Hell Cab (PC)

 

Hell Cab  (PC DOS) :

So what do you do when you're stuck between flights in New York, and a random cabbie offers to give you a ride to 'show you the sights?' Any sensible person would think twice before accepting, but it appears that the person we control in this game isn't very sensible....especially as moments later we have to sign away our soul to pay for said sight-seeing tour!

This 1993 game from Digital Fusion and Time Warner, is an early CD Rom title...and as such, it's a little confused with what to do with all that extra memory. It initially comes across as a cross between a game and an interactive tour, as you wander around the Empire State Building reading informational notices and watching FMV adverts.

As previously mentioned, things get a bit weird when you get back in the cab. You might have noticed the driver having red eyes pretty soon after entering the taxi, and sure enough he turns out to be a demon, and when you are missing the one dollar to pay for your trip, he offers to give you a great deal by signing away your soul. The rest of your journey sees you travelling through time in order to redeem yourself, prove you're not an asshole and get your soul back in time for getting on the next flight to wherever it is you're going.

You do this through multiple-choice questions when chatting to the residents of these past times, and just in case you forgot it was a wonderful new CD-Rom, you can also learn some interesting historical facts about the different time periods...

Unfortunately, I only got as far as Ancient Rome, due to a horrific Run The Gauntlet type puzzle that is far too bloody difficult to pass, although I do know if you can manage to beat it you can look forward to trips to the First World War and the Jurassic Era....

I did have fun with Hell Cab for the time I played it, and it is recommended as an early CD Rom oddity and for watching some early Quicktime vids, but ultimately it's a bit too tricky in places to fully recommend.

 I might of course be doing something completely wrong, and there might be a far easier way to go about things, but I've a lot more games to get through in the backlog, and this falls a wee bit short in maintaining my interest enough to pursue it much longer...