With the power to freeze time, you can ransack a casino, rescue a celebrity, or cheat death itself! A thrilling interactive sci-fi novel.
Very Positive
121 Steam reviews
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | — | Y | Y |
Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 608:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆☆☆ (6/10)
Mmmm. Ehhhhh. Okay? Those words are pretty much my reaction to [i]A Wise Use of Time[/i] after finishing it. My "meh" reaction is colored by Jim Dattilo's prose. It's technically able, and I haven't seen any glaring mistakes, but (sorry to bro) I do not vibe with Dattlio's writing style at all. I loved his other work, [i]Zombie Exodus[/i], despite his writing, not because of it. The mechanics were so deep and fleshed out. However, in [i]A Wise Use of Time[/i], there are no cool RPG-like mechanics to hide behind. It's also a surprisingly slow, slice-of-life, and again, his writing is not strong enough to carry a slow-burning plot. His writing isn't bad, but it was painfully dry to me. He has mini-character arcs, but they are so [i]flat[/i] and unremarkable, I honestly did not care about their problems. On a more objective level, though, don't go into [i]A Wise Use of Time[/i] thinking you'll get a thrilling, kooky adventure. In truth, despite your awesome time powers, the game is leaning heavily into a cozy, slice-of-life category. I didn't hate it, but I was keenly aware of the more important (or fun) aspects of the story: FREEZING TIME, rather than angling for a promotion at a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ job. I also had a frustrating ending, which led me to give the game a thumbs-down. Still, thanks to the staff for giving me a free copy!
[b][h2]Pros:[/h2][/b]
✅[b] (Some) choices matter.[/b] I liked how Dattilo approached each situation. While you are forced to tell your roommates about your powers, you can control your goals and emotions. When robbers try to break into a jewelry store, for example, you can decide to leave quietly, afraid of getting hurt. Or you can decide to stop the robbers and resume time so everyone knows it's you. Or you can even stop the robbers, then leave quietly as a Good Samaritan. There are many different ways to react to these moral quandaries, and I was pleased with the variety of my choices. There are also three important stats: Time Control, Stress, and Visibility. I liked experimenting to see how far I could push my Stress, for instance, and the narrative warned me when my Visibility was rather high. Pretty cool!
[b][h2]Mixed:[/h2][/b]
🟨 [b]Slice-of-life setting.[/b] I have mixed feelings about this design choice (clearly). It's well-done and detailed—almost too much so. You are granted your powers early, but you can't focus on them 100%. Instead, you'll be stuck at your office job, which has its own plotlines. You can decide if you want to work towards a promotion or try to backstab your boss. The conversations with your coworkers, friends, and possible ROs are rather mundane. You'll literally ask how their day is going, how their family is, how their health is, etc. I'm not sure how to feel. On one hand, this does help the characters feel like normal people rather than genre archetypes. On the other hand, the slice-of-life focus sometimes dampens the excitement that the premise initially promises.
[b][h2]Cons:[/h2][/b]
🟥[b] Prose.[/b] I really don't want to harp on such a subjective topic, but his prose feels workmanlike—clear and functional, but rarely evocative. The writing communicates events efficiently, but it doesn’t add much atmosphere or personality. To me, it's very much "This happened, this THIS happened, and you feel sad, but you move on anyway." I think the narration has very little voice; it reads almost like a neutral report of events. The prose lacks a distinctive narrative personality. This, incidentally, bleeds into the characters. I see the broad strokes of their characterization. You do get to spend time with them. But I didn't [i]connect[/i] with them.
🟥[b] Ending.[/b] I got a bad ending, so I'm a bit peeved. In the final chapter, there's an encounter with the Big Baddie, and you will have to fight him using skill checks. You can try to trick him, convince him, or use your powers. I passed one or two, but it seems I failed an important one. As a result, I died. I'm not opposed to this on principle—perhaps the choices could be clearer—but what I [i]was[/i] opposed to was having to restart. And play through 11 chapters if I wished to see a proper ending. I mean, not even a checkpoint at the penultimate chapter? All right, pack it up, chief.
🟥[b] Raj.[/b] I did not like this character (who is also a potential RO) at all. Frankly, I found him insufferable. Ah, yes, let's [spoiler]tell my impulsive roommate with a gambling addiction that I can stop time. That will surely end well.[/spoiler] Every character has their flaw and struggles—good! However, Raj's gambling flaw was so preventable and irritating to me. I especially hated how he kept asking for help covering his OWN debts and got upset when I told him "no."
[hr]
If you enjoyed this review, please check out my curator page to find more: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45814768-Verdict-Play-or-Pass/]Verdict: Play or Pass. [/url] Also, please leave a like and visit [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Indie_Gems]IndieGems[/url] and our [url=https://www.youtube.com/@IndieGems2]YouTube channel[/url] for more reviews like this one.
