~2 minute readApple Adventure and Arcade Action
Suspended
From Infocom, creators of Zork I, II and III, Deadline, and Starcross, comes one of the most exciting games I have seen for the Apple. Suspended, written by science fiction author Michael Berlyn, is set far in the future on a planet run by computers. Apparently, the rulers of this planet don't trust their machines, because a lottery has selected you to be the guardian of the entire system.
Something has gone wrong, however. Systems are crashing and thousands are dying. You are awakened from cryogenic suspension to direct the repairs. Six robots are at your command. Each has different attributes: Sensa can detect energy waves and fields, but she isn't good at manipulating the environment. Auda can hear, but she's blind. Iris, confined to the control center, can see. Waldo has different appendages to pick up and move objects, but he is a bit thick. Whiz can interface with the information banks of the main computer. The last robot is Poet, a speaker in rhymes and riddles. Unfortunately for you, he seems to have a problem with his ROM -- you can't alw1ays understand what he says.
The robots can be directed singly or in groups. You must learn how to direct them efficiently to achieve the smallest number of casualties. Parts must be replaced and machinery repaired -- quickly. If the system isn't set right after a given number of turns, humans from the surface storm the cryogenic chamber and disconnect you.
All this would be easy, were it not for the fact that the previous guardian was unbalanced. He destroyed equipment, disabled a seventh robot, and left defective parts in the complex.
Because this is a text adventure, Infocom includes a map of the complex with plastic stick-ons representing the different robots. Without this map, play would be very difficult.
Suspended has four levels of play -- normal, advanced, configure, and impossible. The advanced level begins with one of the six robots disabled and at a later stage of the game.
The configure level allows you to set up the game the way you want. You can decide where the robots will begin, how long it will be until a system fails, how long until the humans come for vengeance, and other factors. Winning at the impossible level guarantees a free trip to the planet at Infocom's expense.
A hallmark of Infocom games is the extensive vocabulary used. It is almost as if you are conversing with a human rather than a computer.
The first time I played Suspended it took me about an hour to get used to its format. By 3:00 a.m., I was hooked.
Suspended is intelligent, satisfying, addictive, and a break from the usual computer games. Infocom has set a new standard for text adventures that will be tough to beat.
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