Cutthroats is a very entertaining pirate themed adventure game that was published in the middle eighties. It was both designed and released by Infocom, which gave the game a lot of marketing clout and shot it hard and fast into the gaming market. It was written by Michael Berlyn and Jerry Wolper and was released on more than one platform. It is a very unique underwater adventure game that has never been well-replicated. Its interesting underwater and pirate theme is very entertaining, and so is the overall play of the game.
There are two basic types of locations in Cutthroats. The player will spend some time seeking treasure on dry land, but the majority of the game play takes place under the ocean. There are close to seventy different rooms to explore that represent various shipwrecks. There are four unique diving locations that will take you to different sunken treasures, base on where you have dove. On top of the thrill of seeking these interesting treasures, Cutthroats offers a deep and well-fleshed out story line that encourages the gamer to continue his treasure hunting to see what will happen with each great find.
The game is set on the fictitious Hardscrabble Island. Once a prosperous sea port, Hardscrabble Island began to flounder in the 1920s and has since become basically the home of ruffians, bandits and thieves. There are no riches to be made here any longer, at least not honestly, and the port is a very dangerous place to be, regardless of your professional intentions. The game begins when the protagonist’s former mate, Hevlin, storms into his cabin in the middle of the night blathering about a treasure map that is supposed to show the location of two downed ships that were never recovered. The possibility for profit presents itself, and you accept the map, even though Hevlin has made you swear to guard it with your life. He seems nervous and out of sorts, but the chance to explore these shipwrecks is too much, and you accept. Hevlin is found murdered just outside your doorstep a while later.
You will have the opportunity to explore one of four ships: the Sao Vera, the H.M.S. Intrangisent, the Fianna, and the S.S. Leviathan. Every time the user starts a new game, two of these ships will be randomly chosen as the sites located on Hevlin’s secret map. There will be many combinations, therefore, keeping the game fresh. This is just one of the many interesting and fun surprises that awaits this nice point and click treasure seeking game.
Written by:
~dorento1
