Scavenger is a fun IF set in a post-apocalypse world – something that is very rare among text adventures. What I like the most about the game are its neat setting and puzzles that allow multiple solutions. J. Robinson Wheeler summed up the rest in his review. "This is a solidly crafted and entertaining game, pitched at just the right level of difficulty. Apparently, the setting is a world that the author developed for use elsewhere, a sort of post-apocalyptic thing with heavily-armed bandits, radiation hazards, and underground military bunkers with access panels that you need badges and clearance codes to open, and electricity that needs to be turned back on. In the end notes, the author acknowledges the similarities between this game and Babel. True enough. I'm making it sound like this is all unoriginal stuff, and in a sense, it is, but nevertheless, I happen to like games where I have to turn the electricity back on and find out how to make access panels let me through. I had fun. The gameplay was smooth, the plot moved along, and the puzzles were logical. I found most of them intuitive, as long as I paid attention to scene and object descriptions. For example, I walked into a room with a desk (it is starting to feel like I haven't played a game yet this Comp that lacked a room with a desk – and this one has more than one), and the description of the room seemed to take particular note of how the desk was situated against the wall. I immmediately focused my attention on the desk, and was rewarded, as easily as that. It's fun when it works that way, and 80% of the game was like that for me – as I said, the exact level of difficulty I get the most pleasure out of. Like all of the games I've played so far this year, this one included a very good hint system that never let me down when I needed a nudge or an outright solution." All in all, a well-coded, well-written, and captivating game that deserved its third place win in the ninth Annual IF Competition. Reviewed by: Underdogs |