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	Title: (REVIEWS) Circuit's Edge
	Author: Keith Ferrell
	Source: COMPUTE!, v12(9)
	Date: Dec 1990
	Transcription by Steve Derby
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In the Budayeen, a quasi-Middle Eastern environment surrounded
by walls, rough trade flourishes in alleys, on back streets, and along
the main thoroughfare, known only as The Street. This is a criminal neighborhood,
seamy and dangerous. This is the setting of Infocom's *Circuit's
Edge*.

Based on the Audran stories of George Alec Effinger, the game is
played from the perspective of Audran, an addictive, not really likable
sort, whose talents and inclinations continually bring him to the edge of
disaster. The most successful players will learn how to see the world
through Audran's jaundiced eyes.

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	<img src="/public/img/articles/compute-circuits-edge-review/circuits-edge-screen-shot.png" alt="Circuit's Edge screen shot">
	<figcaption><strong>In the seamy setting of Infocom's <em>Circuit's Edge</em>, there are many dangers.</strong></figcaption>
</figure>

Infocom has done a fine job of making the Budayeen, the game's centerpiece,
come alive. More than any of its earlier attempts at graphic adventures,
this one communicates a real sense of place. You can stroll along
the garish Street, dropping into various places of business, or skulk
through darkened alleys where any thing can happen. Onscreen mapping
helps you get a feel for the game's locale. The Budayeen is the story, in
many ways, although there's naturally a problem-solving plot to navigate
through.

The game's manual includes a map of the Budayeen. complete with a
directory' and addresses of various businesses and establishments. Three
pages of hints help you through the tougher problems. Lists of characters
and a glossary also contain hints and tips that can be exploited during play.

While *Circuit's Edge* can be played via the keyboard, the program
works best with a mouse. Effinger's characters can use technology to alter
or enhance personality by way of "moddies" — modules inserted into
sockets in the skull. "Daddies" are modules that extend characters' powers
and abilities. Audran can use daddies to dampen pain, fatigue, and so
on. There is, as players discover, a price to be paid for using modules.

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Playability . . . . . . . . . . ★★★★<br>
Documentation . . . . .★★★★<br>
Originality . . . . . . . . . . ★★★★<br>
Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . ★★★★

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IBM PC and compatibles; 512K RAM; DOS 2.11 or higher; CGA. EGA, VGA. or
Tandy 16-color graphics; supports Ad-Lib, Roland, and MT-32 sound cards and
Microsoft and compatible mice—S49.95

INFOCOM<br>
Distributed by Mediagenic<br>
3885 Bohannon Dr.<br>
Menlo Park, CA 94025<br>
(415)329-0800

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*Circuit's Edge* is more adult than most software, and parents might
want to consider this before passing the program to preadolescent kids.
The Street is populated with drug dealers and prostitutes, among others,
and it's possible to interact with them. Admittedly, taking drugs or engaging
in illicit sex results in losing points, but the distinction may be too fine for
younger players. I'd rate this game at least PG-13, perhaps even R.

While *Circuit's Edge* suffers from some of the problems typical to adventure
games — repetitive dialogue loops, scenes that rest on puzzles rather
than on plot — the game also represents an attempt to extend the materials
on which adventures are based. There's little that's smutty about the
game's adult scenarios; rather, they represent the context of the Budayeen,
and do so well. *Circuit's Edge* is the most sophisticated of Infocom's recent
crop of games and a good indication that the company may make the
transition from text-based adventures to graphical storytelling.