[/hr]
Good story, I enjoy the use of time mechanics in this book.
Read it a few times. (past tense)
Not a bad spend, for a short story, with multiple choices.
Didn't like this one. The choice and story go no where. The choice are lock in one choice path.
Loop
"A Wise Use of Time" had an exciting and interesting story while many of the choices were impactful, and only a few felt forced or railroaded, but these were few and far between. As such, I liked the game enough to play through it twice, and the lovely romances enhanced the experience further. (8/10)
Интересная игра, но есть пара раздражающих вещей. Например, ложная возможность выбора в некоторых местах. А ещё тупость ГГ. [spoiler]Убить мимокрокодила и достать ствол для обороны от бомжей? Запросто. Но пырнуть ножом реально опасного врага он не догадается, хотя этот мазохист трижды позволил набить себе морду. Злодей вообще получился карикатурно тупым и высокомерным.[/spoiler]
A friend recommended this game to me. Definitely not what I'm used to or what I was expecting. It's a choose your own adventure text game. I'd played a few of them on web sites, but nothing this elaborate. The writing is very solid and there are tons of choices. You really feel like you're in control of the story. And judging by how I finished the game and only got 23% of the achievements, it seems like your choices really do matter.
The plot is that you're living an ordinary life when suddenly you realize you have the ability to manipulate time. From there you can pretty much choose to use your ability however you want. You are also in control of your relationship with the other characters you meet in the story. Ignore them, befriend them, get romantically involved with them, whatever you want. That's where the main enjoyment of the game comes from. Feeling like you're building your own story with your actions instead of just being along for the ride.
This was a new experience for me, but I'll be checking out more of these types of games. Highly recommended.
I don't know how but I always manage to get the most frustrating endings out of these games. So either having good endings require too many specific choices, or I'm just bad at it. Either way, I'm salty, will never play these textual adventure games again, and will not recommend them to other people.
A wise use of time indeed.
Ignore the time, it is not accurate. (left on)
However, i own all the choice of games, and this is one of my favorites. I had a great time playing it once and i cant wait to play again. There was only one other game i played that made me want to rush back to it.
Well written, good characters and a fun story!
不管怎样都会把时间停止能力告诉室友也太蠢了（我甚至以为是选错了选项重开一遍验证）。对这部作品很失望，不顾玩家选择强行收线的剧本实在恶心
THE most boring one I've ever played from this genre
[ + ]
• Visual Novel/Text-Adventure, mit starkem Einfluss der persönlichen Entscheidungen
• Man sollte der englischen Sprache mehr als nur mächtig sein, Visual Novels sind größtenteils in dieser Sprache verfasst
• Hohen Wieder-Spiel-Wert da man sich in jedem Durchlauf anders entscheiden kann mit jeweils anderen Konsequenzen
• Charaktere zeigen Tiefgang
• Romance-Optionen vorhanden
[ - ]
• im Vergleich zum anderen Teil der Choice of-Reihe etwas kürzer gehalten
• die Länge ist durchaus beträchtlich, Augenpausen sind zwischendurch ganz angenehm
• ein Text-Adventure braucht nicht unbedingt visuelle Grafiken, aber durch den massiven Text fühlt man sich manchmal doch erschlagen, etwas visuellem hätte dem ganzen nicht geschadet (aus persönlichem Empfinden heraus)
I loved this story, but it ended on a cliffhanger and four years later there's still not a sequel I'm aware of.
Don't bother getting this until the story is complete, which it likely never will be.
A great game I've gotten a lot of replayability out of, worth every penny
I'm surprised by the amount of positive reviews, as this is one of the weakest CoGs I've ever played. The plot lost me very quickly, at some points it moves way too fast to be enjoyable, at others it drags terribly. At least one really impactful choice is taken away from player (basically games decides for you, even if you disagree and then criticize you for decision, that wasn't really yours to begin with). It opens up really strong, but then gets worse with every minute. Also, writing (especially during first interactions with your roommates) goes to "obvious and bad exposition" territory.
Sadly, I cannot recommend it.
i enjoyed it alot. the only thing i dislike is how abruptly it ends, i get no sense of accomplishment or anything like that. it just ends. It feels like the writers got bored of the story and ended it before you could reach a conclusion.
i would happily have payed 5 euros more if it was 5-6 hours long instead of only 3.
I usually like these types of games but this one just completely disconnected for me early on. After you have been introduced to your powers suddenly your just forced to tell your room mates about it because "It could strain your relationship in the long run if you didnt, you dont have any choice"
Yes lets tell my impulsive room mate with a gambling addiction that I can stop time. That will never end poorly.
YES I HAVE A CHOICE DONT TELL THEM.
I found it very very hard to continue after that.
Meh, I really do love time manipulation! But all these games feel like they are pumped out, it might as well be a choose your own adventure book. Get this game if you want some time manipulation, but don't want to have fun.
