Family Computing, v6(7)

~1 minute read

Jul 1988

SOFTWARE REVIEWS

Lane Mastodon vs. The Blubbermen

Adam Sherwin

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: 128K Apple, C 64/128, 256K IBM PC
PUBLISHER: Infocom, (617) 492-6000
PRICE: $12
OVERALL RATING: Very Good

ZZZap! A flash of light enters Earth's atmosphere, and instantly, thousands of household pets become gigantic chaos-causing monsters. So begins Lane Mastodon vs. The Blubbermen, the first of Infocom's new form of computer entertainment called "Infocomics," which are really computerized comic books.

With Infocomics, the story — through animation and text — unfolds before your eyes. Unlike other types of computer entertainment, you don't control a character with a joystick or mouse: you watch and you read. But unlike ordinary print comics, these programs let you follow the story through different characters' perspectives. At certain points during the story, you can choose to either stay with your current character or follow another character's story line.

Lane Mastodon pits the blue-eyed, blond-haired superhero Lane Mastodon against the Blubbermen of Jupiter, a race whose only activity (besides eating!) is trying to eradicate all human life on Earth. Lane Mastodon is a good, enjoyable form of entertainment, particularly for preteens who read sci-fi comic books. Although this might surprise you, I think that the one drawback about Infocomics is the price. While $12 is a great price for a computer game, it's pretty expensive for a comic book.

This article appeared in
Family Computing
Jul 1988

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