The article is long and entertainingly written. It has lots of references to 80s computer games that people might enjoy (like Pirates!). But the key insight, I believe, is:

If Covert Action had believable, mimetic, tantalizing — or at least interesting — plots to foil, I submit that it could have been a tremendously compelling game, without changing anything else about it. Instead, though, it’s got this painfully artificial box of whirling gears.

I suppose in the 80s, given the limitations of the box, there was a much larger emphasis on "narratology" in games, but this criticism might hold for most failed games.

Edit: Never seen this site before. Who is this guy? Now I am going down a rabbit hole...