You have a few starting options, including your career path and a mystery you can choose to pursue. The story starts off right when your powers first activate. You have no idea what this is and you just go from there. You can be as evil or as good as you want. Become more powerful or just live an ordinary life.
Pros:
-Lots of choices and options, not too much text.
-Stopping time is pretty awesome. Writer adds little details that really make you feel you're there.
-Can't talk about my favorite parts, too spoilery. But the author creates these really terrifying moments.
-Much longer than most CYOA stories.
-Good replay options and mysteries to uncover.
Cons:
-Needed more action. The story can get too focused on everyday life, rather than this amazing ability you have. Although you can spice it up by using your ability recklessly.
-I made a heroic choice early in the game and didn't think much of it. But the author assumed I wanted to play as a hero and kept describing all these heroic deeds I did in my downtime, without giving me the choice again. I would have liked to have the choice in this CYOA game, rather than someone assume this is how I wanted to play.
-Would have like more puzzles and gambling opportunities.
-Gambling was very disappointing.
-Too much time spent on the boring characters and not enough time with the interesting ones.
Overall
-When it's good it's great, but there's times when the story just doesn't seem to move in the direction you want it to. I still think it's worth playing though.
A game from Jim Dattilo, the author of the Zombie Exodus Series. And sure I recognized Dattilo's signature : a really well-written story with clever humor and a lot of little details that don't go forgotten but are refferenced to along the story.
There are varitey of choices and the ending differs slightly based upon your choices but the core of the stoy still remains the same. The choices do have a lot of varying and text though and that's a huge plus. Every time everything is well-described and the narration take its time in order to be immersive.
The characters are interesting and all have balanced interactions but I do feel like the romantic side stories are lacking depth in Dattilo's work. Don't get me wrong, the little and brief romantic scenes are nice but there's no text to really develop the emotional link between the characters. If you romance someone, ther'es just the same text as if you were friends plus some bonus minor text to describe you move along with them and a brief tender dialogue and that's it. Though there was a similar lack of depth in the romances of Zombie Exodus (especially at the ending where the romance is just refferenced to whereas there could have been a dedicated scene to it), there was still more to romance developpment than here.
That same lack of depth can be seen with supporting characters or even the great villain. Thats does'nt really decrease the overall quality of the story but it does leaves you with an impression that there could have been more. The lenght of the story is actually above average but because the narration is immersive and has quality in details I feels like other aspects has been rushed in order to stay in a certain range of words objectives that the author had.
Still, Jim Dattilo is a great CYOA author who cares a lot about his community and I just love his works.
Great author (Jim D -Zombie Exodus) and another great game !
The game is really fun ,i love the scenario and situations .
Also my romance pick .
I guess it's not as long as other games but far not short enough for that to be a problem .
The only critique i must admit is that the final boss actually is a little to easy .
But so what !
You play a great game with one mediocre moment and that's perfectly forgivable .
Just a shame that it's the final impression so i'm telling you : Enjoy the game ,sideoptions ,romance etc and don't just rush through to see how everything will end .
Take your time ,enjoy it all and you will be pleased like me !
Jim Dattilo thank you for a great text adventure! I really enjoyed the story and the characters to go with it. 260.000 words of well written dialogue. That is a lot of material! Will there be a "A Wise Use of Time" part 2? Just kidding. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys reading and having the options to make your own choices while enjoying an upbeat and fun story. There is no need for graphics and sound effects if you have a great imagination. The ability to stop time is like being Professor Charles Francis Xavier in the X-Men series. Just imagine having such powers. Who would you tell..or would you tell no one of such powers? Would you use this power for good or bad? Well this is a story that will give you the options "free will" to choose from in the year 2014. I am looking forward to reading more of Jim Dattilo's works. Thank you Steam for allowing me to post a review.
This was an incredibly fun game that I would recommend to anyone. It takes a very cool and interesting spin on the power of time manipulation. I do wish that they had made more time for the potential romantic interests.
MUto foda, vale a pena demais jogar!!
I chose not to tell my roommates about my powers. Then the game was like, "At first you didn't want to tell them, but they pressed the issue, and you gave in and told them."
Obnoxious, but tolerable.
Later, another character criticized me for telling them, saying that I had put myself in danger.
♥♥♥♥ that.
I get that Illusion of Choice is sometimes the most practical way to go in games, although a Choice of Games game has less excuse to use it. But if you're going to force me down a path, don't try to make me feel bad about taking that path. If you do, I'm going to avoid that path the only way I can - putting down your game and never playing it again.
Dieses Spiel ist eines der beiden besten Choice&Consequence Text-Adventures die ich bisher auf Steam finden konnte. Das andere ist Choice of Robots. Ich kann beide Spiele immer und immer wieder durchspielen und finde immer wieder neue kleine Details die sich ändern. Definitiv sein Geld wert.
