Tag Archives: Internet Archive

Jedadiah Leland’s Horrific Adventures In The Internet Archive #12: Voodoo Island (1985, Angelsoft, Inc)

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For my next adventure in the scary part of the Internet Archive, I played Voodoo Island (1985, Angelsoft, Inc.).

Voodoo Island is an early text adventure from Angelsoft, Inc.  Angelsoft was Infocom’s only serious competitor when it came to creating challenging and rewarding text adventures.  Typically, both an Angelsoft and an Infocom game would require the player to solve puzzles and search for clues.  What made Angelsoft unique was that the results of solving the puzzles were frequently randomized.  You could solve a puzzle and still die, just due to the luck of the draw.  That may be why Infocom outlasted Angelsoft by several years.

In Voodoo Island, you are the sole survivor of a shipwreck.  You wake up on the beach, confused but with the feeling that someone has been watching you.  The game’s introduction establishes Voodoo Island‘s tone early:

Spend enough time exploring the island and eventually, you will find a hotel.  Exploring the hotel leads to scenes like this:

The first time I tried to play the game, it took me a while to make it to the top floor of the hotel.  That is where I discovered not only Doctor Beauvais but also Sharleen, who the game describes as being “buxom” and “blonde.”  Considering the target audience of this game, I assumed that buxom and blonde was going to be a good thing.  I turned out to be wrong:

Your goal is to get off the island and avoid joining the living dead.  It is not easy but I have discovered a few things that might help: examine everything, grab everything that you can, and remember that just because you don’t see something the first time you look, that doesn’t mean you won’t see something the second time.

Good luck!

 

Jedadiah Leland’s Horrific Adventures In The Internet Archive #11: Anchorhead (1998, Michael Gentry)

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Continuing my adventures in the horror section of the Internet Archive, I played Michael Gentry’s Anchorhead (1998).

Anchorhead is a thoroughly immersive text adventure of Lovecraft-style horror.  Think of it as being the interactive fiction version of a movie like The Dunwich Horror.

Anchorhead is the type of isolated New England village that should be familiar to anyone who has ever read any of Lovecraft’s work.  Other than the mysterious obelisks that dot the town, the most interesting thing about Anchorhead is the small university.  The library is full of ancient texts, the type that can drive a man mad just from reading them.  You and your husband have just inherited a mansion on the outskirts of the town.  The previous owner, a distant relative of your husband, recently died under mysterious circumstances.

Anchorhead has an interesting plot, strong writing, and challenging puzzles but the best thing about it is the amount of detail that goes into creating the town, the mansion, and all the characters that you interact with over the course of the story.  Not all of the details were necessary to solving Anchorhead‘s mysteries but they did all serve to bring the story to life.  After just a few turns, I felt like I was in Anchorhead.  I could fully visualize both the town and its inhabitants.  Anchorhead also works as a horror story, capturing both the tone and style of H.P. Lovecraft.  Considerably more violent and graphic than most text adventures I’ve played, Anchorhead is definitely meant for adults.

Anchorhead is challenging but worth the effort.  Several walkthrough can be found online but exploring this story is so rewarding that you might want to take your chances without them.

 

Jedadiah Leland’s Horrorific Adventures In The Internet Archive #10: Vampire’s Castle Adventure (1984, Aardvark Software)

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For my latest adventure in the horror section of the Internet Archive, I played Vampire’s Castle Adventure (1984, Aardvark Software).

Vampire’s Castle Adventure is an early and extremely basic text adventure game.  You are in a castle.  You have four hours before the vampire awakes.  You have to discover a way to get out of the castle and stake the vampire.

Vampire’s Castle Adventure is simple but addictive.  Part of the challenge came from the fact that is such a basic adventure.  The parser accepts only two-word commands and the game only has a vocabulary of 70 words.  The game’s descriptions are terse and to the point.  There are no fancy graphics.  You will have to depend on your imagination.

For those who want to cheat, there is a walkthrough available.  The best advice that I can give is to be careful around the fireplace.

Jedadiah Leland’s Horrific Adventures In The Internet Archive #9: Final Soul (1995, CAT Productions, Inc)

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Continuing my adventures in the scary side of the Internet Archive, I played Final Soul (1995, CAT Productions, Inc.).

Final Soul is a text adventure that starts out with this message:

In Final Soul, you and a group of 12 friends have been invited to a haunted castle.  All you have to do is spend one night in the castle and the “reward” will be yours.

No sooner have you arrived then the lights go out.  When they come back on…

The rest of the game is a basic text adventure.  You explore the castle, search for clues, and try to solve puzzles.  It is a big castle but pressing “m” brings up a map:

The rest of the characters walk around the house, as well.  You can try to talk to them, though some of the conversations are more interesting than others:

If I had to use one word to describe this game, it would be “goofy.”  This is one of the goofiest text adventures that I have ever played and that is saying something.  This is the type of game where, when you leave the coat closet, it makes a joke about you “finally coming out the closet.”  If you type in a command that the game does not recognize, its response will depend on what room you are in:

Goofy though it may be, I still enjoyed playing Final Soul.  The game is a mix of complex puzzles and corny jokes.  It is hard not to like a game that has no pretense about being anything more than what it is.  Playing Final Soul, I was reminded of some of the deliberately stupid games that I created when I was first learning how to program.

