<!--
	Title: (Cabin Fever Fantasies) Cutthroats
	Author: Steve Panak
	Source: Analog Computing, #28
	Date: March 1985
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

**CUTTHROATS<br>
by Michael Berlyn and Jerry Wolper<br>
INFOCOM<br>
55 Wheeler Street<br>
Cambridge, MA 02138<br>
48K Disk $34.95**

**Cutthroats** follows **Infidel** as Infocom's second installment
in **Tales of Adventure** series. True-to-life
dangers and rewards are the cornerstones of this series.
You'll find no magic -- nor little elves -- to aid you.

There's sunken treasure out there somewhere, and
you must dive for it... not only because you want it,
but also because you're forced to. It seems that you've
fallen in with the wrong crowd. You have the money,
maps and diving skills that they need to recover a
treasure. But any of your "friends" (Johnny Red, the
Weasel, or Pete the Rat) would just as soon kill you
if you get in their way. The thought of double-crossing
them shouldn't even enter your mind.

Interaction with the characters is necessary to succeed,
and their unpredictability will keep you on your
toes for hours. Even more than in most of Infocom's
games, you must keep your eyes and ears peeled for
any clues which may reveal the characters' true personalities
and motives.

In **Cutthroats**, you wake up in your hotel room to
find a note that has been slipped under the door. You
begin to remember the events of the previous night,
how your friend Hevlin gave you a map with sunken
treasure pinpointed. Then Hevlin's luck took a downturn --
and he turned up dead. Now Johnny Red, a
particularly shady fellow, invites you to the Shanty,
a particularly shady bar, for a little conversation.

He wants you to take him to the treasure Hevlin
told him about. It seems that Hevlin had the loose
lips sailors always worry about. You're also enlisted
to pay the way and dive for the riches. All Johnny
wants is the glory and the bucks.

What's more, lurking in the shadows are those who
would like to see you lose the treasure -- and those
who would like to see you dead. McGinty, for example,
is a nervous and uncooperative little fellow who
will try to foil any attempts to form a diving party.

If you survive the journey, the shark attacks and
the untold other plot complications, you'll end up
bringing back the treasure (and yourself) intact.

<figure class="float-right">
	<img src="/public/img/articles/analog-cutthroats-review/cutthroats-packaging.jpg" alt="Cutthroats packaging">
	<figcaption class="center" style="font-weight: bold;">Cutthroats</figcaption>
</figure>

There are two separate sunken ships with treasure,
and in any given game, you're not sure which one
you'll be diving for. Using an enclosed booklet, you
must piece together clues supplied by Johnny Red, to
determine which treasure you're after. And, if you're
wrong... well, one doesn't think of such things on
an empty stomach.

Infocom has introduced a new packaging design and
has repackaged all of their games. The new carton
is similar to a book in size, and the cover opens up
to show the latest issues of *True Tales of Adventure*.
This can be read both for clues and for fun, and it
also provides the new adventurer with basic game information,
rules and strategies. When the book is finished,
pop open the back. Inside the carton is your
disk, along with the other necessary game materials.

Infocom has started rating their games by level --
Junior, Standard, Advanced or Expert. **Cutthroats** is
Standard, on the same level as **Zork I**, the **Enchanter**,
**Witness** and **Planetfall**. It was a bit too easy for me,
as I'm somewhere between Advanced and Expert.
Still, the challenge lasted a few hours, and the difficulty
(of lack thereof) rarely spoils an Infocom experience.
I must admit that I used a printer this time,
and being able to reread the text between sessions is
a great help.

Infocom games must be reviewed more as books
than as games. The descriptions are complete and
vivid, just what you would expect from Infocom, but
**Cutthroats** lacks the humor of some earlier offerings.
I missed it. Nevertheless, the characters are brought
to life, and this is one of the best compliments that
could be paid such a game. Overall, **Cutthroats** is
not one of Infocom's best games, but is still so far
above the competition as to make them pale by comparison.

I just realized that, unlike the arcade games that
litter the market, there are few copiers of Infocom's
interactive fiction, few imitators. Can it be done?
Probably. Can it be done as well as Infocom does it,
or better? Unlikely. With each new game, Infocom
is further entrenched in their position as manufacturer
of the most unique, highest quality software
available on the market today.
