Family Computing, v5(5)

~1 minute read

May 1987

SOFTWARE REVIEWS

Moonmist

Shay Addams

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: Amiga, Apple, Atari, Atari ST, C 64/128, IBM PC/PCjr, Macintosh.
PUBLISHER: Infocom
PRICE: $35-$40
REVIEWER'S SUGGESTED AGES: 11+

The chief drawback to adventure games is their lack of replay value. After you've solved all the puzzles, the game just takes up shelf space. Moonmist, however, evades this fate by offering four variations on the mystery that takes place in a haunted castle in contemporary England. In each, you must accomplish the same goals: identify the ghost, find a treasure, and uncover evidence of an attempted murder so you can arrest the killer — all within a 12-hour time limit. The castle's layout remains identical (the documentation provides a floor plan), but the ghost's identity varies in each version, and so do the answers to the other mysteries. Not only that, but even the puzzles differ, and a valuable object in one game may prove worthless in another.

Naming your favorite color at the outset determines which version you'll play. After you type in your name and sex, and they're incorporated into the story's dialogue, your friend Tamara shows you around the castle, introducing you as a famous American private detective. You must interact with characters such as the butler, Dr. Wendish, and others, to gather some of the clues, while many others are discovered by manipulating objects.

The plot surfaces at dinner, after Tamara announces her engagement to Lord Jack. Suddenly, the voice of Jack's deceased uncle, Lord Lionel, speaks from a concealed tape recorder. He tells of a treasure hidden in the castle and provides the first clue to its location. These clues consist of brief poems and riddles that lead you to more clues and eventually to the treasure, while creaking doors, cobwebs, and a secret passageway lend suitable atmospherics. Though this is a mystery, all four versions are far easier than Deadline or Suspect, so it's a good choice for novices.

This article appeared in
Family Computing
May 1987

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