Infocom both developed and published the swashbuckling fun tale of Cutthroats, an adventure game from the middle eighties. It was authored by Michael Berlyn and Jerry Wolper and is primarily an adventure game and has a great underwater treasure seeking theme, but presents itself differently than most any other adventure game of that era or any since. It is very fun in its overall game play, made more so by its uniqueness.
The game has two general locations where treasure seeking will be done: on the dry lands, and beneath the waves.
There are nearly seventy different rooms and four unique dives that will allow the gamer to seek hidden treasure and adventure. The game also features a well developed story line to make sure the treasure seeker wants to continue seeking. The region where the game takes place is called Hardscrabble Island. It was once a thriving sea port, but it began to flounder in the 1920s. The inhabitants of the island have become pirates, thugs and ruffians of all sorts. It is not a safe place to be, nor is it…for the most part…lucrative.
The game begins in earnest when the main character’s former mate, Hevlin, barges into his home at a rather awkward hour, bearing a map that is reputed to
detail the location of two previously unsearched shipwrecks. This is intriguing and possibly profitable. Hevlin appears paranoid, and decides to leave, making the gamer promise to guard the map with his life. He is murdered just steps from your front door…making the map seem all the more mysterious and important.
The user will assume the role of a professional diver and will explore the wreckages of the Sao Vera, the H.M.S. Intrangisent, the Fianna, and the S.S. Leviathan. Each time the gamer begins a new tale, two of these four sites will be randomly chosen to become the locations of his adventures. Random generation offers a deeper level of replayability to any game, and Cutthroats is no different. With randomly occurring dives, a user can play this game again and again.
There will be more than just diving and pixel hunting for lost treasures. There will also be some puzzles to solve to get to the goodies. Moreover, there will be quite a few non-playing characters who will offer advice and help. Bear in mind that your character is earning more respect and cash with each successful dive, so not everyone who offers to help is going to be an honest citizen. Learning who to trust will be just one of the many obstacles you will have to overcome in this interesting classic adventure game.
