~2 minute readMULTI-SYSTEM Software
Plundered Hearts
WARNING! This article contains spoilers. Avert your eyes!
PLUNDERED HEARTS (NA/⭐⭐⭐⭐) explores no ground in interactive fiction, which is not unexpected from Infocom. The story is a romance. Its author, Amy Briggs, is female, as is the heroine of the story. Now before you men decide to quit reading and look for a review of something that is, shall we say, a bit more macho-sounding -- STOP! This is adventurous romance -- swashbuckling times on the high seas, pirates, deceit and treachery. You'll like it, we're sure. While women players of interactive fiction have adapted, of necessity, to playing male roles in adventures, now it's time for the men to show their flexibility and assume a feminie role for a change!
Romance and Adventure
PLUNDERED HEARTS is a 17th century tale of romance and adventure. A young Englishwoman, your alter ego in the story, is enroute to the bedside of her ailing father on the Caribbean island of St. Sinistra. She was summoned by a letter from the island's governor, who may or may not be the friend to her father that he professes to be. The game opens with an attack by pirates. They board your ship and suddenly you are rescued/kidnapped by the dashing pirate captain, Nicholas Jamison. Locked in his cabin aboard the pirate ship, you ponder your fate, worry about reaching your father, and sense the beginnings of romantic attraction to the handsome pirate. But Jamison leaves for St. Sinestra, and you can't simply sit and wait for his return.
You escape the captain's cabin, don sailor's clothing to hide your femininity, and begin exploring the ship. You soon discover evidence of sabotage: a slow fuse burning dangerously near the ship's store of gunpowder -- and you can't reach it. Your calls for help are futile, and you can't even seem to get topside, until you find a way up a rope ladder outside the ship's hull. And the view from the deck is no more cheerful than the sight of the burning fuse below. The ship is headed toward the rocks, and no one seems to notice. It looks as if saving the ship is up to you. And save it you must if you are to have any hope of seeing your father. If you get past the early puzzles, the action continues on the island. Romance blooms, treacheries are revealed, and rescues are effected. It's a wonderful story, and how it unfolds is entirely up to you. We applaud the appearance -- finally -- of a heroine in interactive fiction. We look forward to more of them. (Solo play; Keyboard; Blank disk required for game-saving.) Available for Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, IBM, Macintosh; also for Atari XE/XL and Commodore 64/128 at $34.95.
Recommended. (MSR $39.95)
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