Play West | Commodore 64 Online Game (1988)

West is a real-time text adventure set in the Old West of 1885. The protagonist is a sheriff who tracks a gang of robbers who have hidden the money of a bank raid in town. The goal of the game is to retrieve the money and escape the town. An unusual aspect is the introduction of random events that require a quick reaction, along with a certain amount of randomization. The typical text adventure elements are still present, such as movement through the town, lengthy descriptions of the environment (though made shorter when triggered a second time) and solving puzzles, but there are also random encounters. During the game the player meets Indians, the bank robbers and snakes at random locations and at random intervals. During these the player needs to enter a command before they have a chance to threaten the sheriff. Robbers can be shot, but the player's character can die as well and has three lives. When dead, he respawns at a random location stripped off all items. You also see the results of your previous life and past actions do not need to be repeated. Your lost items can be retrieved by locating your 'old body'. Another random element is that your horse often wanders off in a random direction and needs to be located. It also contains a desert maze that changes each time you restart the game.