Zzap


Suspended
By Infocom
Commodore 64/128

 
Published in Zzap #41

Suspended

This is one of my all time favourites. You are in control of six robots, each of which has a distinct perception of the world and offers specific abilities within it. One specialises in sight, a second in hearing and a third in accessing information from computer memory banks. Through them you can hopefully solve an intertwined myriad of realistic and original problems.

Following your success in the semi-millenia lottery, you have the honour of serving as Contra's Central Mentality for the next 500 years. The title brings responsibilities, not the least of which is ensuring the survival of life on the planet. To this end you are placed in a state of limited cryogenic suspension, in which sleep-like mode your mind monitors the filtering computers and maintains the delicate balance of surface-side systems. Should an emergency occur, you are awakened to ascertain the problem and perform such remedial actions as you deem necessary. Penalties for failure are permanent.

If everything remained hunkydory, there would be no adventure, would there? And so the life-support systems on the planet's surface malfunction... the imbalance must be corrected before all is lost.

The six robots you control - Whiz, Auda, Poet, Waldo, Sensa and Iris - if used correctly can return the planet to relative calm. Communicating with the robots could not be simpler: input the name and the command - for example "Whiz, get the container". You may even get more than one of them to carry out instructions jointly or in sequence. The problems are tough to solve and an element of panic sets in as the planet's life-support systems collapse around your ears.

Suspended can probably still be picked up at Commodore shows for around four pounds and is well worth every penny. The atmosphere, excitement and pure addiction of the game will provide hours of enchantment.