The Lady in the Red Dress

The 4th in a series of 16 or 17 "Private Dick" IF games.

Due to using the "10 Random Unrated Games" option, this is the first H.W. Williams game I've played.

Right away when you start the game you're presented with a 30 minute timer at the top of the screen, which initially may set off your anxiety. But rest assured you have plenty of time to finish this "game" before the timer runs out.

And I use the word game in quotes because there's literally no way to deviate from the scripted storyline. The game will flat out tell you what to type to advance the story--which isn't much. You cannot type anything that isn't intended and if you do, there's no response to even nudge you into the right direction.

When you think you know whodunit... well, there's a vague command in the HELP menu to use, but again, if you're not in the right spot to use it, there's no indication of *when* or even *where* you should use it.

I wasn't too impressed with the story, and even after knowing who committed the crime and replaying a second time (which you don't need to do *anything* other than use the special command in the right room) it still makes no sense how the conclusion is drawn from all the information given.

Basically, just be in the right room and type the right command to win.

Not sure if I'll give any of the other "Private Dick" games a try after this one.