One final note: there is an official site for Final Soul, which has hints, a list of commands, and a walkthrough for people like me who struggle when it comes to solving puzzles.

Jedadiah Leland’s Horrific Adventures in The Internet Archive #8: Demon’s Tomb — The Awakening (1989, Silhouette Software)

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For my latest trip into the scariest parts of the Internet Archive, I played Demon’s Tomb — The Awakening (1989, Silhouette Software).

One thing that I instantly liked about Demon’s Tomb was the opening screen, which lists all of the special features that come with this game:

I appreciated that this game comes with a “pretend to be working” mode.  Sometimes, when a game is uploaded into the Internet Archive, it loses some of its features.  (For instance, do not even try to save a game if you are playing it in the archive.)  While playing Demon’s Tomb, I decided to see if the pretend to be working mode still worked.

This was the game, before I pressed F2.

After I pressed F2.

After I pressed F2 again.

The game itself is an Infocom-style text adventure.  You start the game as Edward Lytton, a British archeologist who is exploring a burial mound that has been uncovered on the moors.  Do not get too attached to Edward.  At the start of the game, he is trapped in the tomb and you are told that he only has a few turns left to live.  Before Edward dies, you can hide some of his possessions around the tomb so that they can be found later.

This is important to do because, after Edward dies, the game becomes about his son, Richard.  Richard arrives at the tomb to search for his father and he discovers that opening of the tomb has unleashed an ancient demon.  In order to defeat the demon and escape from the burial mound himself, Richard is going to need to find the things that Edward has hidden in the tomb.  If you did not hide those things while you were Edward, you will not be able to find them once you become Richard.

This is a challenging but rewarding game and the only real way to solve it is through trial and error.  Try something and, if it doesn’t work, do the opposite the next time you play.  Or you can just go on google and search for a walkthrough, like I shamefully did once I realized that I was never going to be able to figure this game out on my own.

Demon’s Tomb is largely text-based but it does give you the option to press F1 and see pictures of what is being described.  For example:

And my favorite:

If you are looking for a retro adventure game, I highly recommend Demon’s Tomb.  It’s a shame that they don’t make them like this anymore.

 

Jedadiah Leland’s Horrorific Adventures In The Internet Archive #7: The Lurking Horror (1987, Infocom)

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If you are looking for a good, text-based horror film, allow me to suggest heading over the Internt Archive and trying your hand at The Lurking Horror (1987, Infocom).

The Lurking Horror is an interactive adventure game of Lovecraftian horror.  You are a student who has one night to finish a big paper.  During the worst blizzard in history, you make your way from the dorms to the computer lab.  Since this is an Infocom game, nothing is easy but the end results are rewarding.  Not only do you have to figure out the right commands to edit your paper but, once you do figure it all out, you discover that your paper is no longer your paper.  Instead, your paper has been transformed into an ancient text.

I will give you one hint.  When you first load up the paper, the game will literally beg you to read the entire paper.  Even if you click on your in-game PC’s help key, it will suggest that you read the entire paper.  Do not do it.  If you start reading the paper, you will not be able to stop.  Even if you say that you want to leave the computer room or that you want to turn off the computer, you will be told that “instead, you click the more box.”  After four turns of reading the paper, something terrible happens to you.

Instead of reading the paper after you open it, try to talk to the hacker in the computer room.  (In typical Infocom fashion, the hacker has several hilarious reactions.  For fun, try typing “attack the hacker.”)  The hacker has suggestions for how to retrieve your original paper.  It will not be easy though.  There are monsters in the computer lab.

Again, this is an Infocom game so it is not going to be easy.  It takes a while to get the hang of it but stick with it and it will be worth it.  For those who know their Lovecraft, playing The Lurking Horror will be a very rewarding experience.

One final note.  In the game, when you turn on the computer, you are required to enter a login and a password.  There is no way to discover the login or the password in-game.  That information was only made available in the game’s original manual.  I had to look up the login and the password online.  For the record, here they are:

login: 872325412
password: uhlersoth

Jedadiah Leland’s Horrific Adventures In The Internet Archive #5: Baal (1989, Psygnosis Limited)

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For my next adventure in the horror section of the Internet Archive, I played Baal (1989, Psygnosis Limited).

In Baal, you are a leader of something called The Time Warriors.  A demon named Baal has stolen a super weapon and it is up to you to infiltrate Baal’s underground lair, kill Baal’s warriors, get the weapon, and destroy Baal.  It sounds simple but this game is biased against people like me who aren’t any good at games like this.

The game starts with you materializing in Baal’s lair.  I think the blue contraption is a transporter.

Yes, there are ladders and multiple levels.  The controls are simple.  Use the arrow keys to move.  Press the space bar to fire our weapon.  If you want jump, press the space bar and an arrow key at the same time.

