jeff@janus.UUCP (jeff marder) (09/26/89)
please compare to "Fool's Errand". Is it more difficult, more fun, etc. Also, please discuss special features (color, sound, etc.) -- ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Jeff Marder Quotron Systems 213-302-4316 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
dgraham@kean.mun.ca (David Graham) (09/27/89)
In article <458@janus.UUCP>, jeff@janus.UUCP (jeff marder) writes: > please compare to "Fool's Errand". Is it more difficult, more fun, etc. > Also, please discuss special features (color, sound, etc.) > -- I just reviewed "At the Carnival" (supposedly the first of many "Puzzle Gallery" releases) for our MUG. I don't know about colour, having played it (to completion) on a Plus, but IMHO it's a real bore compared to "The Fool's Errand". If there's enough interest I could post a copy of the review or mail it to people who'd like to see it. > ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// > Jeff Marder > Quotron Systems 213-302-4316 > ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// David Graham dgraham@kean.mun.ca Department of French & Spanish dgraham@munucs.uucp Memorial University of Newfoundland (709)737-7636/7
garth@cs.swarthmore.edu (Garth Snyder) (09/28/89)
> In article <458@janus.UUCP> jeff@janus.UUCP (jeff marder) writes: > > please compare to "Fool's Errand". Is it more difficult, more fun, > etc. Also, please discuss special features (color, sound, etc.) I've been meaning to write about the Puzzle Gallery for a while now and this seems like a good time to do so. Since I haven't finished the game yet, my perspective isn't really all that complete. What I say below are generalizations based on what I've seen of the game and the documentation. The Puzzle Gallery is Cliff Johnson's second puzzle game. The first was the infamous Fool's Errand, which is one of my favorite games of all time. Unfortunately, the Puzzle Gallery is a disappointment, especially when contrasted with the Errand. It's similar to Beyond Dark Castle in that I think people who haven't played the original will really like it, but others will find it stale and without flavor. The Puzzle Gallery is essentially the Fools Errand minus the plot, the meta-puzzles, the ultimate goal, the oddball one-of-a-kind puzzles, and the haunting artwork. It really is just what the name suggests, a bunch of puzzles such as you might find in your Sunday newspaper, loosely surrounded by a central theme but not really linked together. There seem to be only about 5 different kinds of puzzles. The game has been split into a master program and a puzzle file. The documentation hints that more puzzle sets will be published in the future. The puzzle set supplied is called "At the Circus". The puzzles take you all the way from the parking lot through various rides, attractions, and sideshows. Puzzles are grouped into about 40 sequences of three or four puzzles each. You can skip from sequence to sequence however you like, but you must solve the puzzles within a sequence in order. The Puzzle Gallery is an extremely polished product. It's compatible with all models of Macintosh, it's multifinder friendly, and it works correctly at any screen depth (though you need more than 1M to play in 8-bit mode). All the puzzles are in full blazing color (if you've got the hardware for it), and include lots of nifty digitized sounds. The interface for solving puzzles is similar to that of the Fool's Errand, but many little improvements have been made. Despite the limited number of types of puzzles, each individual puzzle has its own "look and feel", just like in the Fool's Errand. The artwork is very good, but somehow it all just seems like pretty pictures - the driving intensity of the Errand's drawings is absent. In summary, if you're trying to decide between the Fool's Errand and the Puzzle Gallery, definitely go for the Errand (if you have a Mac that will run it). If you've played the Errand and are looking for a continuation in that vein, you won't find it in the Gallery. On the other hand, if you can accept the Gallery on its own terms, its a juicy piece of work. -------------------- Garth Snyder UUCP: {bpa,liberty}!swatsun!garth Swarthmore College INTERNET: garth@cs.swarthmore.edu Swarthmore, PA 19081 ALSO: garth@boulder.colorado.edu --------------------
geoff@pmafire.UUCP (Geoff Allen) (09/30/89)
In article <3137@byzantium.cs.swarthmore.edu> garth@cs.swarthmore.edu (Garth Snyder) writes: >... the Puzzle Gallery is a disappointment, >especially when contrasted with the Errand. It's similar to Beyond >Dark Castle in that I think people who haven't played the original >will really like it, but others will find it stale and without flavor. Well, I've played both and I like Beyond Dark Castle better. :-) I do agree, however, that "The Puzzle Gallery: At the Carnival" is a dud compared to "The Fool's Errand." >The Puzzle Gallery is essentially the Fools Errand minus the plot, the >meta-puzzles, the ultimate goal, the oddball one-of-a-kind puzzles, >and the haunting artwork. >... >There seem to be only about 5 different kinds of puzzles. I got REAL tired of the three by three puzzles where you arrange the letters to make words across and down. "Grease Burger" and "Colossal Coronary" got old really quickly! >In summary, if you're trying to decide between the Fool's Errand and >the Puzzle Gallery, definitely go for the Errand (if you have a Mac >that will run it). If you've played the Errand and are looking for a >continuation in that vein, you won't find it in the Gallery. On the >other hand, if you can accept the Gallery on its own terms, its a >juicy piece of work. Have you noticed the general theme of the reviews that have been posted about this game? It seems that most of us are saying, "It's a dud, but buy it anyway." Kind of interesting, I think. If we used MacUser's `mice' rating (0 to 5, 5 being best), how many mice would we give it? I'd give it 3 or 3 1/2. -- Geoff Allen \ Disclaimer: WINCO doesn't believe in Macs, {uunet,bigtex}!pmafire!geoff \ so of course these are my views. ucdavis!egg-id!pmafire!geoff \