Maze (1973)

Look: 8/10 I feel they did well with the execution of the 3d, and thank goodness for the map at the bottom. I wish I could play the true original, but this Xerox Alto version is super fun.

Sound: -/10

Play: 9/10 How fun! What a brilliant concept, especially for its time. It seems, like I was hoping, these early "first person shooter" games will help me overcome my aversion to the genre. Cuz this was great fun. Simple, with a map, playful, innovative. I'd like to try the single player version that I believe exists. I love the map at the bottom too. I can see the huge influence on basically all maze action and adventure games after this, but this as a self-contained multiplayer game is still as fun and fresh today as ever. I would argue that Maze War's controls are tighter than modern games, so it's just the fundamental gameplay of first person shooter -- turn corners and shoot first -- without frames-per-second issues, etc.

Feel: 9/10 We only played for like 30 minutes, and while I recognize its importance in gaming, it is more so getting me excited to engage better with later maze action games, first person shooters, and first person RPGs that are coming up in my chronology. It really probably deserves a 10 but because we didn't play it for hours, and tbh there's no maps or adventure progression etc., it's chilling at a solid 9.

Attachment: 8/10 Even though we had a blast, I can't say with complete certainty I'll have many chances to have a friend figure out how to connect for this early network game. I'm sure as I move along my chronology this may fall aside, but I can't deny its importance, innovation, and surprising fun.