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Review by aschultz
September 11, 2009
Your mission, as PRISM, is to gather information on a futuristic world for your creator, Dr. Abraham Perlman. He has written a program to simulate the effects of the new economic and social "Renew America" plan of the powerful Senator Richard Ryder, a dim but charismatic law-and-order type. To do this, you are transported to the future, in the town of Rockvil, South Dakota. You record life events to see how the plan affects you, from ten years in advance (2041) up to fifty years as you gather more data for Perelman. Even getting killed in simulation is valuable data.
The events to record must be different, though, so you'll have to explore all of Rockvil. Since a map comes with the package, then, a journalistic approach works. AMFV offers no crazily abstract puzzles--just being there and knowing what's important is enough. Perry's family life evolves, creating a side story as the justice system changes, and buildings and joybooths--electronic machines linked to suicide--are boarded up or constructed. Churches, businesses and welfare offices change their outlook and recruiting techniques, too.
In simulation, the narration is engaging, but robot mode is most memorable for lots of waiting and one-word commands. You can sleep for six hours a day, but humans only work for eight. Their interactions, though, including Perelman's conversations with the sociologist Randu, are worth watching. While the database notes from Library mode and the news feed ads and reports round out the story--China decentralizing its economy and ads for global locating devices are quite prescient--they don't let you get involved. There's a sabotage attempt late in the game that requires tinkering, but it's a read-the-manual puzzle. This makes AMFV less intuitive than most Infocom games.
Also, AMFV feels slanted in a way Trinity wasn't. It directly addresses deregulation of the construction industry, with a high-rise office building replacing a park. The goons in the game aren't silly but are the sort that creative types like to use as straw-men. People like this exist, of course, and there was only so much space for the story. Still, while I agree with the philosophy, the thoughtfulness felt forced. Even though AMFV's imagined technology and zealots are real today, ahead of schedule, it doesn't quite live up to the story on the game box.
So despite having the most poetic title of all Infocom games, AMFV gets a bit didactic and feels more like a research project where you're nudged as to what to find. This is ironic, as much of its plot is about fighting against corrupt types who probably commission their own research. Still, despite being a bit too overtly opposed to What Creative Types Hate, it's a successful game and one of the few that allows alternate solutions: roaming around Rockvil, you may find new tasks to record. This means no dazzling puzzles, so while AMFV is not the best introduction to Infocom game, but completists frustrated by the tougher stuff will definitely enjoy it.
Rating: 6/10
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Most recent video game reviews written by aschultz
Dragon Wars (Apple II) [February 06, 2012]
Eternal Dagger (Apple II) [January 21, 2012]
Othello (NES) [January 09, 2012]
Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (Apple II) [November 15, 2010]
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (Apple II) [November 14, 2010]
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