Идея очень интересная, а реализация превосходна. Выбор тут широкий, и ты действительно можешь влиять на судьбу героя. Сюжет интригует.
Годная игра, к покупке рекомендую.
I wish there was a neutral rating.
I love the concept and the set up, the biggest problem is how unflexible it is.
A small update adding a couple more days would be fantastic.
All in all I didnt enjoy the ending, after about 3 options all leading to the same ending I just didnt feel like going through the game looking for more endings. It felt very pointless at the end because of this but I enjoyed some of the characters and scenarios.
*edit* Remind me if this game gets an update, I really want to like this game.
Fleshed out characters and a convincing background makes this a well written experience.
Etant un très, très grand fan des livres " Dont vous êtes le Héros", et encore plus des jeux textuel de Choice of Games, c'est avec empressement et sans hésité que je me suis ruer vers A Wise Use Of Time .
Et la, au bout d'1H30 environ, décéption, énorme décéption .
Un point négatif majeur qui m'a fais le désinstaller, l'histoire n'a aucun enjeu.
Reussir dans son entreprise ou autre, aller au casino et compagnie, très peu pour moi, où sont les enjeu rocambolesque comme devenir Grand Roi et sauver son peuple à la Pendragon Rising, ou encore survivre à une épidémie de Zombie comme dans Zombie Exodus ?
Non, simplement, Non. Et c'est dommage, on pouvais faire tellement plus avec le pitch de base du perso qui se découvre le pouvoir de controler le temps.
Déception.
Un jeu vraiment intéressant. On se laisse emporter par l'écriture. Je ne m'en lasse pas !
A Wise Use of Time presents you with a fascinating story seed, and makes for a decent single playthrough, although several of your character's actions feel forced, out of character, or as though you had no good options. Multiple playthroughs, however, reveal little variance, often ignoring or contradicting the player's choices.
Buying this game might not be a wise use of time but it sure is a fun one
This game has more story in it, a lot of background about others, and a blank slate of your own character for you to start with (As choice of games are very well known for). I recommend it, it has replay value but not as much as other games (If you want a lot of replay, I recommend Choice of Robots).
Pro:
-Great story.
-You actually need to work to gain love interest and some achievements.
Con:
-The bad guy is a bit bland, a generic villain. Not the kind to go "I'll take over the world and kill everyone" but the kind who thinks he's doing the right thing and will not listen to anyone else saying otherwise.
-The background choosing affects your stats, but it doesn't really affect how the character acts. Just saying.
I would put A Wise Use of Time in the middle of the pack as far as the Choice of Games products go. I played it through twice. Too many of my rather divergent choices led to the same result for my liking. In my second play-through, I'd intentionally set myself up as a much greedier and self-absorbed character and yet I ended up the City's Guardian and was told I'd been using my powers during downtime to thwart criminal activity when I really hadn't acted in ways that would make that likely, including stealing a case of money from an armored car!
The writing was solid and I did enjoy the game. It had the right number of supporting characters but some of them were rather dull and I didn't feel much rapport for. Barring a nuetral rating, I'm going to recommend this product as it met all my basic criteria/expectations for a CYOA game.
Really fun game. Has a lot of replayability.
A very fun, surprisingly long choose your own adventure story, though I feel it falls into some of the same traps as others in the genre. Mainly, the illusion of choice is too easily shattered on a subsequent playthrough. Avoiding spoilers, you're cautioned about being too flashy with your powers and drawing attention to yourself. In one playthrough I followed this advice, and on the second I did the exact opposite. At the same point in the story, no matter what, you run into *spoiler.* Other than that, its a well crafted game with some great scenes and characters to fill them; all I can say is, use your powers often.
Immersive, exciting and engaging. Even a single playthrough is quite rewarding.
These types of games tend to focus towards either narative or sandbox. This game is more sandbox than narrative, as they give your character the power to stop time and interact with the world. You can choose to ignore your powers (mostly) and focus on your carreer, you can choose to be a complete jerk with your power, you can steal or fight crime or help your friends. The game strives on the choices you make as you make them. I've had a lot of fun playing it and just messing around with my power.
One thing that should be noted however is that a lot of the final results you get will likely end up being very similar across multiple playthroughs. I love the book for the events that happen as they happen, but getting different endings becomes significantly harder, particularly if you are trying to avoid the good guy approach.
Still, game is good. Have fun.
The results of my choices felt logical the vast majority of the time, though there was one bug I encountered. It was a pretty fun game.
If I had played this game only once, I would have given it a thumbs up. I was feeling like my choices mattered, and I really liked their diversity (one particular scene had no less than 14 options). However, one does not simply play a game like this only once. One plays it again to see how different the story would have been if one acted differently. And that's when the whole positive idea I had of this game fell to crumbles.
