There’s absolutely no reason that text adventures shouldn’t be as popular now as they ever were. They were superseded by graphic adventures, sure, but books aren’t judged to have been replaced by cinema. Text adventures simply went out of fashion, and they're waiting for their particular form of gaming vogue to come back around.
If Gemini Division is any indication, that archaic gaming fashion might finally be returning - at least as far as the mobile platform is concerned - and doing so in spectacular style.
You could look at it as a tangent from the ‘choose your own adventure’ books, but Gemini Division doesn’t lean solely on the strength of its story-driven gameplay. It blends in typical mobile gaming elements, but veers away from graphically heavy scenarios to create a brilliant contemporary re-engineering of the classic text adventure.
Because this type of game uses your imagination as a gameplay device, it’d damage your experience irreparably to go into much detail about the superbly written and well-structured storyline. Suffice to say it's laced with intrigue, espionage and, well, adventure.
As well written as Gemini Division is, however, there’s also no getting around the fact that it borrows heavily - a little too heavily, perhaps - from Blade Runner, though fans of the Ridley Scott movie, Philip K. Dick, William Gibson and 'dystopian future sci-fi' in general should definitely get themselves well and truly embroiled in the techno-espionage thriller that provides the tent poles for Gemini Division’s gameplay.
The developer has contemporised the old text adventure concept by regularly dropping mini-games into the plot. Should you be required to find a new location, hack a security panel, decrypt a computer or a variety of other technological achievements (all perfectly suited to your character’s illicit occupation and profiteering, curious personality) a puzzle-based mini-game is introduced to test your reflexes as well as your wit, which adds vital dynamism and action to the typically sedate nature of the text adventure.
The fact that Gemini Division is such an exciting and lively experience belies its text adventure heritage, and is the kind of wonderful gaming surprise that makes the mobile platform such a delight. Don’t miss it.
Gemini Division: Code Cracker
Perhaps the story is too close to Blade Runner for comfort, but it’s blindingly well written and well structured, and the surprising rebirth of the text adventure makes this game an essential addition to the sci-fi fan’s mobile games library
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.