Plundered Hearts 
(1987 Infocom)


Romance [Introductory to Standard]:

Plundered Hearts is one of the most underrated Infocom 
classics ever. Aside from the fact that it's set in an 
unusual (and very intriguing) setting (17th century Caribbean 
seas), the game is most notable for being the only Infocom 
game in the romance genre, and is therefore arguably the 
first computer game designed with women gamers in mind. 

Plundered Hearts is set in the 1600's, where you are living 
the genteel life of a beautiful young Englishwoman. You have 
received news that your dear father is ailing, and so you are 
travelling to the West Indies to care for him. As the story 
opens, the ship you are aboard is attacked by pirates, and 
you are carried off by the dashing pirate captain! But this 
does not dissuade you from your determination to find your 
father and rescue him from the clutches of an evil island 
governor. The writing feels very much like a Harlequin novel, 
with enough amusing puzzles and clever responses to keep me, 
a non-romance-novel-reader interested to the end. 

The puzzles are a little easier than the standard Infocom fare, 
but generally interesting ones that can be reasoned or inferred. 
There are few "guess what the author is thinking puzzles". 
The game's strongest point though is in its characterization. 
Not in the other characters; Crulley, Jamison, Lafonde and the 
others are rather standard, thus my character rating of 1.2. 
Rather, this game characterizes you, the player, more than any 
other of Infocom's offerings. In most Infocom games, who YOU are 
is either unimportant or doesn't affect the plot much... Plundered 
Hearts more than any other [Infocom] game gave me the feeling of 
really being inside someone ELSE'S head. Throughout the game, 
who you are plays an important part. Disguising your identity 
and altering your appearance is important in several places to 
elicit a desired reaction from other characters (not to mention 
avoiding some undesired reactions). 

Plundered Hearts is one of Infocom's more underrated games. A 
very good blend of puzzle solving and story." Two thumbs up 
definitely, but be prepared for a few romantic cliches ;)