<!--
	Title: (Apple Adventure and Arcade Action) Suspended
	Author: Stephen Arrants
	Source: Creative Computing, v9(9)
	Date: September 1983
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

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<p class="center larger"><strong><span class="larger">creative computing</span><br>SOFTWARE PROFILE</strong></p>
<p class="article-specific-sidebar"><strong>Name:</strong> Suspended</p>
<p class="article-specific-sidebar"><strong>Type:</strong> Text-adventure</p>
<p class="article-specific-sidebar"><strong>System:</strong> Apple II, II+, Atari, Commodore 64, IBM-PC</p>
<p class="article-specific-sidebar"><strong>Format:</strong> Disk</p>
<p class="article-specific-sidebar"><strong>Language:</strong> Machine</p>
<p class="article-specific-sidebar"><strong>Summary:</strong> Superb adventure. The best yet.</p>
<p class="article-specific-sidebar"><strong>Price:</strong> $49.95</p>
<p class="article-specific-sidebar"><strong>Manufacturer:</strong><br>Infocom, Inc.<br>55 Wheeler St.<br>Cambridge, MA 02138</p>
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From Infocom, creators of *Zork I*, *II* and *III*, *Deadline*, and *Starcross*, comes
one of the most exciting games I have seen for the Apple. *Suspended*, written
by science fiction author Michael Berlyn, is set far in the future on a planet
run by computers. Apparently, the rulers of this planet don't trust their
machines, because a lottery has selected you to be the guardian of the entire
system.

Something has gone wrong, however. Systems are crashing and thousands are
dying. You are awakened from cryogenic suspension to direct the repairs.
Six robots are at your command. Each has different attributes: Sensa can detect
energy waves and fields, but she isn't good at manipulating the environment.
Auda can hear, but she's blind. Iris, confined to the control center, can see.
Waldo has different appendages to pick up and move objects, but he is a bit
thick. Whiz can interface with the information banks of the main computer.
The last robot is Poet, a speaker in rhymes and riddles. Unfortunately for
you, he seems to have a problem with his ROM -- you can't alw1ays understand
what he says.

The robots can be directed singly or in groups. You must learn how to direct
them efficiently to achieve the smallest number of casualties. Parts must be
replaced and machinery repaired -- quickly. If the system isn't set right after
a given number of turns, humans from the surface storm the cryogenic chamber
and disconnect you.

<figure class="float-right">
	<img src="/public/img/articles/cc-suspended-review/suspended-screen-shot.png" alt="Suspended Screen Shot">
	<figcaption style="text-align: center; font-style: italic">Suspended</figcaption>
</figure>

All this would be easy, were it not for the fact that the previous guardian was
unbalanced. He destroyed equipment, disabled a seventh robot, and left defective
parts in the complex.

Because this is a text adventure, Infocom includes a map of the complex
with plastic stick-ons representing the different robots. Without this map, play
would be very difficult.

*Suspended* has four levels of play -- normal, advanced, configure, and
impossible. The advanced level begins with one of the six robots disabled and at
a later stage of the game.

The configure level allows you to set up the game the way you want. You can
decide where the robots will begin, how long it will be until a system fails, how
long until the humans come for vengeance, and other factors. Winning at
the impossible level guarantees a free trip to the planet at Infocom's expense.

A hallmark of Infocom games is the extensive vocabulary used. It is almost
as if you are conversing with a human rather than a computer.

The first time I played Suspended it took me about an hour to get used to its
format. By 3:00 a.m., I was hooked.

*Suspended* is intelligent, satisfying, addictive, and a break from the usual
computer games. Infocom has set a new standard for text adventures that will be
tough to beat.
