''Jack the Ripper'' is a

text adventure '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...

computer game designed by St. Bride's School and released by CRL in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

for the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

home computers. The game is based on the notorious "

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...

" murders in 1880s London.

Plot

A murderer is roaming the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

and the police suspect you of being responsible. The player must clear their name by exposing the real culprit.

Gameplay

The game is a standard text adventure with animated graphics in some locations to set the scene. The game accepts the input of full sentences including the use of adverbs. The game is played in real time; time passes when the player does not take action and events can take place in the game world during this time. As well as saving and loading the game state the program also allows players to store and restore their position during play.

Reception

As with the earlier CRL adventures ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

'' and ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

'', the game was classified by the

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...

, receiving an '18' certificate for its gory graphics. Because of this W. H. Smith refused to stock the game.

Reviews

Sinclair User ''Sinclair User'' was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was publi ...

'':

The first game ever to receive an "18" certificate. Very literate effort from St. Brides, with 'gore' added by CRL.

Zzap!64's reviewer said the game was similar in style to Rod Pike's work. They thought some of the graphics were unnecessary but the stylish text, atmosphere and excitement created made it "a must for the adventurers collection." It was given a 78% overall rating. The Games Machine also compared the game to titles by Rod Pike. The reviewer admitted that none of the previous games by St Brides had impressed them very much, with this one being "the first of their games which has actually held my interest for more than 20 minutes." Overall it was said to be "professionally implemented and quite exciting to play" with the 3 parts of the game making it value for money. They also gave a rating of 78%. Computer & Video games compared the game to Sherlock, with both games set in London in the same era and featuring 'real time' gameplay. They considered Jack the Ripper to be the superior game, as it lacked bugs. The reviewer said it was "certainly St Brides' best to date" and rated it 9/10.

Notes

The game was produced using the

Gilsoft Gilsoft was a British developer of video games and related utilities. The company was best known for developing the text adventure authoring tool '' The Quill'' and its successor, '' Professional Adventure Writer''. History Gilsoft was set up by ...

Professional Adventure Writer Professional Adventure Writer or PAW (sometimes called PAWS for Professional Adventure Writing System) is a program that allows the user to write textual adventure games with graphic illustrations. It was written by Tim Gilberts, Graeme Yeandle a ...

''.

References

External links

*
''Jack the Ripper''
at Lemon 64 * * {{Jack the Ripper media 1980s interactive fiction 1987 video games Adventure games Amstrad CPC games Commodore 64 games CRL Group games Single-player games Video games about Jack the Ripper Video games developed in Ireland Video games set in London Video games set in the 19th century ZX Spectrum games