This got released as Office Politics, but for whatever reason (I think copyright crap) the developer had to take it down. Now, I didn’t get it then because quite honestly the game looked like The Sims to me. And I can’t stand that game, I’ve NEVER understood the point with the The Sims.
Thankfully, this … unlike The Sims … is actually a game.
The whole game is basically a satire on what it’s like to work in an office. And, thankfully, it doesn’t take itself very seriously as a result of that.
The first time I ran it, I spent just about an hour with it and didn’t even finish it, which is kind of surprising for an 80 point game, because most of them are either just bad games that don’t last very long or arcade style games that are meant to be played for a few minutes and go. It actually took me about 2 hours to beat this all the way through.
The graphics, while extremely simple get the job done nicely and fit the overall tone just fine. Everything looks like beefed up versions of those pointless little Mii characters Nintendo has. But it works. The few environments that are there look decent enough, though the movement of the characters themselves is a little slow and irritating. For instance, when you talk to someone. They have to move into just the right spot before the conversation will begin. If they’re sitting, they slowly get up out of their seat and walk over to the desired position. Things like that. They don’t break the game by any means, but it’s still a little annoying.
The sound effects, while they are there, are almost non existent. Most of what you get is the sounds of doing things like drinking, eating, the occasional explosion (yes. explosions.) and the music which, while done very well and does a good job of letting you know Jennifer is starting to get stressed out by going way up tempo and louder … that’s almost all there is to the game. Though it didn’t get overall irritating, I just wish there was a bit more.
The gameplay is pretty basic, but is also the most interesting part of the game. Throughout the 5 days, you just run around and do little tasks like adjusting mail all the way up to going to Washington to get bailout money. It gets a little annoying to aim for things to interact with though … a lot of the time when I wanted to rummage through the fridge for something it would highlight the busted vending machine next to it. You have to be facing in JUST the right direction to interact with things. There are a couple of small puzzles but for the most part the game is extremely linear, the only thing you have to worry about are her basic needs. Food, coffee, sleep and, well, you can take a guess what that toilet icon is. That’s most of what you’re going to do here is managing those needs. You keep those in check you’re just fine. But once one of those icons runs out and starts turning red, you get a temperature gauge at the right side of the screen and the music picks up. Once that fills, she basically throws her hands up in the air and quits. Now, that sounds annoying … and if there is one annoying thing about this game managing those needs is definitely it … but I had to deliberately run around and let it run out just to see what would happen.
There are a few minuses here and there, I’ve already named off a couple of them. But, while the writing is pretty funny and definitely well written for the type of game it is … the dialog doesn’t branch out nearly as much as it could have. You have a set answer for most points in the game and that’s it, though there are a few instances where the dialog branches off … then you’re left there wondering “What the hell do I say?” … I just decided to be as cruel as possible to see what would happen.
8.0 – It’s definitely a funny little game and really was a pleasant surprise considering I don’t normally get into games like this. As far as I’m concerned, if I want to wake up and go to work I’ll wake up and go to work. Why the hell do I need a video game for that. But this is funny, fairly long considering with a decent presentation. And the fact that you can save (almost) anywhere helps a lot in making it a good game to kill a few minutes with make it a game that is definitely worth picking up.
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#1 by Ben on February 1, 2010 - 11:38 pm
lol, you got played! The dialog branches all send you to the same spot. At first I found it strange but then I understood the reasoning behind it. Definitely one of the best of 2009 and 2010 probably.
#2 by Dhalamar on February 1, 2010 - 11:44 pm
@Ben haha it would’ve been awesome to go back to that scene at the end and just get a “fuck you man” and they collect it all and leave. :)