In my first playthrough I was very careful and paranoid. I didn't use my time-freezing powers for personal gain or anything evil, and tried to stay under the radar as much as possible. On the second one, I went the completely opposite route: I used my powers to pester people, robbed people and organizations multiple times, and generally tried the dumbest options I could, just to see how different the game would turn out. I made over $200k in money on this playthrough, compared to less than $1k on the first, but that didn't seem to change anything. The game still treated me as if I was poor.
All the major events still transpired in largely the same way, and I got the exact same ending!
As an example, even if I was a complete ♥♥♥♥ to my friends and refused to comply with the instructions of key characters, I still found myself going through the same situations with them. Even by stating multiple times that I didn't think my roomates were my friends at all and that I thought they were annoying, towards the end of the story the game was still treating them as my friends and saying the main character cared about them. It makes no sense! This is only one example among many.
The things that changed didn't really matter in the end, and I got a couple more achievements. That was it.
Other reviewers recommended other games by the same company saying choices matter a lot more in those, and I truly hope they are right. Because this one is only worth it for one playthrough. Don't even bother redoing it.
An amazing game with multiple replay value with only 2 major flaws, 1st the romance is as expected from the series of games as it was extremely weak and had flat romances even though the characters are amazing, 2 the series lacks a save point or a bookmark option, replaying the whole game just for the different endings and decisions is annoying especially since the game isn't short
Really good game, keep up the good work mister Dattilo. Hype for Zombie Exodus Safe Haven is legit
A great read,fan of time manipulation ;)
The best "Choice of Games" game I've played
I love all these games from CoG - great stories, and some of the choices aren't obvious in how they'll turn out with your skill levels, so it feels SO immersive as well; it would've been nice for some scenes if I could use the time powers to redo a bad action, but I guess that would've sucked with the stresses of continuous use.
Felt like a time-control version of Infamous, which was exactly what I hoped for!
9/10 - Only because of how subtle choices for charisma can be :P
I reccomend on your first play through you focus on only 2 subplots; stretch yourself too thin and you're headed towards a bad end
*Spoilers* Stopped time, had the option to steal a case of money from an armored bank truck, decided to just steal a small stack, made 40 grand. Indulging in my kleptomaniac dreams without breaking the law 10/10 would rob a bank again.
It's fun.
Multiple replayability.
Time powers.
Some paths give you MORE powers or STRONGER versions.
Help a friend out of debt my stopping a heist, literally stopping it, and taking the stuff.
Oh and you may or may not be the only one with these sorts of abilities...
This features a good story, with interesting decisions. It's quite replayable, as although the major story structure remains the same, the side-stories vary depending on your actions. There are also plenty of achievements to get, which encourages multiple playthroughs.
Great story, looking forward to playing half a dozen more times
Let your imagination run wild!
主角能够使时间暂停，借助这个能力，可以行善、恶作剧、或者做坏事。[spoiler] 主角后来知道，还有其他人也拥有此能力，而且其中有一个反派，到处追杀同主角一样的人。主角最终要面对这个反派，做出选择。[/spoiler]
主角要参加工作、使用和研究超能力，并且处理和室友、同事的关系。
An Incredible and well driven story with many twist and turns as well as alternate endings to the story the reader controls , any book worm would love..
挺有创意的一个文字类游戏，虽然没有中文，但是用词还算简单。
值得推荐
9/10
The game alters with consequence. The choices you make matter with options you never thought you'd have. A well written, brilliant novel, that you are the star of. My favorite novel thus far. 10/10 will headache again.
I really liked the way this adventure was written. i'm not very fluent when it comes to reviews but i enjoyed taking breaks to just let my mind take over and think about the choices i'm making. Though it is somewhat shorter than some other CYOA it still has a high replay value to it.
Bon, AWUOT, petit raccourcis dans le nom lol, est pas mal :)
J'enfonce les portes ouvertes, jeu full anglais, pas de dialogues, pas de sons, pas de cinématiques, que du texte.
Le niveau d'anglais abordé n'est vraiment pas difficile, j'ai dû aller très peu de fois chercher un mot pour confirmer ce que je pensais, c'est simple et facile à lire, pas de termes compliqués ni inventés.
Le fait d'incarner un perso qui peut influer sur le temps est relativement sympa et pas mal d'options marrantes parcours le jeu de bout en bout, je trouve ça relativement sympa, il est par contre dommage que l'on ne puisse pas tout explorer de long en large à cause de la limite journalière de pouvoir que lon peut utiliser pour éviter de finir à cran et être trop repérable.
Le jeu est bien rédigé et s'il n'y avait qu'un regret à formuler c'est que pour le moment sur deux parties et deux fins quelques peu différentes, je n'ai pas vraiment réussi à passé du coté obscur de la force snif, malgré que j'ai fais des choix totalement différents et aux antipodes d'une partie sur l'autre. Est-ce parce que ce n'est pas possible ? Ce serai dommage mais je testerai à nouveau une ou deux autres parties histoire de chercher.
