THEATRE by Brendon Wyber / Cave Rock Software
          A Text Adventure on SynTax disk PCPD 932

                    Review by Bev Truter

Aha! Another glorious game, which I've spent the better part of
two weeks playing, enjoying and finally finishing. Theatre is a
newish (1995) release written with Inform - an Infocom-like
gamewriting utility developed by Graham Nelson. Inform has a
vastly superior parser to AGT, and I'd rate it even higher than
TADS for style and elegance. Brendon has certainly used Inform to
showcase all that is admirable in text adventures, and those of
you who gave up on text adventuring in the early 90s when AGT was
about the best thing since sliced bread, just have another squizz
at something like this, written with Inform.

Theatre has been eloquently written with great attention to small
details, and has a gripping atmosphere that reels you in right
from the start of play. The parser performs miracles in working
out what you are attempting to do, and provides intelligent
responses to absolutely everything you try - no annoying standard
system responses here. There is a built-in hint system too - by
typing "help" you get a limited number of topics to choose a hint
from, depending on where you are in the game, and the hints
themselves are thought-provokingly vague; so even if you do access
the hint file in a sulky fit of desperation you won't ruin the
suspense - all you'll get is a very gentle prod in the right
direction. There are a few short screens of info about the author
and Inform, which are also accessed by the "help" command, and a
longish story titled "The Lyric Theatre" which inspired Brendon to
write this game. And amazingly, Theatre is apparently free, so you
won't have those nagging feelings of guilt if you choose not to
pay the author. Brendon does provide an e-mail and paper mail
address though, so the least you could do is get in touch and let
him know if you enjoyed playing Theatre, and why.

Theatre meanders over about 75 fascinating locations, and has a
maximum score of 50/50. Although many of the problems are
challenging they are not overly difficult, and there are none of
those appalling push-buttons-and-pull-levers type of puzzles that
I detest. Perhaps I am just lacking something in the
mechanically-minded department, but I see no possible
entertainment to be had from performing simple mind-numbing
mechanical tasks over and over again. And no mazes either!! Yes,
folks, this game is guaranteed to be unpolluted by any form of
maze. I'd rate this one as `tricky' for difficulty, but the hint
system prevents you reaching that state of total despair, where
you just want to give up and find a solution - every game should
be this user-friendly.

In Theatre you play the part of an estate agent, currently trying
to sell an ancient disused theatre to a bunch of corporate
executives.  You've just finished showing them around the property
when you realize you must have left your pager down in the
basement. After retrieving it, you emerge from the theatre to find
your car missing, and a threatening drunk shuffling towards you
out of the evening shadows....your best bet appears to be a hasty
retreat to the safety of the old theatre, where you might be able
to track down a cellular phone and ring for help.

What follows is an engrossing tale of mystery and suspense, with a
fair dollop of horror, as you roam about the deserted theatre in
search of a phone, discovering secret passageways and hidden rooms
in the process. You also discover loose pages from an old diary
scattered about, written when plans were underway for the
construction of the original theatre. These pages tell the story
of a young draughtsman called Eric, working for a firm of
architects who have just won the tender to design and build a new
theatre for a man called Horton. Horton's daughter Elizabeth has
an increasing influence both on Eric and the design of the
theatre, and she persuades Eric to make some rather odd
alterations to the original theatre plans......

So there are three strands of the plot for you to untangle - find
a way of returning home safely, piece together the full story of
what happened to Eric from the pages of his diary, and discover
exactly what strange influence lurks in the theatre up in the
attics and below ground - why DID Elizabeth want all those
alterations made?  Along the way there are many novel puzzles to
solve, ghosts from the past to deal with, and some very odd
enemies to overcome. The game is also full of irony - it turns out
you are desperate to get home in time for an important theatre
engagement; and there are unusual and peculiar ways to deal with
some of the problems you'll encounter in the game. At least two
characters....no, make that three characters....in Theatre are
unforgettable - one of them will arouse real compassion in even
the most hardened adventurer; and another will make you feel true
fear - I was literally shaking at one stage of gameplay.

This is the sort of game you'll find compulsive - it's hard to
clamber back to the real world and do mundane things like making
meals, shopping, etc., when Theatre lies beckoning from your
computer. I really can't find a single teensy negative thing to
say about it - spelling, grammar and writing are way above
average; room descriptions ooze atmosphere; the plot turns and
twists breathtakingly; and the suspense and tension are so real
that you become engulfed by the gameworld. What more can I say? If
you enjoy text adventures you'd be mad not to play this one, and
if you're not a text adventurer - have a look to see how far the
old text adventure has come since last you played one.

   ENJOYMENT              9/10
   ATMOSPHERE             9/10
   LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY    7/10
   FINAL COMMENT          A rare gem - one to remember.














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