LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Planetfall
built 657 days ago
Planetfall was titled Sole Survivor by its author, Steve Meretzky, and later shortened to just Survivor. When Infocom discovered another game called Survivor, they decided they'd rather switch than fight. Infocom's ad agency, Giardini/Russell, submitted a list about 30 long, their favorite of which was Lost Planet. Reaction was less than enthusiastic, not the least because it reminded two of Infocom's employess of the TV series, Lost in Space. Marc Blank suggested Planetfall during a long, frustrating meeting - he thought he had seen it once in an SF book as a word meaning arrival on a new planet (much like landfall). Nobody really believed him, but it was never improved upon.
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Planetfall is a work of interactive fiction penned by the infamous Infocom Implementor Steve Meretzky. You may have cursed his name once or twice if you have ever played Sorcerer or the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (for which you should ... be given a medal if you have completed either game without hints). Planetfall is Meretzky’s first solo effort at writing for Infocom. As a pure text adventure, this game is interactive fiction in its original and truest sense of the form. The only graphics in this game comes from your mind, making it a title to be avoided at all costs if playing games from companies such as Sierra On-Line has already corrupted your imagination.
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The original Planetfall theme (for Mambo) has a search box in the top right of the page. Users may want to have some other module in that area. This can be done easily, but keep in mind the space is just 111px tall, so the module should fit in that vertical space.
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The Planetfall story begins just after you have transferred to the Spaceship Feinstein where you’re superior, Ensign First Class Blather, is making your life miserable. You have been assigned the rank of Ensign 7th Class and your most important duties are that of custodian. Obviously this is not why you enlisted in the Stellar Patrol. Just as you are contemplating going absent without leave your fortunes take a dramatic turn and you find yourself in a situation that just may define the rest of your Stellar Patrol career. Will your dreams be fulfilled? Will you be able to continue your long family tradition of Stellar Patrol honors?
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Adapted from the Universal Combat franchise, Hostile Intent - Planetfall boils down the expansive space exploration of UC into an intense action game. Players can engage in combat in both open-space and planetary surface encounters, exploring the galaxy in interstellar and planetary excursions and taking on opponents in first-person shooting and vehicular combat phases. Players can ... upgrade their characters through skill-based upgrades as they continue to conquer. Hostile Intent runs in part on the Reality Engine and SpeedTree RT technology engines.
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As an adventure, Planetfall is pretty straightforward. Most of the game involves finding specific objects and the appropriate receptacles in which to insert them. There are plenty of red herrings which have no use at all but add much to the game’s realism. To break the “serious” tone of the game, the character Floyd is added as your robot companion, whose boredom frequently gives you a few chuckles. Despite this effort, the game may still benefit from a bit more humor. Although the game demonstrates the potential of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy / Red Dwarf ilk, this potential is never sufficiently realized.
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Planetfall