Is
it a big bad world, or is it big bad world? I thought Ludlow Bridge
was something of a danger spot-you never know who's going to disappear
round there next (hur, hur), but down in the smoke of London things
are really getting bad. You've just become a new partner in the firm
of Rodgers and Rodgers, got your new BMW and a nice (well, not very
nice) new office, when things start looking a bit dodgy. That nice
man, David, your friendly partner looks as if he's out to get you.
Everyone, including your wife, David's secretary and the staff of
the local hospital are trying to make you look as if you're the guilty
part in an insider dealing case.
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. In many ways,
the structure of Corruption is a fare 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 fora whale of a time...
