<img class="alignleft" title="People's Glorious whatever..." src="http://www.biggles2k.com/images/blog/posts/ifcomps/revolution.jpg" alt="People's Glorious Long Text Adventure Title I Can't Remember" width="175" height="175" />At first I thought that my randomly-generated list of games to play was hinting at something. Right after I finished <em>Gigantomania</em>, this list--again, I stress that it was randomly generated--suggested that I play Taylor Vaughan's <em><a title="The People's Glorious Revolutionary Text Adventure" href="http://http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=8le4zj44wh217o0o">The People's Glorious Revolutionary Text Adventure Game</a></em>. Here was yet another game centered around communism, albeit the similarities ended there. Unlike <em>Gigantomania</em>, which presents a sobering account Stalinist Russia, <em>Revolution</em> (as I will simply call it lest I waste too much time typing out the title) presents the light-hearted escapades of Karl, a Marxist-wannabe who wishes to turn a capitalist town of Freedonia into a communistic utopia.

As the ridiculously long title implies, silliness is the real name of the game. Appropriately attired in a furry papakha and your "What Would Trotsky Do?" bracelet, you explore the streets of Freedonia, attempting to win the hearts and minds of its citizens. At your disposal are your to-do list (when you find it), a couple of comrades (with names such as Jetski), and a few gadgets, including the Marxist Ventriloquator Mk II, which, when pointed at someone, forces the victim to spout a "glorious Marxist quote" (though it often sounds like something Yahkov Smirnoff might say). All in all, it's up to you to bring everything together so you can throw one Hell of a Communist party.

At its core, "Revolution" is traditional IF: Explore the map, solve the puzzles, and win the game. The map divides the city into four quadrants, each easily remembered and navigable. The puzzles are fun, if not particularly challenging, and several left me with smile (in particular, the solution for getting the vodka still makes me chuckle). Should you get stuck on a puzzle, you can either consult the hints or take advantage of an in-game gadget designed specifically so you can "cheat" yourself out of solving one puzzle. And depending on how you go about your quest, you may find yourself at more than one ending.

Alas, the ending I received suggested I could have done something more, that somewhere out there was a "better" ending. Upon researching other player experiences, I discovered that I had, indeed, botched my "happily ever after" by resorting to capitalism. To be fair, the game hinted that purchasing something with the almighty dollar might lead to some severe consequences, but in my defense, I also learned that at that point, I simply had no choice. There is one object in the game that if accidentally discarded, forces you to resort to capitalism. And I had used that item to solve another puzzle in the game. This represents a major fault in the game's implementation and breaks a general rule-of-thumb in good IF: Unless the player is heavily warned in advance, discarding or using an item should not break a major win-condition. At the very least, alternatives must be presented so the game can still be satisfactorily won.

Aside from this issue, <em>Revolution</em> offers your average capitalist like me a solid game of good fun and laughs.