Thanks to Orb at Four
Fat Chicks for this most recent and most extraordinary review
(June 2003). Here is a sample: "Mode has that funky MTV-in-the-80s feel.
But it has none of the overly pushy attempt to be cool that MTV's game of similar
ilk, Club Dead, had. Mode is designed almost like an interactive art installation.
And the number of paths the story can take, the method of communicating to characters
within the game, and the style of the game itself really bear this out... The
thing that makes Mode an exceptional lost jewel of an FMV adventure title is
that the developers used a method of communicating with characters the likes
of which I have not run across before...I was bowled over by this whole system
and found myself exploring to see how I could make conversations change the
game and the game's outcome...I was also surprised by the quality of the actors.
Unlike many FMV games, the acting in Mode is well-done and consistent. As this
is really the main focus of the game, it serves Mode well to have this important
aspect crafted so well...Don't get me wrong, a lot of this game is kitschy and
strange. But I felt myself inexplicably drawn into it and completely entertained.
Usually I am not a big fan of character-driven FMV, but I loved this."
Thanks to Alex Tait for this recent review
on the Just Adventure site. "It's a trip!" he says.
The Toronto Star (Nov.3,'96, Robert Crew) says: "As the
Master, Noel Coward, would have remarked in his languid, elegant way: I've been
to a mahvellous party... One of the neat things about Mode is the Mood Bar,
which allows you to choose the reaction of the person you're talking to... It's
hard not to get caught up in the strange events unfolding before you. Noel Coward,
I am sure, would have been the first to acknowledge its talent to amuse."
Computer Player (Nov.'96, Julie Gordon) says: "Mode's chief asset is the acting. All the performances, from the flamboyant yet angst-ridden Vito to the dimwitted beefcake Hercule Dinaste, are flawlessly executed."
HomePC (Dec.'96, Julie Cohen) says: "As I stepped off
the elevator and caught a glimpse of the TV monitors welcoming guests to the
Mode party, I was instantly hooked. Here I found myself at the bash of the decade,
with no invitation and no idea who anybody was. But thanks to the pulsing music
and brightly colored lights, I knew I wanted to find out. So I crashed the party.
There were models everywhere, and everyone was beautiful. A reporter was even
covering the scene for a local tv station. Intrigued, I walked around, watched
some of the runway show and began talking to the guests... Oh yes. Did I mention
that Mode is a game? Cleverly written, with a decidedly R-rated theme and some
of the most intriguing characters ever assembled on a CD-ROM, this fascinating
program did such a good job of convincing me I was at a great party, I nearly
forgot my vice-cop mission. Luckily, the lure of the lights and the sound of
the music kept me coming back for more."
South Africa's ELECTRONIC MAIL and GUARDIAN (28 Nov, 1996,
David Shapshack) says: " Innovative... Mode was more a challenge to see
how developed my social interaction skills were, than the eye-hand co-ordination
or thinking skills of your average CD-ROM game... Add some patience, absorption
into the plot, which becomes intrigue, and I was away; with the mood bar adding
another dimension of interaction... Mode plays on all the trappings of deconstructionist
art: the word "mode" is the "dome pin", the icon/adornment with a secret function
that is needed to continue into the party and the game. It is also "edom", the
password to call up the secret file on the party's host Vito Brevis --- an eccentric
performance artist who's assembled the motley array of hangers-on, wannabees
and the "real" cool cats you'd expect to find in this highly sophisticated artistic
world... Depending on your skill, your finding the secret file takes the art
game into the realm of middle ages secret societies --- those who read Umberto
Eco's Foucault's Pendulum will be on familiar ground... The androgyny of the
protagonist character I play leads to a few semi-sexual flirts with some of
the characters. They highlight how a cheeky use of the mood bar in interactions
with the characters enlivens the game... For those of you who don't move in
such Manhattan art circles it could be the chance to pretend to be Andy Warhol.
For those who do, it's a chance to practise your skills and, of course, solve
the unspoken riddle. "
Indelible Ink says:
"... The various plot lines use a sense of humor to embrace so many diverse
elements without coming off as completely ludicrous. The program's sharp sense
of humor also skewers metropolitan social climbers with incessant glee... The
interaction with the party-goers is performed via a unique "mood bar"
... We've never seen anything like this device before, and it makes the Mode
experience more subtle than other, similar programs. The characters, by necessity,
are more than one-dimensional - otherwise everything would be obvious from the
get-go, since all you do is interact with the party-goers. Figure out who likes
to tease, who likes to be teased, and who will not stand for games. Uniquely
interesting and entertaining."
Monitor Magazine (July '96, Mark Bell) says: "Basically
a souped-up conversation simulator, MODE launches us on a journey into the fictional
social setting of a bar bordering on the surreal. Charity Flame, the first character
we meet in MODE, eloquently describes the experience as "chic and freak",
an apt description - or, perhaps, a warning to the uninitiated and faint of
heart... It may, in fact, be overly intense for the average, closeted, Duke
Nukem player, but then it was not intended for that audience anyway. MODE seems
designed for those of us with social prowess rather than technical prowess.
Animatics has incorporated a rather unique user interface [description]... It
doesn't get simpler than this. The lack of apparent complexity is part of the
appeal of the experience, that is, less time spent trying to figure out the
interface, more time actually spent playing the game."
Here are some scans of complete
reviews.
Mode was a finalist for the 1996 Macromedia People's Choice
Awards.
A Really Really
Bad Review of Mode!
An extremely negative review of Mode
in PCGamer Magazine (Jan.'97) is credited (by Frank Magazine the same month)
as having decided Corel management to drop all promotion for Mode and cancel
their entire game division. It should be noted, by way of explanation, that
the article in question was written by a guy who usually reviews flight simulators,
and judging by what he says seems to have had a rather painful experience attempting
to socialize in college. It is hardly surprising that he had a less than positive
experience in a game where socializing is pretty well all you do. Go here
for an annotated critique of this review.
