Amnesia (by White)

This is a classic surreal text adventure, though it never achieved great fame. Even after its release, it continued to be overshadowed by the text adventure of 1986 with the same name. The mysterious settings could intrigue even the most experienced IF fan as the gamer wonders what on earth is going on in the place this character woke up in. The character himself can't help you; he wakes up from an odd outer space dream into an unfamiliar house with no recollection as to how he got there. He can't remember anything about what one can only presume is his house, which has many oddities of its own. Custard in the tub, a crash helmet on the kitchen stove, and rather odd voices on the other end of the telephone would confuse even those who could remember something about their past! The dazed character tries desperately to make sense of everything he encounters, and slowly but surely a few clues unfold. However, on the end of every clue hangs another mystery. Every new site yields another piece of the puzzle, and has intriguing characters to interact with along the way. The rich imagery allows for clear and captivating mental pictures. You can truly immerse yourself in the beautiful-yet-strange world of the character. This game truly keeps you intrigued the whole way through!

As for the commands, the author is not rich on synonyms, though the help file claims otherwise. The most frustrating aspect is trying to figure out the exact word the author was thinking of. Expected phrase structure is also inflexible. When it comes to user interaction, the author is clearly concerned with the "action" instead of the examination. Sometimes the responses don't match up with the known, game-described scenery. Perhaps he thinks this is just steering the user in the right direction, but his vehement "I don't know when you're talking about!" response when you know full well what you typed made perfect sense can be discouraging. This game could use a better range of user response. Be sure to be very specific in command wording when playing.

Overall, though, this game is worth playing because of its intriguing plot. Sci-fiction meets mystery with a hint of comedy makes it more than worthwhile. Though the interaction can be a bit frustrating, its all the more rewarding when you finally get the problem right. This game is worth your while!

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