|
Plundered Hearts is one of the most underrated Infocom classics ever. Aside
from the fact that it's set in an unusual (and very intriguing) setting (17th century
Caribbean seas), the game is most notable for being the only Infocom game in the
romance genre, and is therefore arguably the first computer game designed with women
gamers in mind. This romance novel set in the 1600's has you having to rescue your
father from the clutches of an evil island governor with the aid of a pirate captain
who lights your fire. The writing feels very much like a Harlequin novel, with enough
amusing puzzles and clever responses to keep a a non-romance-novel-reader interested
to the end. The puzzles are a little easier than the standard Infocom fare, but
generally interesting ones that can be reasoned or inferred. There are few "guess
what the author is thinking puzzles". The game's strongest point though is in its
characterization of you, the player, more than any other of Infocom's offerings. In
most Infocom games, who YOU are is either unimportant or doesn't affect the plot much.
Disguising your identity and altering your appearance is important in several places
to elicit a desired reaction from other characters (not to mention avoiding some
undesired reactions). It's one of Infocom's more underrated games. A very good blend
of puzzle solving and story. |