<!--
	Title: (Adventure) Deadline
	Source: Zzap!64, #6
	Date: October 1985
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

*Commodore, £11.99 disk only*

It is always a pleasure to sit down and play an Infocom
adventure, even when it's as unusual and different as this.
*Deadline* is the first in Infocom's 'Mystery Series' of adventures (*Witness*
and *Suspect* being the other two) and gives you the chance to
play out the role of an infamous detective, who has been called
in to investigate the death of one Mr Robner.

The Chief of Detectives, Warren Coates, is completely
convinced that there was no foul play involved, but he wants you
to conduct a more thorough investigation all the same, since
people are, after all, suspicious by nature.

It turns out, from the inspector's Casebook provided
in the package, that Mr Robner had called the CoD a few days
before his demise to inform him that he was altering his will. In
fact Robner was in the process of sending the relevant papers
to the CoD when this unfortunate incident happened.
Such mitigating circumstances can only cast aspersions over a
verdict of 'death by a self administered overdose', so just
how **did** Mr Robner come to such a cruel end? Before you can
actually arrest a suspect though, you must be able to prove they
had the motive, opportunity and are lacking in an alibi.

...and you've only got twelve hours, computer time, to do so!

You begin your investigations outside the Robner house on the
South lawn. On attempting to vacate the premises you are told
that **Leaving the estate would mean quitting the case and,
most probably, your job.** Hmmm! It looks as if you're here to stay ...

A search of the surrounding vicinity proves successful, with
the discovery of two strange holes in the ground and the fact
that the eccentric gardener, Mr Angus McNabb, doesn't
appreciate people treading on his roses. He also objects quite
strongly to being hit 'with a lethal blow of the hand', as he
does expire quite rapidly. 'Perhaps,' you think, 'I shouldn't
have done that.' responds the computer, after a lengthy piece
of text is given desribing your arrest for the murder of Mr
McNabb!

When you actually question the gardener to find out what's
wrong, he burbles on and on about his roses and the
influence that the bad weather is having on them! Some help!

These responses are typical of not only this adventure, but of all
Infocom classics. This is the sort of thing, along with massive
vocabularies and detailed location descriptions, that
makes their text adventures so much better than anyone else's.
For example, kissing someone in *Deadline* is met with: 'Section
204D, Paragraph 7.6 of the Connecticut Police Code of
Conduct specifically prohibits kissing suspects.'!

If there are any words that the program doesn't understand,
you are told 'You don't need the word " " to solve this mystery.' --
typical of the sort of imaginative reply that one can
expect to get when playing an Infocom game, as even the most
inconceivable questions receive coherent answers. Another
example is there action to you trying to arrest yourself.
Sergeant Duffy, your side-kick, strokes his chin and replies
'Excuse me, sir, but it would cause a bit of a stir at the station
to be charging a player with murder.'!

At 11:00 am, an interesting letter addressed to Mrs Robner
arrives, full of suspicious comments about her late
husband and a fellow called George, ending up: 'See you
Friday as usual, Steven'. Sounds as if this could be important and
incriminating evidence!

Quickly looking around the house gives rise to more
suspicion as there are plenty of clues to be found. With aroused
curiosity and some information under your belt, you decide it's
high time to follow, and maybe question, a few people and start
to draw some conclusions.

As an aid to your enquiries there are a number of helpful
words present in the vocabulary. **EXAMINE** is as
useful as ever and so is **SEARCH**, although this command has
been improved quite a bit to suit the game. Not only is it possible
to **SEARCH** someone or something in a straightforward
manner, but you can **SEARCH NEAR** an object or person. This
usually provides more information than a simple **EXAMINE.**

**FINGERPRINT** asks the police laboratory to compare the
fingerprints of someone/thing with those on file at the lab (that
is, if something is **worth** fingerprinting -- most, nay **all**, of
the suspects object to this treatment unfortunately), while
**ANALYZE** results in a lab performing a routine check on
something.

Interaction with the other characters in the game is high,
as you can freely converse with, and question, anyone in any
way, should they be willing to talk to you. For example, **MRS
JONES, TELL ME ABOUT MRS ROBNER, HEY, MR MCNABB "WHAT'S WRONG?" ,MRS
ROURKE, SHOW ME THE FOOD** and other such communication,
all elicit useful, and sometimes humourous, responses. This
sort of flexibility makes *Deadline* absorbing and rewarding to
play.

<img class="float-right-narrow" src="/public/img/articles/zzap64-deadline-review/deadline-c64-packaging.png" alt="Deadline Commodore 64 packaging">

One really excellent feature is the **WAIT** comamnd. It's
possible to **WAIT FOR** or **WAIT UNTIL** certain times or even to
**WAIT FOR** someone!

The location descriptions are incredibly informative and one
needs little imagination and one needs little imagination to
conjure up an image of their surroundings. When in the
garden for instance, you can almost smell the roses!

When you finally decide that you have gathered substantial
evidence, you should firstly **ACCUSE** your suspect, and then
**ARREST** them. Get it right though -- your job won't mean
much if you don't as you'll end up losing it!

*Deadline* is a most unusual approach to a text adventure
and is perhaps Infocom's most absorbing to play yet.
Unfortunately it is only available on disk, but then what did I tell
you about getting a disk drive?

<table class="larger"><tbody>
<tr><td><strong>Atmosphere</strong></td><td>95%</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Interaction</strong></td><td>97%</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Lasting Interest</strong></td><td>90%</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Value For Money</strong></td><td>96%</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Overall</strong></td><td><strong>93%</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>