Bureaucracy

The Good
Very realistic present-day feel, yet just silly enough to help you remember you're still just playing a game. We've all had days like this -- Bureaucracy helps us laugh at ourselves and relax a bit. (Blood pressure gets measured in the game, and you drop dead if it gets too high!)

The Bad
The designers did a GREAT job of imitating the frustrations of paperwork and red tape found in real life. Good for the game, irritating if you just came home from waiting in line at the bank...

The Bottom Line
Play it. You'll like it. Just don't destroy your computer in frustration.

The Good
Bureaucracy is a very funny game, from the silly forms you have to fill out to all the goofy situations and characters. As always for an Infocom game, the parser is excellent and the storytelling is vivid and descriptive.

The Bad
The puzzles we extremely difficult and I felt again and again that I had no idea what my goal was or where I was going. I got to the point at where the Bureaucracy in the game was more frustrating than funny and many puzzles had rather contrived solutions.

The Bottom Line
Bureaucracy is a comedy adventure game set in present times where you deal with a never-ending parade of forms, failures, and petty characters trying to deprive you of your wealth and well-being.

The Good
Bureaucracy is a very funny game, as one would expect from Douglas Adams. Apparently he drew on several real life events to frame the story. You have just moved to a new house and are awaiting a check so you can travel to Paris. Unfortunately your bank hasn't caught up with you yet, the postal system runs from faulty to diabolical, and suspicious men seem to be stalking you.

This game takes potshots at poor service, banks, airlines, cannibals, etc. Nothing is safe from Adams' razor wit. The parser was very good and the story kept my interest. In addition to overcoming the usual puzzles (like bypassing a llama and scaring a baby) you also have to monitor your blood pressure. This was fun and an added challenge. Several sections require you to fill-out forms with snide comments about your parentage, scruples, and name. Also, based on the initial form, you can receive phone calls from formerly loved ones and play within your neighborhood.

The Bad
There seemed to be at least one point where if you failed to solve a puzzle, the game became unwinnable. Instead of letting you know that you just made a huge mistake, the game allows you to continue playing. I think when you make a error like that, the game should let you know it's time to restart.

The Bottom Line
This game is a comic gem and a highlight of Interactive Fiction. Very challenging though; some sections will have you reaching for the Invisiclues.