Next up and it’s Andrew Williams’s Snare (1997), inspired by scifi BBC TV series Blake’s 7.
I played this a lot tonight. And had a lot of fun. It captures the spirit of the 1970s/80s scifi TV programme Blake’s 7, as well as the characters of its early core cast. You very much feel you’re part of a bunch of misfit renegades, with your own spaceship, and going on missions to other locations.
When the game starts you play Avon, one of the key characters from the series. Though I think there might have been a chance to get a better outcome, the ultimate ending of this opening section is probably fixed. Which leads into the main section where you play the group’s leader Blake, now on their spaceship the Liberator. Which is populated with fellow crew members. And you soon uncover a mystery which leads you to a familiar foe (well familiar from the telly version, though the crew at the point they’re at here haven’t met him yet). Who you pursue via various locations and through space using your ship. Note that play is possible despite the game telling you mid way that you’ve reached the end of the implemented section. No, there’s more, and you can play on.
The implementation is pretty smooth and I didn’t often have to fight the parser. I also liked how the game handled teleporting and navigating the ship. It’s neat how you can ask the ship’s computer for information on people, places etc. I was a bit concerned that as I moved on in the story I might have left something behind that I really needed later. No big worries though: the game is quick enough that I could replay if necessary.
In the end I was close to the person I was ultimately seeking, and had something to try to distract his pet on the way to him. But I couldn’t open the something, and died spectacularly. Frustratingly I had a gun, but couldn’t use it, e.g. to shoot the thing.
If you can get past this stage it should be possible to play on quite a bit further. The game’s Inform debugging commands are functional, so you can e.g. PURLOIN, GONEAR and significantly TREE. There are a number of additional locations to find, and also characters. Though again I hit a big sticking point.
There are also lots of in-joke references in the game to the wider Blake’s 7 world. Importantly the writing of key characters Avon and Vila is especially strong. And if you mess up spectacularly in one place a very familiar baddie appears, which is worth seeing.
That was a lot of fun. If you like Blake’s 7 try it out. If you like scifi give it a go. And if you can get past the lizard by somehow opening the tin of lizard food please let me know how!