En tout cas je vous recommande ce jeu si vous aimez les "livres dont vous êtes le héro" ;)
[b]tl;dr -> Got time-stopping powers, used them to rob at every opportunity. Got rich, friend needed help - get your own money, fool. 11/10 satisfies my kleptomaniac urges.[/b]
[b]Cons:[/b]
-no checkpointing system - if you mess up/die, you must restart from the beginning
[b]Pros:[/b]
-interesting and engaging story - numerous endings and consequences
-employs the "discovery" system - character relationship stats are only revealed when you meet them (unlike many other Choice titles)
-selecting/improving your different stats actually changes a lot of the dialogue, events, and decisions you can make
-dynamic characters that react to your choices
-good interpretation of time-"slowing" (learn more in-game) and lots of fun opportunities available
-robust decision tree
This is definitely one of the stronger, well-written Choice titles available. If you are interested in controlling time, then try this one out!
Recommend!
Cheers,
DJSF [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/djsfsroguereviews]@DJSF's Rogue Reviews[/url]
[url=http://theroguereviews.com/]My Website[/url]
Game seems to be really cool. But I'ts too short to really enjoy it.
I have to say, I've really enjoyed this game. Sure, maybe not EVERY decision has an impact on the stroy, but most of them actually do. I'll definitely play it again to uncover some of the plot turns that I missed. I recommend this this to anyone who enjoys reading and also enjoys the "make-your-own-adventure" kind of games. To put it simply it's kind of like The Walking Dead, except in written format and more exciting.
One of the best text choose your own adventure games ever
Короткое, но увлекательное фантастическое произведение.
It's a fun book but, the ending came out of nowhere(no real build up to it) and the epilogue feels really out of place
#1 in immersion
This game is easily probably one of my favourites that I've played from Choice of Games! It's well written and engaging, and it's fun to read not only the first time, but even on the second, third, and fourth playthroughs (I'm an addict)! I won't give away any plot details or anything, but I can say, without doubt, that this game is... A Wise Use of Time. Fun, fun, fun!
Gahhhh!!! After trying many times and failing I have finally found the ending I wanted. Saved olivia, rescued raj, killed barnabas, found the truth about my father, made a breakthrough with Dr.Oden, experienced the beauty of the nature with malaya. It was an awesome story as I have expected from Choice of Games. Not the best one because Choice of Robots will allways be my favorite but this game also was a wise use of time...
To be brief. A choose your own adventure with plenty of "explore your options". Its written well enough to not be a chore to re-read over in subsequent plays. I'd certainly like to see a spin-off or sequel to this, but I can easily see the difficulty in doing so. That said, well worth the price.
Lesbians ツ
It's like corruption of champions without the porn.
As lengthy as this game seems, the biggest problem I find here is that the progression seems to always keep me on the same points. I almost feel as though I can't change any part of the story save for details in the ending. Even when I try to roleplay as a heartless monster, all the choices were relatively the same.
Very disappointed
I used to read all those "find the way to your own ending" books when I was a kid. This is pure nostalgia. I loved it!
I will definitely find more games like this one to play late at night when I don't feel like bashing things to bits.
For all of the "pick your own adventure" stories I've read through on Steam, this one was by FAR my favorite! Honestly, I'd give this a 10/10. It's been years since I just sat down to a story out of curiosity, and I found myself unable to walk away from it. The plot twists were great, and the character building was awesome. I loved that every single choice I made in the game had some type of impact. If you've tried any of these similar stories on Steam and enjoyed them, you should definitely try this one. You WON'T be disappointed.
I have mixed feelings about this novel. While the concept was interesting, I felt it was poorly executed. You find your character in a number of contrived situations and you get the choice of how, or whether or not, to use your power to stop time. In my first playthrough I chose the options that best represented what I believed I would do, and while I found that the options were (usually) sufficient for that, between chapters I was given a narrative about how my character had been fighting crime and helping people with his power, which was completely contrary to how I had been behaving, as for the most part I'd been conservative with my powers, and those few times I had used it, it was for the gain of myself or my direct friends, not random people on the street.
Aside from that, I feel that many of the things that happened were quite unrealistic. For instance, stopping time, doing something, moving back to the position you were in and then starting it again - There is simply no way that you'd be able to get your body back in the exact same position it was in, and to other people, it would appear as if you suddenly jerked in an unusual or perhaps even impossible way, and this wouldn't be ignorable. Yet somehow nobody seems to notice.
If you can look past the issues I've mentioned then I suppose I recommend this novel, but if it sounds like things like this would get on your nerves, then I don't. Personally, they got on my nerves.
