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Flint's Gold - Review

Review by PJ-1978

Ratings

Parser/Vocabulary
4
Atmosphere
6
Cruelty
Tough
Puzzles
7
Overall
7
Written:
09-11-2020
Last edited:
Platform:
unspecified

A rather basic (no pun intended) but actually fairly engaging pirate text adventure. The addition of (well programmed) pirate music and inclusion of sound effects and BASIC animations that appear at some points, add an extra bit of fun and will likely appeal to younger players. Ultimately a bit shorter than I had initially hoped, but what there is, isn't too bad.




Parser/Vocabulary (Rating: 4/10)

The vocabulary understanding in this game is, at points, a bit limited and misleading. For example, in a room where you can see a piece of metal. You can try everything imaginable to pick it up, but unless you identify it as 'steel', it's not gonna happen! Several other points are similarly as awkward - at least one of these is a play on words puzzle (the small place circle), but there are certainly frustrating moments.

Atmosphere (Rating: 6/10)

Not the best pirate-themed text adventure I've played (there are a surprising few of them), but it does have it's own certain charm. With the blocky Mode 7 graphics that pop up occasionally between gameplay and the jolly music, it reminded me in some ways of those glorious old educational classroom games.

Cruelty (Rating: Tough)

Cruelty is so-so on this one. As mentioned, some of the problems occasionally come from the awkward vocabulary; elsewhere there are puzzles to overcome, but a typical bit of text adventure trial-and-error should eventually pay off with most of them. But talking of cruelty, all I can say is, poor goat! (For those who know which puzzle I'm referring to, I actually assumed I had completed this sequence wrong as that surely couldn't be the correct solution!?)

Puzzles (Rating: 7/10)

The puzzles are of a fairly typical 'pirate text adventure' variety, reasonably laid out, though ultimately is a more streamlined, straightforward affair than some of the vast text adventures seen elsewhere on the Beeb.

Overall (Rating: 7/10)

This game shouldn't appeal, but it does. It's flawed with it's sometimes fussy vocabulary, sometimes misleading or non-existent clues regarding certain situations, and shorter than the addition of music and graphics might suggest. However... I found it had it's own certain charm. Granted, I'm a sucker for most vintage Beeb text adventures, but I did feel this one had a vintage sort of appeal to it, and I would have adored it if I'd had this one as a boy. It's just a shame that it's ultimately a bit shorter than it seems to be when setting out - I enjoyed it and would have like to have seen more of it.