you like a good story, ideally one with a few moral grey areas, then you're more than catered for. And best of all, it's free. The graphics aren't great, but they're not really the point and if you're reading this on a PC you already have a machine that can run it. You owe it to yourself to at least check it out. You can download it here.
9 out of 10
Pros:
It's really thought provoking.
It has a great storyline.
It's one of the most original games I've ever seen.
Cons:
The graphics aren't all that great.
It's not for everyone.
Wait, what? Yes. the game takes a turn for the odd in that each date seems to end with her dying. So you play the game again, and here's the clever bit. You, and your character, remember the events that have taken place, but the girl doesn't. So this time again you try to avoid her demise. It's a bit like Blind Date meets Final Destination, only without Cilla Black's head coming off.
I won't give too much more away, but things get a bit groundhog day-ish, with you playing the game again, armed with your prior knowledge, trying to save her. And does it work out? Well, I won't spoil the ending - or endings, since there a few - but the game does look at the nature of choice and just what it means to have a happy ending. And what does it mean to 'win' a game?
Okay, if you're looking for a game where you get to shoot a bad guy in the face, you're not going to find it here. Keyboard and mouse reflexes mean nothing here. If, on the other hand, you like a good story, ideally one with a few moral grey areas, then you're more than catered for. And best of all, it's free. The graphics aren't great, but they're not really the point and if you're reading this on a PC you already have a machine that can run it. You owe it to yourself to at least check it out. You can download it here.
9 out of 10
Pros:
It's really thought provoking.
It has a great storyline.
It's one of the most original games I've ever seen.
Cons:
The graphics aren't all that great.
It's not for everyone.