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	Title: (Adventure) Infocom Intrigue in Leather Lovers Shock Horror!
	Source: Zzap!64, #18
	Date: October 1986
	Transcription by Steve Derby
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Ol' Whitey had hardly recovered from Brian Moriarty's *Trinity* hitting
the stands when news of Steve Meretzky's latest creation, *The Leather
Goddesses of Phobos*, arrived at my humble abode. As the title suggests, this
is like no other Infocom game, though Steve's humour is obviously
at work. It's the first 'adult' game to have come from this stable
and, having seen a preview copy, I'm intrigued. Very!

You play the role of an average male or female human (your sex is
determined when you go to the toilet at the start of the game -- I
kid you not). Inexplicably, you are kidnapped by aliens and taken to
Phobos, thelargest of the two moons of Mars. There you discover
the Leather Goddesses. For some reason, they plan to turn
Earth into their latest sexual playground. It is your task to prevent
them (though why you should want to is another matter entirely).

Unusually, for Infocom, the game uses three levels of play,
though these are not difficulty levels as such. They are Tame,
Suggestive, and Lewd. Each level uses naughtier (more atmospheric?)
text than the last. Some of the language becomes more
explicit as well as more detailed descriptive passages. Even then
there are limits. One scene is merely described as using a lot of
lubricant, some rubber hosing and a yak. It is up to you to imagine the
rest...

Before long, you find yourself in more traditional settings, wandering
the ruins and canals of Mars in true John Carter fashion. The sexual
overtones are less obtrusive here. Coming across the throne of
King Mitre (otherwise known as Midas) to discover that rather than
change things to gold, he turned them to forty-five degree angles
for some fetish satisfaction, proves that both Meretzky's humour and
the spicy nature of the game remain deeply inbedded in the
program. In fact, an interplanetary tour takes place, littered with
heated distractions.

When you discover that the goddesses want you for
experimentation, even you agree that sexual freedom can go too far
and so, accompanied by your sidekick, you set about trying to
make an anti-leather goddesses machine to save Earth from the
imminent invasion. Other characters in the game have their sex
decided by your own choice at the beginning of the game.

Packaging is always an important way of adding atmosphere in
an Infocom game, and some original ideas have been used including
a scratch 'n' sniff card and a 3D colour comic showing off the
'finer points' of the goddesses. The first in Infocom's new comedy
series, *The Leather Goddesses of Phobos* is sure to make its mark. It
does wonders for your whiskers, especially at £24.95!

## MEANWHILE

Interested adventurers may not necessarily be able to play *Trinity*
that easily. The game, which involves time travel as you try to
change the course of history and prevent the Third World War, is
the second in Infocom's Interactive Fiction Plus range, designed
for sixteen bit micros and ported downwards where possible. As a
result, only owners of a Commodore 128, disk drive (any model)
and 80 column monitor will be able to run the program. Ah well,
it looked nice.

## STILL IN WITH INFOCOM

Following the take-over of Infocom by Activision, the latter
organisation is now responsible for the marketing of their games. This
means that everybody should now be able to get hold of their favourite
titles via their nearest Activision dealer. No doubt my mailbag
will increase in size as a result of the Infocom availability...
