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	Title: (Micro-Reviews) Planetfall
	Author: James A. McPherson
	Source: Computer Gaming World, v4(2)
	Date: April 1984
	Transcription by Steve Derby
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Planetfall is a text adventure game that begins with you, a lowly ensign, scrubbing
the decks of the Stellar Patrol Ship *Feinstein*. Your life has never seemed
worse, and your future looks very bleak, boring, and uneventful. Right about this
time your ship is rocked by an explosion. In order to save your life you rush to the
nearest escape pod and are jettisoned out into space. By using your wits, you are
able to ride the escape pod down to the nearest inhabited planet. There you are
marooned on one of two islands on the planet.

Your mission, besides finding food and a safe place to sleep, is to get rescued from
the planet. But your first order of business is survival. Finding a safe place to sleep
is not difficult but you must find food before your emergency ration kit runs
out. Once you have the food supply and know where it's safe to sleep you can
begin your real adventure (Watch out! In this adventure you can even get sick and
dream while you sleep.)

On the island you will find two huge deserted complexes which must be mapped
(Kalamontee and Lawanda). In your wandering through the first complex you
will meet a robot named Floyd. In the beginning, Floyd might be a nuisance
because of his incessant babbling, but as you have probably already guessed he
plays an important part in the completion of the game. Floyd's interaction is a very
unique concept in this game. It adds animation to the game without relying on
graphics. (In certain parts of the complex I had already mapped I found myself hurrying
through the rooms. As this left Floyd far behind, I ended up slowing
down to wait for Floyd to catch up.)

There are more than 100 rooms in Planetfall and each one has its own very
detailed description. Part of the enjoyment to these games is just reading these
descriptions. I found myself wanting to know more about the complex -— why for
example, it was deserted, and where all the people went.

The puzzles in Planetfall involve special access cards, tools, and the fixing
of machines that have broken down. I found the solutions to be logical with just
enough depth to give me problems but not enough to cause me aggravation.

The documentation is almost as enjoyable as the game itself. With the software
you get a diary, post cards, an I.D. card, and a manual. The diary looks handwritten
and is on Stellar Patrol letterhead, it tells about a few days of the Ensign's
boring life. The post cards are very funny. The manual as always should be read
carefully. Often the problems you run into throughout the game can be made
easier with the help of some clues or explanations from the manual.

For those of you that are text game or Infocom fanatics this is another excellent
adventure to add to your collection. The addition of Floyd the robot as your partner
is a unique boost to the interactive nature of these games and I hope to see
more of this type of creative innovation in future games.

For those of you who have never played these types of games before, Planetfall
would be a good place to start.