At times thought-provoking science fiction, at other times heartwarming romance, and in other ocassions thrilling crime-indulgence. Fantastic writing. Very high replayabilty; there are countless ways to play the game, and each run is as engaging as the very first.
Very nice.
I can acualy use my imagination for once in a game.
Une véritable perle de narration ! A Wise Use of Time fait partie de ces jeux dont l'apparente simplicité (il est entièrement textuel) cachent une réelle profondeur.
Dans la peau d'un personnage créé par vos soins, utiliser le contrôle du temps à votre avantage, celui de vos amis ou pour aider les autres. Les personnages sont attachants, l'histoire menée d'une main de maitre et l'arborescence narrative collossale vous donnant la réelle impression d'influer sur le cours de l'histoire.
Le jeu dispose par ailleurs d'une bonne durée de vie, une partie en elle-même durant environ 5h sans compter les multiples options qui s'offrent à vous en termes de rejouabilité.
En clair, A Wise Use of Time est une expérience fascinante, engageante, et probablement l'un des meilleurs jeux textuels qui soient, du tout bon !!
Gripping, well written story with good character development and a lot of replayability. 8 hours well spent.
For what's on the steam market, this game really freshens up my library. This game tells a really good story, and I absolutly ADORE the choose your own adventure aspect. When I bought this game, I really wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, but as I read on, I became more involved with what was going on. The choices that you make determine what happens in the story, and you can't go back, giving you a desire to replay and learn what you could have done. All in all, great story, well diverse people and interests, and intriguing sub-plots. Can't wait for the sequel or spinoff to this game. 10/10 would stop time to read this again.
I typically enjoy CYOA games, but this one just wasn't for me. I forced myself to play to a conclusion, where I died, though I'm not really sure what I did wrong. The stat mechanics, though much more simplistic, weren't as intuitive to me as most Choice of Games titles are (Heroes Trilogy, Hero of Kendrickstone, SLAMMED!); sometimes you can use your powers with no or very little ill effects, others you'll do something that seems much simpler and generate a huge amount of fatigue. I basically focused on the powers all the way through, learning more about them and trying to get better at them without overusing them, but I suppose it's possible I was too cautious.
Though I never attempted any of the romance options, I suspect there's likely a lot of content there as is typical of CoG games. Overall, if you're REALLY itching for a CoG style CYOA, this is pretty inexpensive and you might like it, but as for me, I'd say to give this one a pass.
Really enjoyed it! I've played Creatures Such as We, Choice of the Vampire, and Choice of Robots. I would say this one is my favorite so far, with Robots coming in second.
The touting of this product claimed that there was so much written content for this, that it could go in any direction.
It didn't.
You have three choices of lifestyle, and two out of only three attributes to choose from. You always start with the same job, live in the same place, and are always stuck helping your two roommates even though you might decide not to like them or talk to them at all.
I think I paid less than five dollars, but for some people, it's about "how much enjoyable time will I spend with this," and I was done, 2 times through, after about 400 screens of reading (2 hours).
Regardless, there were very few misspelled words or bad punctuation. But all-in-all, it seemed like just another software designer's ego-flex.
~Pozzy Thump
This Is a good game. Just finished first playthrough and am ready to start again. While I highly recommend this game because the story is good, the charactors are real and draw you in, and the choices feel like they matter(cause if they didn't why play at all). The only thing I wish for was a save feature. After playing Zombie Exodus and loving the chapter save feature I'll say I'm a bit spoiled at this point. Its a long game which is good but hard to have enough time in one setting to finish. After you close the game restarts meaning you have to skip past all the parts again and make the same choices again and if you hit the wrong choice have to start all over again. Still this is an amazingly well written game/story so I'll leave it at that and be starting my second playthrough now. :)
Choice of Games is always good.
I've played most of their stories
and I needed a new one
So I recommend this.
Great story
Emotional towards the character.
Overall GREAT STORY can't wait for their new book.
Very fun and well written story. Well worth the money....
Great game. Felt like most of my choices made a difference in the story development. If you're a fan of "Choice of Games", you should definitely consider getting this
I know it's unfair to review a game that I've not even completed. Yes, I know I gave a thumbs down to it's previous game - Choice of robots - which will make me seem biased torwards text games. However, even though I gave a thumbs down to Choice of robots, I had some fun with it, and at least finished the game to the end.
This title, "A Wise Use of Time", however, I cannot bring myself to even FINISHING it.
The pacing... is slow. Oh my god is it slow. I appreciate the fact that it's trying to build itself up, but it managed to break my will to read another chapter.
But really that's not the real problem I had with this game. I do not enjoy the fact that the choice of this game is mainly divided into 2 factor. "Good" or "Evil" - like the "Paragon" or "Renegade" system in Mass Effect. I personally hate this, because it over simplifies our emotion and desire. Previously in the "Choice of Robots", you had to choose what purpose you will give to your robot. Will it represent beauty and grace, or will it spread fear and overwhelming power? Or, will it act like a living human being, and become your friend? It was up to you. The world evolved around you, which is the sole purpose of a "text adventure" game.
