They warned me about the new Editor. Told me he was bent on adventures. Hah! I'll show him who's bent . . . er on adventures that is. Whilst hanging him from the third storey window by his sock-suspenders, I talked him into letting me have ten pages this issue. If the elastic hadn't given way I might have squeezed twelve out of him. Fortunately for him, he bounces.

My first perusal this month concerns the post holocaust future of Mindfighter and the plot by a sinister syndicate to control the remnants of humankind. Magnetic Scrolls rear their attractive heads again and produce an adventure to corrupt even the most innocent of us, and Alternative Software maintain their links with the adventuring fraternity by releasing another budget game, Wiz Biz.

As well as reviews you'll find tips galore and so many maps you'll think you've bought an Atlas.
.

CORRUPTION
Magnetic Scrolls/Rainbird, £24.95 (Amiga)

Corruption -- a deviation from the standard adventure scenario -- is made up fraud, deceit and sabotage. Taking the part of Derek Rogers you begin your first day as a new partner to David Rogers. The office you're given is nothing to write home about, comprising of tarry furniture and a musty atmosphere. As he shows you round, David senses your disapproval but says nothing. Telling you to feel free to ask him anything, he leaves you alone to settle in; your office adjoins that of your secretary's through which is accessed the all-important corridor.

Meet Theresa. Could she be part of all this Corruption?

Exploration of the office building reveals a non-functional lift, a reception area, boardroom, dealings room and the accountant's office. Most areas are occupied by characters with which interaction is recommended. Barbara, the cleaning lady, invites suspicion as she wanders freely around the building but rarely seems to actually clean anything. The accountant is only too happy to talk and answer your questions as long as David Rogers is not in the room. Your own secretary is a bit of a school ma'am -- prim, proper and efficient -- unlike David's who is a stereotype dump blonde. David himself is always rushing off somewhere -- and why does his secretary take early lunches?

Outside -- a map for which is provided with the packaging -- is your favourite restaurant where you have a lunch appointment with your wife, Jenny. Across the busy (and potentially deadly) road is the park, inhabited by a tramp whose actions are odd to say the least. The police station is nearby, a place which may be best avoided until you have a clearer picture of what is going on -- and while you're out, why not pop into the local chemists and maybe buy something for the weekend?

Lunchtime by the duck pond, but is all as it seems?
Who is this innocuous looking bird-lover?

Corruption is the kind of game one has to play again and again to get anywhere. Basically THEY are out to get you and gain information at any cost -- being in the right place at the right time is a must. This may only be achieved by playing various stages of the game in different ways, to discover who goes where to do what and why.

This is Rob Steggles' second game for Magnetic Scrolls (his first being The Pawn) and he is reported to be very interested in public reaction, as the plot is not a typical adventure storyline.

Drive a BMW for only £24.95

The mechanics of Corruption are of the now-expected high standard, complete with beautifully detailed graphics which are great to look at but contradict the text. Characters and objects which are no longer described as present in the current location remain on-screen in the graphics window. This is incredibly niggly of me to mention but I did find the picture content odd. The parser is at least as effective as in other Magnetic Scrolls adventures, although communication with characters is limited to asking or telling them about something or someone. The packaging comes complete with a casino chip (wow), Filofax-style notes and map and an audio cassette tape which requires your attention at certain points in the game.

Corruption may not appeal to hardened sword-wielding swashbucklers, but nonetheless I recommend it to all.

CORRUPTION
Magnetic Scrolls/Rainbird, C64 £17.95

Sound familiar? In that case, you probably read old Harley's review of the Amiga version back in the September issue. At the Personal Computer Awards, a couple of months ago, it was voted Game of the Year. Anita Sinclair must be getting a bit bored with winning all these awards -- she picked up Game of the Year (for Guild Of Thieves) at the British MicroComputing Awards in 1987 as well.

I didn't think the graphics were as good as Jinxter,
but the text is as intrigi- intrugun- good as ever.

In many ways, the structure of Corruption is a far more original game than Guild Of Thieves. There's the setting for a start, but even more unusual than that is the way the game is played. Time is all-important. It's not so much a matter of making your way around a set of different locations, as being in the right place at exactly the right time. You play against a 24hr clock which advances one minute for every turn. As time passes, David's plot thickens: unless you interfere, everything just goes on according to plan.

All this makes the adventure one hard nut to crack. As you make your way through the office building, visit the park (be careful crossing the road) or just take a walk to the chemist's, you might come across nothing at all. Try at another time of day and you might find a mega-hint. For Chuck 'Sherlock' Vomit, fitting the pieces of a dead confusing puzzle together didn't pose much of a problem, but for punier (and younger) adventurers the whole thing might prove a tiny bit too hard. It's certainly tough trying to make sense of anything at first. The main thing is to look out for yourself and trust no-one. Don't be fooled into thinking anyone is your friend. They're not.

Though the graphics aren't quite as nifty as those in The Pawn or The Guild Of Thieves, they aren't half bad and still amongst the most impressive you'll find on the 64. I reckon it's all to do with the subject matter. When you've only got so many pixels, it must be a lot easier to create fairy-tale fields and castles than detailed London streets -- and I'll belt anyone who disagrees.

As you'd expect, the parser is very comprehensive and there are plenty of extras too. You can do all sorts of things with the graphics (turn them off, switch them back on, shove them up the screen, view them only the first time you enter a location and so on) and mess about with the location texts to your heart's content. Interaction is limited to asking or telling other characters about something, and though you can ask most people about anything under the sun, you'll only get a useful reply if you pick the right topic.

Insider dealing is a bit of a specialised subject and isn't guaranteed to be everyone's cup of tea. It will probably interest a whole bunch of business people who don't normally play adventures and put off a lot of adventurers who like their games to follow a more traditional style. I reckon Harvey Harlequin was a bit harsh when he gave the Amiga version 81%. Corruption may not have mass appeal but that doesn't prevent it from being a top quality, highly original adventure product. Don't buy it straight away -- give it a try first. If you like what you see, you're in for a whale of a time . . .

If you want a walkthrough, visit
Jacob Gunness' Classic Adventures Solution Archive or
Martin Brunner's C64 Adventure Game Solutions Site

Corruption Complete Artwork Gallery!

Total Pictures Count: [25]

Note that many of the above pictures cannot be
seen by following a walkthrough.

Htmlized by Dimitris Kiminas (19 Aug 2006)
The screenshots in the original Amiga review have been replaced with their equivalents from the C64 version.

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