Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Could have used more Yiddish, but still a hoot
This weekend, I played through Shivah, by indie producer Wadjet Eye Games:
If you're that close to the third rail, don't mess with Rabbi Stone.
You play Rabbi Russell Stone, a New York City rabbi whose congregation has nearly abandoned him due to his absurdly gloomy sermons, and whose temple is seriously short on cash. After one particularly dismal Friday night service, a cop arrives, announcing that a man murdered three days ago has left Stone’s synagogue over $10,000 inheritance money. Stone recognizes the name of murdered man, but he’s puzzled. Jack Lauder was the last person Stone expected would leave him money. Smelling a pig*, Stone decides to investigate.
It’s an old-style game (think Space Quest, but with even lower production values) happily lacking in pixel-hunting and inventory-recombination puzzles. Most of the work resides in figuring out the dialog tree, which amounts to realizing that the “rabbinical response” (answering a question with a question) is usually the best option. Smooth sailing for the most part until the end game, where it is fiendishly difficult not to end your days as either a bullet-ridden corpse or a big yarmulkeh-adorned splat on the New York streets far below.
If you like the idea of grumpy rabbi as hard-boiled hero, Shivah is the game for you. And for only $4.95? Such a bargain!
D.
*Admittedly, rats are unkosher too (try to find a rabbi who will bless a dead rat), but smelling a pig is far less trite.
