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	Title: (Adventure) Stationfall
	Source: Zzap!64, #31
	Date: November 1987
	Transcription by Steve Derby
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*Infocom, £24.99 disk only*

Contemplating your latest thrilling assignment to pick up yet
another supply of forms, you drift back in your mind to a happier time some
five years ago. Alone, a lowly Ensign Seventh Class, shipwrecked
on Resida (a supposedly deserted planet) you had a chance
meeting with an enthusiastic little droid named Floyd. The two of you
soon became friends and together uncovered the planet's mysteries --
eventually bringing it back from the very brink of destruction. The
officials at Stella Patrol were so pleased with what you had
achieved that promotion was automatic. Naturally, you thought
that the company would then become more like the image portrayed
in the ads before you joined -- romantic, daring and exotic...
how wrong you were!

The promotion brough you up to the rank of Lieutenant First
Class, with new duties including collecting and dispatching forms,
including the 'Request for Stella Patrol Issue Regulation Black
Form Binders Request Form' forms which you have been
assigned to pick up today.

*Stationfall* opens with you on deck 12 of the SPS Duffy -- the
administrative section. Armed only with three forms, an ID card,
a chronometer and an all-weather uniform, it's your task to find
transport and fly to Space Station Gamma Delta Gamma 777-G 59/59
Sector Alpha-Mu-79. However, to ensure a successful mission
you are to be aided by a droid. One of three can be chosen from
the robot pool: Rex the bionic who's big and butch; Helen the
spindly synthetic and -- wait for it -- Floyd the droid, your old pal
from Resida. Choosing the wrong computerised companion results
in a quiver of Floyd's lower lip and your swift demise.

The spacetruck is not hard to find, and successfully navigating it
to the Space Station is a breeze (unless you don't have the assignment
completion form which comes with the packaging).

Upon reaching G-D-G 777-G, your suspicions are aroused by the
lack of a welcoming committee in the docking bay. The creases in
your brow deepen as a swift reconnoitre of the surrounding corridors
reveals no life at all (apart from Plato the droid who likes to
read). Very soon you find yourself discovering objects and situations
which point to what may have befallen the Space Station. Slowly,
unerringly you are drawn into another investigative quest.

*Stationfall*'s author is Steve Meretzky, a man who has written
several games for Infocom including such classics as *Planetfall*
(*Stationfall*'s predecessor), *Sorcerer* and *Leather Goddesses*. His latest
adventure creation is certainly on a par with his previous work,
incorporating atmosphere, humour and a plethora of puzzles
which combine well to pull you in and let you live the life of a
Lieutenant First Class for a while. Footnotes are welcome additions
to the text, aiding those of us who have not played *Planetfall* or are
perhaps a little confused by some of the objects or places which
appear.

One small niggle -- is it my imagination or has Infocom's disk
access time increased? Input 'insert robot form into slot' when at
the robot pool and the wait is 37 seconds before you receive a reply.
Perhaps my perpetuity coordinator is malfunctioning
sufficiently to slow time down for me while I'm in the human
continuum, and this delay may not appear to drastic to mankind!

<table class="larger" style="font-weight: bold;"><tbody>
<tr><td>Atmosphere</td><td>89%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Interaction</td><td>87%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Lasting Interest</td><td>91%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Overall</td><td>87%</td></tr>
</tbody></table>