Plundered Hearts was one of the first "real" computer games I ever played. Previous to it, I had played Solitaire, Klotski, Nibbles, Chess - the basic games that came with Windows. At the time, I remember being enchanted by the game and the others that came in the Infocom package. I had always loved "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, and this was even better. I could finally make the protagonist do the things I wanted her to do. Well, for the most part always.
The premise of the game is pretty straightforward.
Your heroine is on her way to her father's side when her boat is attacked by pirates! Your first problem to solve is how to get safely off the boat. It's not easy as you are the only woman, and the pirates are far too interested in that fact. Here and further on, disguises are your friend and key to getting by.
The main character is your typical romance heroine. Sure, she gets to save the love of her life a few times, but she won't sharpen her rapier and kill everyone. Her actions are pretty much limited by the typical girly actions: flirting, dancing, swooning, etc. Of course, these actions were enough to entertain me for most of the game.
I often
found myself kissing random guys and trying to take off my clothes to see how everyone reacted. (Note: The game ends pretty quickly when you do this on the ship's deck at the beginning.) It was also a surprisingly good vocabulary builder. I learned "don" and "wench," very important words for an eight year old.
There were several "puzzles" that the heroine encounters throughout the game. Nothing was too fancy, but it was difficult enough at the time. In fact, it was a few years later that my family got internet connection, and I was finally able to complete the game. (The alligator/crocodile part threw my sisters and I enough that we gave up on the game and tried out the others that came in the package.)
While the game was easier to finish then "Border Zone" or some of the other games that came in the Adventure Pack I tried, I found it to be the most enjoyable. The dialogue was amusing in a cheesy cliched manner, and the heroine's dilemmas were fun. If you hate romance, then this is not the game for you. However, if you've ever wondered what it was like to be the heroine in a romance novel, then this game is perfect.
