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	Title: (SOFTWARE COMMENTARY) Wishbringer
	Author: Joseph Desposito
	Source: Creative Computing, v11(11)
	Date: November 1985
	Transcription by Steve Derby
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<img class="float-left" src="/public/img/articles/cc-wishbringer-review/wishbringer-ratings.jpg" alt="Wishbringer Ratings">

There is no harder task for a reviewer like myself than to comment on a
work of interactive fiction. When I was assigned the task of assessing Infocom's
new fantasy game, *Wishinbringer*, I accepted only because it was touted as an
introductory level game. I have had terrible experiences with higher level
adventure-type games in the past.

Much to my dismay, *Wishbringer* started in normal fashion for me -- I was
stuck for about an hour in the first sequence of the game. If I went east, I
couldn't get past a ferocious poodle; if I went web, I was eventually frustrated by
a locked cemetary gate. But persistence, a small hint, and good documentation finally
got me over the first hurdle, and I was on my way.

Now I have another problem. I can't get the game off my mind. I'm sure
veteran players know what I mean, but it is a new sensation for me. It is very similar
to solving a complex mathematical problem; if you get stuck, you leave it for
a while and let your subconscious work on it.

So I found myself testing solutions that popped into my mind at odd hours
of the day and night. Sometimes a solution worked, and it was very gratifying;
other times, the frustration continued.

Infocom adds to the pleasure of the game by supplying real life props. In this
case, the package contains a map of Festeron (later to be called Witchville), a
special delivery letter to the proprietor of Ye Olde Magick Shoppe, and a
glow-in-the-dark Wishbringer stone.

Wishbringer is no ordinary stone; it is a powerful, magical stone. When you
hold Wishbringer, seven special wishes can be granted to help you overcome
troublesome problems.

Though the game is a text-only fantasy, it does not suffer. The visual images
conjured up in my mind have completely sufficed.

I recommend *Wishbringer* highly to the novice player, and I have a good idea
that experienced players will find it engrossing, too. To make the game more
challenging, advanced players may refrain from using the wishes, since "every
problem ye encounter in thy travels may also be bested by the spell of Logick."
But I have to go now, I just had an idea about how to spring the platypus from a
pit too narrow for me to jump in.