That serpent is one of Baal’s minions.  You can destroy the serpent by shooting it several times but don’t make my mistake and get too close.  Touching the serpent kills you.

After it kills you, the serpent flies away.  That was cool.

After getting killed by the serpent, I was given a second chance.  This time, instead of running forward, I ran up the ladder.  I discovered that, much like the serpents, you do not want to touch that blue force field.  I also discovered what happens when you fall off a level.

Eventually, I figured out how to jump and I also managed to kill the serpent before it killed me.  This is what I discovered at the other end of the cave.

Another force field!  I decided to test my theory that running into the force field would cause me to die.

It did.

That was it for me.  Baal can have the super weapon.  Hopefully, Baal’s next opponent will be better at games like this than I am.

 

Jedadiah Leland’s Horrific Adventures In The Internet Archive #4: The Horror of Rylvania (1993, Adventions)

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For today’s adventure in the Internet Archive, I played The Horror of Rylvania (1993, Adventions).

The Horror of Rylvania is a text-only adventure.  You and your best friend from college, Carolyn, are backpacking across Europe.  When the two of you cross into the backwards country of Rylvania, you are both attacked by wolves.  Carolyn is gravely injured and you have no choice but to leave her behind and go to a nearby village for help.

The Horror of Rylvania was written by D.A. Leary, who provides concise and vivid descriptions of each location in the game.  Go to the Inn and you can listen to villagers talk about wolves and vampires.  Find the doctor’s office and you can lead him back to Carolyn.  You can even stop and pray, with different results for different locations.

What you cannot do, at least on the Internet Archive, is solve the Horror of Rylvania.  The version on the Internet Archive is just a demo.  Once you have done everything that you can do in the village, there is a cliffhanger and a suggestion that, if you enjoyed the demo, you should send $20.00 to a post office box in Maryland to get the full version.  Since the message was written in 1993, I am going to guess it would not do me any good to mail the money.

If this was 1993, I would gladly send the twenty and I would probably add another ten just to make sure that the game arrived on time.  That is how good the demo was.  Instead, I guess I will just have to make up my own ending to The Horror of Rylvania.

Jedadiah Leland’s Horrific Adventures In The Internet Archive #3: Hugo’s House of Horrors (1990, Gray Designs Associates)

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During today’s exploration of the horrific corners of the Internet Archive, I played Hugo’s House of Horrors (1990, Gray Designs Associates.)

In Hugo’s House of Horrors, you control Hugo.  Hugo’s girlfriend went to a haunted house to babysit and never returned.  When the game starts, you have just arrived at the house to try to find her.

First impression: I’m really digging the graphics.  That house sure does look haunted.  The spooky music that playing in the background is also pretty cool.

I guess it’s time for Hugo to enter the house.  This turned out to be more difficult then I was expecting.

Why not?  That’s a great idea!

Locked?  But look at all those eyes watching Hugo.  Maybe someone inside the house can help.

Hello?

Son of a bitch!  Maybe there’s something I’m missing.

I just tried that!

OPEN THIS DOOR!

OPEN UP!

OPEN THE DOOR, I SEE YOU STARING AT ME!

Eventually, I noticed the pumpkin at Hugo’s feet.  The key was hidden in the pumpkin so Hugo was finally able to open the door and enter the house.

Nice house.  I especially like the painting of the bat.  I sent Hugo went upstairs and had him go through that open doorway at the end of the hall.

Get in the box?  Why not?

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

Oh, this is bullsh–

After the professor left, I realized that Hugo was now much smaller.  After the professor left, I decided that Hugo should leave the room too.  I don’t trust Igor.

The lesson here is don’t get into strange boxes.

This is as far as I have gotten on Hugo’s House of Horrors.  Hugo may be in trouble because it doesn’t seem that I’m very good at this game.  Maybe he will have better luck with you controlling his actions than me.

Jedadiah Leland’s Horrific Adventures In The Internet Archive #2: Knightmare (1992, Konami)

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For my second day of exploring the horror section of the Internet Archive, I played Knightmare (1992, Konami). 

Knightmare is basically a top-down shooter.  You are a knight and your girlfriend has been kidnapped by an evil sorcerer.  To rescue her, you must make your way across the grounds of his castle, while avoiding the monsters and guards.

That’s you, in the white armor.  The bat and the gray balloons may look harmless but if they touch you, you explode.  Fortunately, you have an unlimited supply of arrows that you can shoot at them.  You can also use the arrows to destroy obstacles, like those boxes with the question marks.  If you shoot an arrow into a black circle and then retrieve it, you get a weapons upgrade.

You will need that weapons upgrade because eventually, these people show up:

The blue knights are considerably faster than the bats and the balloons.  It takes more than one arrow to kill them and they have arrows of their own.

It took me a while to get the hang of it.

At the end of each level, there is a boss who must be destroyed.  At the end of stage 1, the boss appears to be Medusa.

I have not had much luck against Medusa.

I liked Knightmare.  Like all of the best shooters, it is simple but also challenging and extremely addictive.  It is a game that you can go back and play again and again, which is what I am going to go down right now.