ASCII-GAMES - Play and Review
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tess review by krishna 16-Oct-05


Beyond the Tesseract, run here on sdf as tess, is the nerdiest piece of 
Interactive Fiction(IF) I've ever played. This is the kind of IF that I often 
fantasize about writing. You can't go wrong with solutions that involve 
induction coils and klein bottles. Throw in a small Hitchhiker's Guide 
reference or two and you have a game that will appeal to any math and science 
fan.

In tess you push, pop, read, and sleep your way into different realities while 
trying to get from the beginning of the game to the end. I won't bother you 
with a plot synopsis. It's composed of a blurb at the beginning and end of the 
game and seems to have no relevance to anything.

Tess is a surprisingly short game. It took me a few days to beat, but you can 
finish it in less than five minutes if you know the solutions. All commands 
are in one word "verb" and two word "verb noun" form. You might feel compelled 
to try longer commands when you get stuck--don't waste your time.

I ended up cheating and peaking at the source to finish the game. Here is a 
hint if you happen to get stuck where I did. "Violence is not necessary, *most 
of the time.*" That quote is straight from the game(emphasis mine of course). 
Reading comprehension is important in IF games. I stupidly abandoned violence 
after seeing that message a few times.

I only have two complaints about the game. First, the two solutions that I was 
stuck on were the most disappointing of the bunch. Second, the game doesn't 
seem to have the ability to "look" at the room you are occupying to read the 
description and find the exits. This can be frustrating when you have been 
fumbling around trying to find the right verb to use for a while.

My rating for "Beyond the Tesseract": 7/8 cubes.