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This text adventure is so well-designed and entertaining that you will gladly
put up with Telarium's limited parser. As the shrewd defense attorney Perry Mason,
you are hired to defend a woman accused of murdering her husband. In the process,
you must investigate the murder, interrogate suspects, analyze clues, then present
your case in court to the skeptical jury. Perry Mason is not only addictive because
it showcases a well-written plot and believable characters, but most of all because
its depiction of court procedure is so realistic it could easily be billed as "lawyer
simulation." While collecting and analyzing evidence that will get your client off
the hook is not difficult, the real challenge comes in court, where you must
carefully phrase your questions to the witness on the stand, and adjust your line
of questioning in response to the jury's reaction. You can FROWN to intimidate a
witness to open him/her up for more aggressive questions, raise OBJECTION to the
prosecutor when you have valid reason to do so, ask witness to DESCRIBE their
relationship with other suspects, and show various evidence to the witness to
provoke a desired response. It is nothing short of amazing that Telarium's parser,
which is in many ways inferior to Infocom's, was more than adequate to handle this
intriguing game. If the going gets tough, you can ask Della, your trusty assistance,
for advice on what to do. There's simply no other game like it. For all its tough
challenge and grainy CGA graphics, Perry Mason perfectly captures the essense of a
defense attorney's work. |
