The Dink Network

Wesley says, "This was an ambitious effort at making a game with a non-linear story line. In doing this, I may not have closed all the doors I needed to at certain points in the game. I don't know of any specific places where this could occur, but there may be some. I suggest that you save the game using multiple save slots. That way if you find yourself stuck in one of the regions, you don't have to start all over."

*Best download of july 2000*

It's a real shame that people (including the creator, according to the FB1 readme) are so down on this ridiculously ambitious D-Mod, as there is a lot of fun to be had here. All the hallmarks of the series are present and correct and there is a fair amount of variety to be found.

The reason that FB2 is so ambitious is that there are many different routes through the game that you can take, all taking you to different bosses and, potentially, to different endings. These routes are almost completely seperate from each other - make the early decision to train as a wizard, for example, and you won't be able to see the proper ending, although you will see a bunch of things that you won't see if you train as a warrior. Sometimes the branches are based on the success or failure of the missions that you undertake, so in these cases the "correct" route isn't so obscure, but it did seem a little strange to have the game so branched that choosing one route would completely exclude the player from another.

Finding himself having to make his own way on a strange island, Dink has no overriding motive during the game, except to reach the next area. I wouldn't go so far to say that the game has no plot, however - Tenjin is making trouble, and the individual areas have their own story to tell. In a sense, it's like a lot of smaller d-mods strung together into a series of story arcs. You will also occasionally have a Duck to give you hints on what to do, so you won't always be stuck in the enormous maps.

Ahh, the enormous maps. I mentioned the Friends beyond hallmarks earlier, and massive, wide-open spaces are present and correct. In terms of size this D-Mod is epic, using up the vast majority of map screens, and is only a quest because you don't play the various areas in any order. Other hallmarks include warp points which teleport you from one area to the next (creating a unique, although not necessarily coherent, feel) and, of course, bugs, merging with the esoteric design in order to confuse and frustrate you as much as humanly possible. Always use multiple save slots.

Branches of Destiny is frustrating and unique, supposedly having four endings but determinedly preventing you from ever seeing them, vast swathes of unoccupied land peppered with occasional points of interest and originality. This D-Mod is far, far away from being perfect in any sense. But at the same time, in its way, it's also one of the most interesting ones around.