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	Title: New Software By Infocom Isn't Boring
	Author: Michael Blanchet
	Source: The Salt Lake Tribune
	Date: 22 November 1984
	Transcription by Steve Derby
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"Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard
to sleep after," said Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Infidel, Infocom's newest
text adventure, would have given her insomnia.

Like all Infocom games, Infidel's package is bursting with all manner
of witty and covertly helpful support materials. Included is a tongue-in-cheek
instruction booklet, cleverly presented as an adventurers periodical,
various maps and an unmailed letter, the contents of which belies
the serious nature of your present situation.

The result is a vivid, living game that redefines the term interactive.
Whether you solve it or not, Infidel is absorbing and fun.

Infidel is Infocom's first offering in its new Tales of Adventure Series. It
casts you as an archeologist in Egypt searching for a lost pyrmid said to
contain the usual treasures, tombs and curses.

In the game's opening scene, you awaken to find that your disgruntled
workers have deserted you: "You're in your tent. Golden rays of the sun
filter through the open flap on the southern wall, but no breeze makes
its way through. The dry, searing heat would be bearable if only the air
stirred.

Upon leaving the tent: "Everything is oddly quiet, unsettling, creating a
feeling of floating anxiety. The stillness seems to enhance the eerie
quality of the desert, the feeling of being totally alone. There is an enlarged
hole in the ground, remnant of your excavation attempts."

The prose is descriptive, to say the least. Other times it is funny. Above
all, it is always realistic. In fact, Infidel could pass as a pulp novel.

As you play the game, the depth of Infocom's interlogic prose becomes
apparent. The games command vocabulary is enormous (over 600
words). Some entries give the expected, logical results, while others wield
the unexpected. An example: type in "Wave to plane. The response: The
plane dips its wing in salute. When I asked the game to hastily chase a
falling parachute, I got this reply: "Hey, give it chance to get here. I
know you're impatient to get on with this, but be reasonable."

Like all Infocom games, Infidel's package is bursting with all manner
of witty and covertly helpful support materials. Included is a tongue-in-cheek
instruction booklet.

Infidel is available in many formats, including Apple. Atari,
Commodore 64, IBM PC, DEC Rainbow, Osborne, TI's Professional, TI's 99-4A
and TRS 80.
