Despite the fact that I oh so cleverly rescued my saved games for Baldur's Gate and I haven't finished it yet, my nephew just gave me this game last night. I had put into my Steam wish list because Jeff Vogel had some very nice things to say about it on his blog. It's only about four hours long. Plus, it has won lots of awards and has fantastic reviews.
So I thought I'd try it. This is an indie game--very simple, on the surface. It has only one screen. Nicely economical for the indie developer. However, the script goes far beyond that one screen.
It's 1982, and the style of the game is from that period--the very beginning of graphic games. It looks like a very early PC effort. The excellent music really helps the atmosphere. The player takes the part of a newly hired border official in a dystopian dictatorship called Arstotzka. New jobs are offered in the country, and it's our job to decide who gets in and who doesn't. Sounds simple. On the first day, it is. Only the Arstotzkans can enter. We accept or reject them with stamps on their passports. They go into the country or go away, and we get to go home to our family, living in a Level 8 apartment.
For every correct decision, we get five credits. I'm playing in the easy mode right now, so I get an extra 20 credits per day whatever I do. If we make a mistake, we're docked 5 credits.
At home, every night, we get the choice of what to spend our money on. We have a family. They need heat, food, and sometimes medicine. We have to pay the rent no matter what. After that, it's our decision to decide what to pay for. Ergo, the decisions we make during the day will decide if the family survives.
I'm just into the third day. Each day the game adds a new element. We have to compare passport photos with the person's face, check the dates on the passports and entry tickets, and especially, check to see if they're coming from an official city--otherwise their passports may be faked. My last decision was what to do when somebody shows up without any documents. The game guides you through new stuff like this.
The people who come into your booth make comments, try to bribe you, etc. There's already been a terrorist attack, which cut the day short and, therefore, my wages. I can see how this thing is going to grow ever more complex. Reviews say that it gets quite emotional.
So I'm looking forward to playing more! (Right now I'm in a Kirkus book rush, however. Therefore, even though it's a short game, I probably won't finish before sometime next week.)
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