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By Tim, January 11, 2010 2:20 am

Molly the Were-Zompire – Role Playing – 80 Points – Download

Molly the Were-Zompire is an interactive fiction (IF) game created under the wife-and-husband pen name R.W. Boyd. Molly is actually their second IF work for XBLIG, the first being Epiphany in Spaaace. While an IF sounds like something strange and unusual, the format is identical to choose-your-own-adventure (CYOA) books. Interactive fiction works have been popular among independent games for some time, so ideally making one for XBLIG should give players, or readers as the case may be, a chance to see what these are all about.

As the title indicates, players are put in the shoes of Molly Desper, a graduate student. Through extraordinary circumstances, she is turned into a Were-Zompire (Werewolf + zombie + vampire) and goes on a series of adventures at the player’s whim. The controls are simple enough. The A button is used to proceed through pages. Occasionally, a decision will come up and is chosen using X, Y or A. Some choices can lead to new branches of the story while others bring the story to an end, usually negatively. A handy feature built into the game is the ability to warp back to the previous set of choices by pressing left trigger or B. For curious players, it helps immensely with exploring each choice rather than going all the way back to the beginning once a game over is reached.

In terms of the game’s writing, it follows the traditional COYA style of referring to you in the second person (i.e. “You are…”). The humor, however, is at times hit and miss. Much of it relies heavily on breaking the 4th wall and reminding the player they’re playing a game, or the developer injecting themselves into the script to give them a personal message. The overall story is straightforward and does occasionally surprise you with your decisions, but is nothing groundbreaking

On a plus side, the game’s presentation is simple and uncluttered. The text is largely-printed and crisp, and the simple texture backgrounds don’t distract from the text. The music is a continuous piano lounge tune that, while calming, could drag on if you intend to read every inch of the game in one sitting. Luckily, the game supports playing your own music while reading.

For the price of a used book, Molly the Were-Zompire offers a simple and quick escape for CYOA fans, but the overabundance of 4th wall humor and cheesy story might make it more suitable for juvenile tastes.

Molly the Were-Zompire offers a simple and quick escape for CYOA fans, but the overabundance of 4th wall humor and cheesy story might make it more suitable for juvenile tastes.