HMS Victory by peter edwards

Review by DavyB

Like all Peter Edwards’ games, this is a ‘fantasy’, but has been labelled ‘historical’ because it located on HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship. The aim is to locate special objects belonging to Nelson and return them to his cabin to release the souls of his ghostly crew. The game is decorated with pictures taken by Peter on a visit to the ship. Unusually, the pictures also contribute to the game. The connection, however, is not as tight as might be expected, with many objects in the pictures producing the response “I can’t see that.” Indeed, as demonstrated by the first reviewer, it is possible to complete the game without using the pictures at all and, presumably, just guess what might be in each room.

This early game is shorter and rather more straightforward than Peter’s later productions but is nonetheless very enjoyable, enhanced by the pictures and sound effects. Having played, I would definitely be interested in seeing the actual ship. Perhaps there is an opportunity here to encourage an interest in text adventures by inviting a link to the game from the museum website? …assuming there isn’t too much artistic license in the design of the game!

Overall, although this game is probably not as tightly tied to its locations as his more recent offerings, is less detailed in the interactions available, and is only partially successful in its use of picture clues, it is still very well executed, with a strong introduction, good sense of humour, and a very pleasing appearance throughout. There are a few unexpected instant deaths but the game is simple enough to return to those positions rapidly without any prior ‘save’.

Review by Charles Scott

This is a beautifully-produced game: the action flows smoothly, while the visuals and the background sound effects add to the atmosphere and create a vivid feeling of what it is like aboard the "Victory". It's not the most complex of games, but the puzzles are logical and engaging, and there is a wealth of fascinating detail about life aboard a nineteenth-century war ship: I learnt a lot (including the use of a tow-rag...) An enjoyable and involving experience. And from now on I'm going to be kinder to seagulls when they dive-bomb my seaside ice-cream.
Congratulations Peter Edwards.

Review by sarah4

A great game with a lot of rooms to explore and lots of fun puzzles to solve, it's nice to see some more historical games as well! My only problems were the lack of warning about the rats on the lower decks and the fact that I only found out how to get rid of the rats from the magazine by accident and I'm still not sure why what I did worked! However, I'm pretty sure these things were referred to in some of the visual clues I couldn't access so it's not a criticism. I enjoyed the attention to detail in the way the various areas of the ship were depicted with nice authentic touches that added atmosphere. The many red herrings were also fun to sift through! Well done and I look forward to more of your games!