Spoiler-Free Review: Augmented Fourth

Originally published at AesTerra. You can comment here or there.

It’s been some time since my last blog posting. And with good reason: I’ve been traveling these past several months.

And what fortune should I have, than to be away when Brian Uri! released the second version of his classic game, Augmented Fourth. It seems fitting, then, that I finally review it.


Augmented Fourth is something of a simple game, easily playable in a day or two with minimal spoilers. Starting quite literally in midair, the game takes on something of a Terry Pratchett-like sense of humor and literary style, and doesn’t let go until long after the end. For his first and only complete work of interactive fiction, Uri! doesn’t disappoint.

It’s quite clear that Mr. Uri! did his homework, as puns, feelies, and inside jokes abound. Most of the adventure mainstays are implemented here, from a very humorous use of “xyzzy” to more than a few jokes at Zork’s expense. In fact, the game feels and plays so much like Zork, it’s arguably one of its most defining characteristics.

To that end, there’s a rather good balance between the game’s quirky world and item-driven puzzles. Descriptions work well; the text goes out of its way to amuse and delight. The game’s puzzles are relatively simple and forgiving, but are still tricky enough to elicit genuine satisfaction when solved. I especially like the way the trumpet is used as a wildcard for major puzzles, without feeling stiff or repetitive.

However, there are a few rough edges to the game. I would have preferred multi-turn undo, and a few more hints for some of the puzzles.

Still, these are minor quarrels. To the author’s credit, a very nasty red herring puzzle was scrapped in this release — one I spent an hour trying to figure out, previously. There’s also a literal red herring, but that’s a different puzzle.



All in all, Augmented Fourth is one of my favorite works of interactive fiction. Seeing as it reintroduced me to the genre, and is still entertaining nine years after its original publication, I’d say Uri! did something right.

If you haven’t had the chance, play through as soon as you can, either by download or online. It’s time well-spent.



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Links:

• IFDB: Augmented Fourth
  
  
• IFWiki: Augmented Fourth (Static Link)
  
  
• The URI! Zone: Author’s Homepage
  
  
• The URI! Zone: Online Version of Augmented Fourth