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This program is for those who are serious about developing a home budget and record of expenses. It generates an array of printouts that the conscientious user can study to his heart's content in an effort to gain control over his finances.
'''— JK'''
=Thief=
<big>'''Who says crime doesn't pay?'''</big>
{{Infobox review
| title = Report Card Thief
| performance = A
| use = A
| documentation = C
| value= B
| grade = B
-----
| cost = $14.95 (cassette)
| manufacturer = Tomputer Software, 1550 Montgomery Dr., Deerfield, IL 60015 (312) 945-9677
| requirements = console, monitor or television, cassette recorder, joystick, Extended BASIC cartridge
}}
Thief is a graphic adventure with a two-dimensional perspective. The object of the game is to break into a house and steal a million dollars that is hidden in a safe. You must do this without setting off any alarms.
==Performance==
The game starts with Stelthful [sic] Smith already in the front room of a two-story summer home. Stelthful Smith, the thief, your alter ego, is represented by a black cursor that the player moves about the screen with the joystick.
Other rooms include a kitchen, dining room, bedroom, closet, living room, maze and walk-in safe. There are eleven rooms in all. Each room includes appropriate furniture, doorways, windows and walls. Running into a wall automatically sets off an alarm which brings the police, ending the game. Your score is indicated by the number of "years" you must serve in prison.
The cursor serves several purposes. For one, it allows you to move from room to room. When you position the cursor over an object and press the joystick fire button, the name of the object will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. Pressing the fire button while moving the cursor reduces its velocity, which is critical when moving about in tight quarters such as the maze.
By moving from room to room you
can figure out the floor plan of the
house, which is always the same.
However, locating the safe is more
than a matter of moving from room to
room. Since you are told you will
encounter a locked door somewhere in
the house, you may assume that you
will need to have a key to unlock it.
Finding the key can be difficult. Then,1
too, to open the safe you 'will need a
combination to the lock. This you will
find somewhere in the house. The key
and combination are hidden in different
places each time you play the
game.
The block graphics used in Thief are
simple and, for the most part, representational.
You can tell a chair from a
couch and a dinner table from a coffee
table. Color, too, is used to good effect.
Each room appears as a single
screen so that Thief is actually an
eleven-screen adventure.
Joysticks are used 3$ the principal
source of input. Input from the keyboard
is required to enter the combination
to unlock the safe. I found the
program to be crash proof except when
I was required to enter the combination
I managed to get an error message
on my second try, which resulted
in hc1lf the room I was in ;it the time
scrolling off the top of the screen. I
exited the room and then reentered
and everything was as it was supposed
to be.
Ease of Use: What difficulty there is
in playing this game lies principally in
maneuvering the cursor around the
screen, which is not difficult at all. The
object of the game is straightforward.
Documentation: I was disappointed
in the manual that comes with Thief.
For example, under the category
Alarmed Doors, it read$: "One door is
wired and must be disarmed before
you can pass through it.·' There a re no
hints as to how to disarm the alarm. I
managed to figure it out myself but it
didn't seem to make much difference
because the alarm can be set off at this
point without any apparent
consequences.
Value: Young teens' and children
seemed most amused by Thief. During
the testing stage, I found several
roughly drawn floorplans fashioned by
young hands littering the computer
station. I take this to be a good sign.
'''— JK'''
