''Corruption'' is an

interactive fiction '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...

game by

Magnetic Scrolls Magnetic Scrolls was a British video game developer active between 1984 and 1990. A pioneer of audiovisually elaborate text adventure games, it was one of the two largest and most acclaimed interactive fiction developers of the 1980s. ''Magneti ...

released in 1988. In this game, a successful

stockbroker A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks ...

suddenly finds himself embroiled in a world of crime and danger.

Gameplay

The game is a

text adventure '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...

with static graphics in all versions except for the Spectrum +3. It focuses primarily on character interaction instead of object interaction. The Amiga version has a " speech mode", though ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through t ...

'' noted it only as a novelty.

Development

The working title of the game was "Upon

Westminster Bridge Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side. The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the H ...

Reception

The game was voted Best 8-bit Adventure Game of the Year at the

Golden Joystick Awards The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be vot ...

. '' ACE''s reviewer The Pilgrim called it "a game that combines powerful programming, wry humour, and a compelling plot all at once. No doubt about it, ''Corruption'' is

' best yet." In ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'', Keith Campbell wrote that "the game has very much the same feel as the Infocom mysteries, like ''Suspect'', although I found this plot to be far more interesting." He remarked that ''Corruption'' will provide "hours of enjoyable frustration", and he praised its graphics, noting that "an adventure set in offices in the city, doesn't sound particularly exciting graphically, yet Magnetic Scrolls have made it so." ''

Sinclair User ''Sinclair User'' was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was pub ...

''s Sarah Sharkey summarized, " is game is good. The text is well written, the characters are very realistic and the storyline is believable." She highlighted the game's "super interaction with characters" and "absorbing and realistic game world". Mike Gerrard of ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993. History Th ...

'' wrote, "All in all, I enjoyed ''Corruption'' far more than I thought I would... but not quite as much as the previous Magnetic Scrolls games." ''

'' in 1989 praised the game's menu features, such as the ability to reveal exits.

Charles Ardai Charles Ardai (born 1969) is an American entrepreneur, businessperson, and writer of award winning crime fiction and mysteries. He is founder and editor of Hard Case Crime, a line of pulp-style paperback crime novels. He is also an early employee ...

in 1992 wrote in the magazine that ''Corruption'' was "the one clear winner" in the ''Magnetic Scrolls Collection''. While criticizing the short length of gameplay, he stated that "a game this powerful deserves the widest possible audience".

References

External links

*
''Corruption''
at Lemon 64
''Corruption''
at Lemon Amiga * * {{Authority control 1980s interactive fiction 1988 video games Acorn Archimedes games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Amstrad PCW games Apple II games Atari ST games Classic Mac OS games Commodore 64 games DOS games Golden Joystick Award winners Magnetic Scrolls games Single-player video games Telecomsoft games Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games