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Suspended

DOS - 1984

Also available on: Mac - Amiga - Amstrad CPC - Apple II - Atari 8-bit - Commodore 64

Alt names Suspended: A Cryogenic Nightmare, Suspended: INTERLOGIC Science Fiction, Suspension
Year 1984
Platform DOS
Released in United States
Genre Adventure
Theme Interactive Fiction, Puzzle elements, Sci-Fi / Futuristic
Publisher Infocom, Inc.
Developer Infocom, Inc.
Perspectives Text-based / Spreadsheet, Fixed / Flip-screen
4.88 / 5 - 8 votes

Description of Suspended

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The other "Expert" level sci-fi game from Infocom (the other being Starcross), Suspended is a unique and ambitious text adventure that suffers from an extremely high difficulty level and awkward implementation of simulation-style gameplay.

Infocom introduced many innovations in Suspended. For starters, the premise is highly original: you are an alien frozen in an underground cryogenic chamber that is part of an underground complex that controls the planetary weather control devices. In the event of emergency, your mind (but not your body) is activated in order to coordinate the repair efforts carried out by six robots: Auda, Sensa, Iris, Poet, Whiz, and Waldo.

Each robot has different abilities: Auda can hear, Iris can see, Sensa can detect photon emission and ionic charges, Poet can touch, Whiz can connect you to the central library core (a computerized database), and Waldo can manipulate objects. Your job, therefore, is akin to forming a coherent picture of an elephant from 6 blind men who are touching different parts. You have to co-ordinate the robots' actions and correctly interpret their reports.

To help you do this, Suspended comes with a full map of the underground complex and 6 robot markers to help you visualize and plan their moves (incidentally, this was the first Infocom game to include map of game locations; the second and last was Seastalker).

While the unique premise and gameplay will entice you, Suspended's puzzles will frustrate you to no end. In many ways, this is the ultimate "save/restore multiple times" kind of game: you simply do not have the foresight of where the robots should be and what they should do, until it is too late. This means the game gives insufficient clues, but also that there are simply too many possible combinations of robots' actions for you to find the "correct" ones right away. Worse still, the time limit on the game is very strict, so you cannot waste any moves. The game offers 3 levels of difficulty (which I think only changes the time limit), but even at the easiest level you will find yourself restoring often.

All in all, Suspended will appeal the most to fans of "hard" sci-fi who find most Infocom games too easy. The puzzles are very difficult and not altogether fair to the player - Starcross is much better in that regard. Well worth a look, but be prepared for many frustrating sessions with this one.

Review By HOTUD

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Comments and reviews

Saiph 2024-01-22 0 point Atari 8-bit version

I played Suspended on the Atari 800 when it was first released, and I found it one of the most innovative and enjoyable text-based games I have ever played. The scenario of the player remotely controlling six varied robot assistants is still unique to this day. It does take a little getting used to, but if you take the game slowly, and learn how to interpret each robot's unique personality, and the messages they give you, it is a challenging but very satisfying puzzle. 'Poet' is particularly intriguing - translating 'his/her' messages is like solving crossword clues - but it's immensely gratifying when you finally understand what they mean! Planning ahead is important, as some situations in the game need the co-operation of two or more robots. Indeed, sometimes the best way to understand what the robots are trying to tell you is to get two of them to describe an object or room, and then merging the information to spot common factors and glean more facts. If you have a little patience, and a little thoughtfulness, you will really enjoy this game.

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