S.P.A.G. (Part 3) Taken from CompuServe by Alex McEwan @~Continued from last issue =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= From: "Stephen Granade" Starcross IBM Commercial 8.3 -Pa: 1.5 Wr: 1.8 Pl: 1.7 Ch: 1.3 +2.0- In Starcross you play a black-hole miner who is captured by a drifting alien vessel. You must enter the hulking ship and, once inside, figure it out in order to get home. The game, written in 1982, was one of Infocom's early efforts; its parser lacks some of the nicer features incorporated later (I kept wanting to type 'g' for 'again'). The writing was very well done. It presented the alien artifacts without making them too bizarre or cryptic. The plot allowed for plenty of exploration, yet kept things moving towards the final goal. The game's main weakness is its NPCs. Your ship's computer is mildly amusing, and the leader of a band of lizards reacts nicely to you; however, the other NPCs are not as well fleshed-out. My wildcard points went to the puzzles. They are some of the most logically-presented yet challenging I have ever worked on. The raygun puzzle and the force-bubble puzzle are two of my personal favorites. It is an excellent puzzle-oriented adventure, one of the first "explore an alien setting" games. Starcross is available in Activision's Lost Treasures of Infocom package. This repackaging has leeched much of the character from the original. I found the hint book structure to be particularly annoying. Starcross is rather difficult and requires a lot of logical thought and experimentation to solve. It ranks with some of the best interactive fiction games I have played. - Editor's Note: Stephen noted that the character category lowered the score that he wanted to give Starcross by a bit. He also suggested some sort of proviso for games with no NPCs, so that their scores are more comparable. I am thinking of changing the character category to include a score of 1.0 if the game has no NPCs, but the reviewer doesn't feel that the lack thereof hurts it. More pondering will be lavished upon the topic. Let me know if you have a better idea. - =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= From: "Matthew Amster" Trinity IBM Commercial 9.1 -PA: 2 WR: 1.9 PL: 2 CH: 1.2 +2.0- Trinity is among the most popular of the classic Infocom games. After hearing friends and netters discussing their uniformly wonderful experiences with Trinity, I finally decided to give it a try myself. The game opens at London's Kensington Gardens, and quickly takes off from there into a fantasy world of nuclear mushrooms, giant children, and intelligent magpies. The anti-nuclear message of the game is clear but never overbearing. The parser is as brilliant as one would expect from Infocom; it is nearly impossible to produce an unexpected response. Most nouns have plenty of synonyms, and the player is never stumped by how to phrase a command. Trinity's map is similarly user-friendly, with no tricky surprises and few "can't-get-there-from-heres." But the game's strongest suit is its puzzles, which outdo what I've seen in any other game. All are logical and satisfying (except one...but you figure it out). The endgame is somewhat difficult, but not overly so, and it ties up loose ends very well. Trinity has something for everyone: it's not too hard for novices, but is well-suited for experienced adventurers as well. It is exciting, engrossing, well-written, and, unlike too many other works of interactive fiction, lives up to the hype. - Editor's Note: Always nice to see someone agree with me. I have yet to find a game that captures my imagination as much as Trinity, although Shades of Gray comes close at certain points. - =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= From: "Audrey A. DeLisle" Unnkulian One-Half F I GMD 9.1 -PA 2 WR 2 PL 1.8 CH 1.3 * 2- * = humor This is a short game. You find enough objects of value to please the Innkeeper. The puzzles are logical and not hard. There are some extra features that can be used to win, but are not necessary. I enjoyed playing this game. -in file with demo of Unnk Zero- Adventions by D.A. Leary using TADS. - Editor's Note: Oddly enough, this short, humorous game is my favorite of the Unnkulian series. Probably something to do with my lack of patience or something. Or maybe I can only take the cheez jokes for so long before I begin to feel unhinged. - =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= From: "Audrey A. DeLisle" Unnkulian Unventure 1 S10 I GMD 9 -PA 2 WR 2 PL 2 CH 1 * 2- *=humor Unnkulian Unventure starts you on the path to being a hero. The Orb has been stolen and you must return it. You journey through caverns, up mountains and into a chasm. The puzzles are logical and usually amusing. A monk is waiting to help you at one place. I enjoyed playing this game. Adventions by D.A.Leary using TADS. - Editor's Notes: Beware readers, there are cheez jokes aplenty lurking in this one. - =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= From: "Audrey A. DeLisle" Unnkulian Unventure #2 S10 I GMD 7.3 -PA 2 WR 1.9 PL 1.4 CH 1 * 2- *=humor This is the continuation of your life as a hero. I would rate it higher, but the plot is a bit jerky and there is one 'fatal' error. There is a computer and you must know the password before the game tells you. That means you must have someone or a walk-through tell you. In general, it is still amusing, but not as good as UU1 and not as involved. I won't say what the object is because that is part of the plot. Adventions by D. A. Leary using TADS. - Editor's Notes: Gads, more cheez jokes! Is there no stopping these fiendish adventure game writers? - =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= From: "Audrey A. DeLisle" Unnkulian Zero C25 I 9 -PA 2 WR 2 PL 2 CH 1 * 2- * = humor Unnkulian Zero is the latest in the Unnkulian series. It is fairly long and not as easy as the earlier games. The puzzles are logical and funny. You can get diverted from the proper path. You must search for 'The Lost Amanda', the King's daughter who was kidnapped. You will encounter a monk as in the other games. I was 'stuck' in two places, but other players may not be. I enjoyed playing it. - Editor's Notes: Unnkulian Zero received a really nice review in a recent issue of _Computer Gaming World_ as well. Everything I've heard suggests that it is Advention's greatest game. Although, with The Legend Lives! coming out sometime soon, we'll have to see about that. - @~To be continued next issue - o -