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	Title: (REVIEWS) The Witness
	Author: Dan Gutman
	Source: COMPUTE!, v5(12)
	Date: December 1983
	Transcription by Steve Derby
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Monica *could* have shot her father, Freeman Linder. She had
every reason to —- her mother had said in her suicide note that
she just couldn't take Freeman anymore. Coincidentally, Monica
is now the heiress to his fortune, and besides, she left the house
only a few minutes before the gunshots shattered the window
and Linder died.

Then again, it could have been Phong, the poker-faced
butler, who was promised a fortune by Linder -— and never got
a thin dime. And what about Stiles, Mrs. Linder's secret lover?
The poor guy's been in a state since her suicide -— or was it
murder? He knows Linder ignored his wife, and Stiles was
rumored to be a "hired mercenary" in 1907. The case is yours
to solve.

*The Witness* is the latest in Infocom's masterful series of all-text
adventures, and it may be their best one yet. The game,
available in versions for most microcomputers, takes us back
to the Thirties. The writing is colorful, like a pulp detective
novel, and reflects the period. At one point Monica tells you
this new actor (Bogart) she saw in a movie is not going to make
it big. With games like this, the distinction between reading a
novel on disk and playing a game has become blurred. *The Witness*
is a novel, except that you are one of the characters, and every move
you make affects the outcome.

## Talking To The Computer

Other adventure games restrict you to simple commands like
"go north" and "shoot gun." With Infocom's "Interlogic"
programming system, the computer can understand complete
sentences. Communicating this way gives you a much stronger
sense that you are participating in the story. However, as the
game freely admits, "English is my second language." The program
will only answer two specific types of questions: ones
asking for information and ones asking for the whereabouts of
someone or something. You've got to be very careful with your
phrasing. If you borrow a note from Monica and type "give
back note," the computer will tell you, "You can't see any back
note here." You should have typed "give the note back."
Nevertheless, with a little cooperation on your part, the
computer does a superb job of catching your drift.

If you get hooked on this game (and there's a good chance)
you'll find yourself drawing intricate floor plans of the Linder
house and jotting down notes to yourself. You will ruthlessly
interrogate every suspect and shadow their every move. You
will pick up every knick-knack on the mantlepiece and dust them
for fingerprints or send them to the lab for examination. You will
become frustrated, disgusted, and type rude suggestions into
the keyboard. You could start arresting furniture just to see
how the computer will respond. You will be possessed.

*The Witness* is somewhat like *Deadline*, Infocom's first mystery
thriller, but *Deadline* tended to bog down as you ran out of leads
to follow. Here you are provided with a loyal assistant, Duffy,
who is more than happy to make plaster of Paris footprint casts
for you, bring objects to the lab for analysis, and uncover little
clues you might have over looked. All you've got to do is
"ask Duffy for help."

Infocom does not crank out games and hope that one will
click with the public. Each game is so clever and so intricate that
you know somebody put thousands of hours of work into
it. The game is a piece of art right down to the packaging, for
which Infocom has become famous. Out of *The Witness* package
tumbles a suicide note, an urgent telegram, a newspaper
page containing an article about Mr. Linder, a matchbook with
some numbers scrawled on it, and a 12-page *Detective Gazette*
with instructions for the game along with 1930s ads for handcuffs
and fingerprint kits. And a floppy disk —- can't forget that.
With this game, you get your money's worth.

## For Dedicated Players Only

However, as good as *The Witness* is, it's not a game for everyone.
You have 12 hours to solve the crime, but do you have 12 hours
to play a computer game? Fortunately, you can save your game
on a blank disk and pick it up later. Even so, to investigate
every room in the house, question every suspect, and follow
up every lead may be equivalent to reading *The Complete Works of
Shakespeare*. You can't just stroll around the house by typing "go
to Monica's bedroom" or "enter the garage." It may take half an
hour of directional search just to find Monica's bedroom, and she
may have gone to the movies while you were bumping into
the walls. To get in the room, you must first find the key, unlock
the door, and open the door — all separate commands. To
make matters more difficult, you have no way of knowing if a
suspect is telling the truth or lying to you -— that suicide note
from Mrs. Linder could have easily been faked by Monica,
Stiles, Phong, or even Mr. Linder. Infocom supplies no key to
solve the mystery, and you may never solve it on your own.

*The Witness* requires a dedication that few other games require.
There are no pretty graphics here. It's you, your
imagination, and the words on the screen. My guess is that
people who enjoy challenging puzzles -— jigsaw, crossword,
anagrams -— will enjoy *The Witness*, while those who favor
television game shows may not. People who like to curl up with a
good book —- especially a mystery novel -— will love it, while
those who lean toward *Garfield Goes Condo* should pass it up.

For those of you who choose not to solve the crime, I feel it is
only fair to share my findings with you. I have devoted the last
three months of my life to this case and just moments ago
solved the crime, arrested my suspect, and sent that person to
jail. The murderer of Freeman Linder was...

*Ed. note: Unfortunately, Mr. Gutman was unable to complete this
review for reasons which are still under investigation.*

The Witness<br>
*Infocom<br>
55 Wheeler St.<br>
Cambridge, MA 02138<br>
$49.95 to $59.95 depending on version*