Here, it's not like that. Yes, it has many branching paths, but the main dilemma is "Will you, or will you not overuse your power to bend time for your own benifit? Consequences may happen." And this alone may be an interesting book or a conversation - but not a game, which is about the "game play". And it feels like the choices that this game presents are not intriguing enough for me to choose this game over a well written book.
Made a ton of bad decisions, ended up as guardian of the city. Good stuff.
Get involved. Brilliant.
Nearly every chapter in this story begins with a summary of all the things your character has done since the preceding chapter (while you had no choice in the matter). And surprise, the character's behavior is completely at odds with the choices you made previously. I kept choosing low key options preferring discretion, only to be told how, in space between the chapters, my character had used his power to fight crime, or saved someone who was about to be injured, or skipped out without paying a bill. It was so disjointed, considering that when I had the opportunity to make similar choices, I had chosen the opposite behaviors.
Either let the player direct the character's behavior or you do it. A mix of both leads to inconsistency.
I enjoy the game. It's long and fun enough to tak up time in say a boring art class or some other college class that. It's not asking to much for you to think on your choices and there are atleast two paths that I have alreaady gotten
This is my first time playing an interactive novel and I really enjoyed it. I really felt I was the character in the story.
I surely recommend this if you like to have a good read.
8/10 because I really wish it would had been longer.
I don't understand why people say it's too short. It has a fine length and doesn't overstay its welcome, like all the good Choice of Games games.
My only critic: I couldn't throw a steamroller at somebody and go all "WRYYYYY!"
But that aside. My Stand is super powerful and I would ZA WARUDO again.
Remember those choose your own adventure books that you always used to keep your finger on the page before turning in case you died? Well it's one of those. Was bored so I thought i'd just have a quick look, ended up reading for an hour and a half. So if you like reading and fancy something a bit different, and a bit of nostalgia from being a kid check it out.
The first game to allow me to become a time-controlling serial killer. 10/10
Better than I expected and a damned good price. More replay value than most games.
It's oddly very ... PG-13. Considering the nature of the main plot device, I found that very odd.
This game would be excellent if you could actually make truly devious choices.
6.5 of 10
You must flee! Don't try to be a hero or you will end up a corpse just like me.
Fui surpreendido muito positivamente por esse jogo.
Como a descrição, os vídeos e os comentários mostram bem, A Wise Use of Time se constitui de uma espécie de livro jogável, uma narrativa interativa que vai se alterando a partir de suas decisões. Na prática, ele segue uma fórmula já antiga e que chegou a fazer considerável sucesso (inclusive aqui no Brasil) há algumas décadas, a dos "livros-jogos de aventuras fantásticas", como a famosa série de Steve Jackson's (procure no Google, é fácil inclusive achar edições brasileiras em sebos ou em sites como a Estante Virtual).
Dito isso, o pressuposto fundamental de adquirir este jogo é ter em mente que você irá adquirir uma espécie de livro: não há movimentos, cores, ou sequer imagens. Como diria o Sheldon, do Big Bang Theory, este é o tipo de coisa que "roda na placa de vídeo mais potente do mundo: a imaginação".
Se você não é muito fã de passar horas na frente do computador lendo, definitivamente não vale a pena gastar teu dinheiro com este jogo.
Não é esse, porém, o meu caso.
Como comentei, fui positivamente surpreendido por A Wise Use of Time. Eu esperava uma história mais curta e mal escrita. Não digo mal escrita, mas detalhada (com firulas) demais ou de menos. Encontrei, porém, uma narrativa balanceada, agradável e envolvente, que te prende como os bons livros; com a diferença fundamental de que aqui é você quem está no controle.
Até o momento já foram muitas horas de jogo e sinto que ainda há bem mais o que explorar. Parei a leitura apenas para fazer este review recomendando fortemente a compra ;)
Before I praised this game. I suggested people SHOULD buy this. That's before I signed up on their website had the chance to talk to one of their owners. I think people should read this BEFORE buying. What he says this is a direct quote.
"Choice Of Games embodies the same view of Antia Sarkeensian." End quote
She is a person who mislead people several times, calls games sexist or objective to females. I was told not to buy their games unless I did agree with her world view. This is one of Owners of site where the games from telling me this. The screen show below will show that.
http://postimg.org/image/ewcujnjqv/
This was an excellent, exciting, and captivating short interactive story. I really enjoyed reading it and making various choices that affected the outcome. I will definitely be recommending this to my friends (bought 3 copies) and I look forward to reading it again and making different choices. This is the first interactive fiction that I have purchased on Steam and if this author makes more, then it will most definitely not be my last.
