An odd one to review, this. As the observant among you may have noticed, there's two versions of Kudzu available on z2. Despite their terming as v1 and v2, they're not sequels- but the second offers more closure as to the plot behind what seems, at first, to be a bold but confusing mixture of images and often intriguing words. The first version was made by Cly5m shortly before a two-year long visit to Estonia in 1998 (missionary work, if I recall correctly), and the second was made shortly after his return; after which he wandered off somewhere or other.
But what of the plot, I hear you cry! Well, it would be a disservice to give too much away as half the fun is finding out. After a parachute jump, you land off-course atop a mysterious red building. You don't know where you are, but you reason that there must be a telephone somewhere around, so you go in search of one, only to find the building and its environs inhabited by living water, possessed vases and battling holograms; and then there's the small matter of that rampart structure made out of multicoloured stone and what look to be intestines...
The graphics in this game are, in my opinion, its selling point. Or it would be if this stuff were to be actually bought and sold with money. Cly5m uses the same bold, geometric graphic and colour technique used in his previous games (Crunchy and Turmoil), creating a world filled with angular, cuboidal buildings and deceptively simple shading that add to its dreamlike structure and general atmosphere. The gameplay is not that of your typical ZZT game (run, shoot, RPG battle, cinema, shoot, cinema etc.), instead placing emphasis almost entirely upon looking around- what action there is is over quickly, or involves the player torturing small animals (the game allows you to kill or break much of your surroundings). This type of 'touch and observe' gameplay went on to influence games such as *p0p*, Bizanloo, Edible Vomit and Winter, either directly or no- as did the idea of the imaginary world as a whole. The influence upon future games is important!
Do I recommend it? Most certainly, you lugubrious-eyed ragamuffin, so full of sorrow and innocence! But if you want the full feel to it, you should download both and play the first version through, wait a short while and then play the second one- this will go some way to recalling the sheer "wtf" factor of the first time around and its abrupt ending, followed by a full explanation the second time around.
Go forth and play Kudzu, you stupids =(
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this reveiw was writed by nadar doant steal or els
