| The
world has waited with bated breath for this latest release
from Magnetic Scrolls. Anita Sinclair and Co have set
themselves a standard by which all adventures - especially
their own - are now judged. Does Corruption compare favourably
or are the creators of The Pawn and Guild of Thieves following
the Level Nine/Infocom trait of late and resting on their
lauresl after initial success? |
He
informs you that should you have any problems, all you
have to do is ask. He stays in the first location long
enough for you to interact with him once; it was at this
point that I found a very good way of ending the game:
input 'Hi David' and see what happens. |
|
High
finance and commercial intrigue are now-subjects, of
which more people are becoming aware, thanks to the
coverage and interest shown in the near recrash of Wall
Street late last year, the number of company shares
being offered to 'the man in the street' and the successful
movie starring Michael Douglas, Wall Street. Magnetic
Scrolls - themselves no doubt recent experts in the
world of money matters due to their phenomenal success
- hold out their hand for the band wagon to stop and
let them on with their latest adventure, Corruption.
You
have been framed by your new business partner and, if
that were not enough, an irate drugs baron desires to
make you history. It will take all your skills to turn
the tables on these criminals and prove your innocence.
Playing by the rules is a non-starter, to remain standing
and clear your name, devious ploys, greed and sheer
ruthlessness are required qualities.
|
These
atmospheric graphics can confuse - stick to text mode
|
As
you can imagine I found Corruption difficult to
play, it's so against my nature to be deceitful.
However, I did my best in order to provide a report
on the adventure.
The
story starts innocently enough with you being
shown your new office by your partner David Rogers.
|
Once
this jolly wheeze had lost its attraction I got
down to the game proper.
Mostly
revolving around interaction with the other characters,
Corruption is difficult to get into. Knowledge
is all and once learned must be passed on to the
correct recipient for the best results.
|
|
Success
corrupts and great success corrupts greatly: the Jinxter jinx
is still on Magnetic Scrolls
|
Telling
the wrong people too much spells trouble.
As
the plot unravels you discover that your wife, Jenny, is having
an affair with David (over lunch she asks you for a divorce),
David is wanted by the fraud office and Theresa feeds the
ducks during her lunch hour. Intrigue, intrigue …
I
scored 30 points by simply following instructions and passing
on bits of gossip, however, what was required of me from this
point became a little vague.
In
the picture
The now-expected high standard of graphics, parser, atmosphere
and interaction are all present in Corruption - although the
picture content is strange. They depict people in their offices
after they have left, and cars in the carpark which you watched
drive off only seconds previously. I found playing in text-only
mode best.
I
have the feeling that the game is too clever for its own good.
It's possible to grill people about topics you hadn't discovered
yet and tell them things you have yet to find out. On occasions
information you do know is impossible to pass on to supposedly
interested parties. This ultimately leads to frustration and
confusion.
The
packaging is well presented, thoughtful, and contains useful
(and useless) items for the game. These include a casino chip,
Filofax-style documentation, the ultimate gamblers' and business
entertainment guides and an audio cassette which needs to
be played at certain times during thee adventure.
Unfortunately
these do not help make the game better. Corruption is like
unto a jelly that won't quite set, it has all the best ingredients
but they just don't gel. I didn't enjoy their previous adventure,
Jinxter and, although implemented very professionally and
no doubt heading for success, for me Corruption is no better.
ATMOSPHERE
68 %
INTERACTION
77 %
OVERALL
73 %
|
