Lurking Horror

Copyright : Infocom | Reviewed by : Ritchardo

Ever since you arrived at G.U.E. Tech, you?ve heard stories about the creepy old campus basements and storage rooms, some so ancient that they contain only rotting piles of unidentifiable junk. Until now, you have never ventured lower than the ground floors of the monolithic classroom and dorm buildings, avoiding the warren of tunnels that connect them.

But tonight, something draws you down into the mysterious depths of the institute. Perhaps it?s the blizzard raging outside, making the outdoors as threatening as anything you could imagine within. Perhaps it?s the nightmare you had, hinting at horrific mysteries below and leaving you with a strange object that seems to lead you inexorably downward. Or perhaps it?s just another way for you to avoid writing that twenty page term paper you have due tomorrow.

In any event, you soon find yourself wandering away from your computer and into the dark nether regions of G.U.E. Tech. Suddenly, you?re in a world that rivals your most hideous visions, a realm of horror lurking beneath the calm corridors and study halls. Shapes emerge from dark corners. Eerie sounds draw closer. Slimy passageways lead to sights so horrifying that they will feed you nightmares for weeks.

Graphics

Black background, white text and a standard CPM display. No pictures. Nothing to excite. Anything you do see is entirely in your own mind and, like a good book, you will see something!

Sound

Nothing. Along with the monochrome graphics, this helps build the atmosphere nicely

Gameplay

Whatever genius at Amstrad Plc came up with the idea of including CPM with the CPC, I salute them. Without it, we?d never have had the opportunity to enjoy the greatest text adventures from the other side of the pond.

The crux of all text adventures, more than other genre it relies on a solid story and involving gameplay: The Lurking Horror delivers in spades.

Commonly compared with the work of horror fantasist HP Lovecraft, The Lurking Horror cranks up the psychological atmosphere and will genuinely creep you out if you let get under your skin - a rarity in a computer game, particularly one were all the shocks and twists take place in your own imagination! Don?t despair though because there?s more than enough to stop the game becoming too much of a terrifying experience and the game doesn?t take itself at all too seriously.

As you would expect from Infocom, the quality of programming and parser is second to none and the intelligence of the programme is high enough that only the most intelligible of commands will fail to get any decent response.

Because the game is written in CPM, the game is lightning quick and apart from the odd deliberate pause, the processes and responses keep the game ticking along nicely.

Book yourself a night in front of the computer, draw the curtains, turn the lights off and immerse yourself in another world that is guaranteed to give you chills and be the most atmospheric experience you will ever have in front of a computer.