This is adventure #2 in Scott Adam’s text adventure series. I chose to emulate the game on a TRS-80 platform.
This interactive text adventure is the first to move away from fantasy & horror and delve into a pirate theme. I found the change rather refreshing and I was looking forward to the experience. I found the game to be much tighter thematically than Adam’s previous Adventureland. Yes, like other text adventures that we’ve played from 1978, we’re going on a treasure hunt. However it’s the journey and the pirate-themed trappings that set it apart from the rest.
The difficulty level is easy to moderate and I spent roughly two to three hours on the game.
You start in your flat in London and you’ll have to spend some time exploring your surroundings and picking up some items that you may need later. You’ll eventually find an old, blood-stained copy of Treasure Island among other things and your adventure begins from there.
The first tricky part of the game involves you trying to figure out how you’re going to go from your apartment to an old pirate island. It does involve a bit of magic and if there is anything this old wizard knows regarding magic it’s all about location, location, location.
Once you make your way to the pirate isle you’ll encounter a pirate, a parrot, man-eating alligators, and mysterious locked doors. None of the puzzles are particularly difficult nor do they violate my fair play rules. There were only one or two areas on Pirate’s Isle where I got “stuck” for a little bit but I was able to work my way through it with persistence and a bit of luck. Fans of interactive fiction like to work through puzzles so I always hesitate to provide a complete walkthrough. If this is something you’d like to see me change I’d love to hear from you. My thought process is if I give you the answers to the puzzles then I am possibly spoiling the experience for you should you decided you’d like to play the game. I am very aware as well that many enjoy reading a good walkthrough. I’d love to hear where you stand on this. I will offer up this piece of advice: you may find yourself going back to your flat out of necessity so don’t completely put your flat in London out of your mind.
Instead of 13 treasures like Adams had in his previous adventure you’re only looking for two and both of them are hidden on Treasure Island. You’re going to have to deal with the obstacles on Pirate Island and then figure out how you’re going to get to Treasure Island from where you’re currently marooned.
The length of the adventure took me by surprise. Once I arrived on Treasure Island I thought I might have quite a bit of game left but this last part was a bit anti-climatic though still entertaining. There are two different puzzle solutions in this game where Scott Adams seems to be paying tribute to Colossal Cave.
I was able to complete the entire game without help of any kind though I did become stuck in a couple of spots for a little while.
The theme is new and the story is tight and enjoyable. I enjoyed my time dealing with pirates and searching for buried treasure. Once I had finished I had the yearning to read Treasure Island once again and to watch Pirates of the Caribbean.