Article appeared in PCGameplay magazine in June 2007
English Translation by the original author
Frank Dolmans
Editor-in-Chief PCGameplay Magazine
MASQ the Bold & the Beautiful
It may look like a simple Adventure in classic black & white, but looks can be deceiving. Masq, spawning from the brilliant minds of Indie developer Alteraction is more, much more than that! Every gamer that hasn't spent the last year playing Tetris in the Serengeti has undoubtedly heard many a developer coming out with so-called new game features like multiple storylines and different endings, only to find out that it is in most cases just a thinly disguised secondary feature that hasn't been properly worked out.
But not in Masq. Masq promises multiple storylines, and delivers in a way we have not yet experienced before. Fantastic work, and a true pioneer in its genre, which can be described as the 'Soap Opera game'! This is the Bold and the Beautiful of the soap game, the mother of a new genre that we hope will have a lot of sequels and spin-offs. Are we exaggerating? Could be, but play Masq and you will no doubt be impressed with the staggering amount of different paths you can take, not to mention the gripping story behind it all, which in the end ties the different paths neatly together or expands them in a truly impressive way. Play it, and you will become a Masq junkie just like the rest of us, there is no escape. It all takes place in the wonderful world of fashion which is presented here in all its beautiful decadence. Sex, power, corruption, lust…it's all here, and Masq handles it with a very adult attitude, not shying away from controversy and nudity, which of course is all the better for the story (and any peeping Toms among you perverts!) . The less is known about the storyline the better, although this game has so many different paths, it can't hurt to give you a small insight into the basic storyline. In Masq, you play yourself (how convenient). Your fashion company is on the brink of launching a make or break fashion campaign for its Masq clothing line, and needs to clear a loan from the bank to finance it all. And then there's your wife's boss, a powerful man who is giving you the opportunity to make a lot of money with redesigning every school uniform in the country. Though rumor has it that he has connections with organized crime, his offer is very tempting to say the least. Although everything seems to be going very well for your company, every decision you make will send you spiraling deeper and deeper into a web of intrigue…or not…it all depends which choices you make.
Ah, decisions…decisions…decisions…and every single one of them makes for an entirely different experience. Even not reacting at all is an option, since you only have a limited amount of time to select a proper answer from the multiple choice angles you are presented. People will remember how you reacted to them and will respond accordingly even when you meet them again later. The amount of depth in this seemingly 'simple' game is quite incredible. Masq takes place during five in-game days, during which it is perfectly possible to make your company the best in the world and make hot steamy love to your beautiful wife AND secretary, but you might just as well destroy your business, get the mob on your back and lose not only your wife, but also your mistress (the horror). It all depends on the choices you make. Take your secretary for example. Beautiful girl, that is definitely interested in more than licking stamps for the boss (licking the boss is more like it), and you have the choice to be seduced or not. Doing so will bring the story to an entire new level, with new options and possibilities you never thought possible at the start. Staying true to your wife is also an option, and that also gives a new angle to the story. And of course the very cunning player could get away with having the best of both worlds and make love with both wife and secretary (although not at the same time)! Intriguingly brilliant stuff. The above example is only one of many, and during play you will have more options than you ever imagined. Even after playing this game a lot of times, there is always the sudden possibility that you stumble upon a whole new path and storyline that you never even knew existed. This gives Masq tremendous replayability value and just keeps you coming back for more. A virtual Bold and the Beautiful? More than that…Masq is free, brilliant and a lot of fun…don't miss out!
SCORE 88 of 100
