Spectrum Computing
After Shock (credits, magazine scores and the Sinclair User solution).
The Comeback
After Shock came after a year-long gap in Interceptor's releases, and cost £9.95 against the £5.50 of the earlier games. Crash noted that the inlay credits Robin Chapman for the graphics while the loading screen credits Terry Greer, and that text no longer scrolls off the top of the screen. See the reviews.
Take, Not Get
Sinclair User and Your Sinclair both complained that the game knows TAKE but not GET ("GET PEN. 'Try another command.'"). The vocabulary at Table_Vocabulary bears this out: command 14 is TAKE with no synonym. Reviews
Grammar Matters
The instructions explain that the parser deliberately accepts only grammatical commands. ZX Computing found it insisted on exact phrases such as BRACE STAIRS WITH BEAM. See the instructions and the reviews.
Moving Pictures
Some pictures are animated. Computer & Video Games and Your Computer mention a hand under the rubble that opens and closes, and an oil tanker gushing oil. See the reviews.
Reviews
Crash issue 34 gave it 89%, Sinclair User issue 56 5/5, Your Sinclair issue 12 7/10 and Your Computer 3/5, and ZX Computing gave it a Globert award. Sinclair User printed a four-part solution in issues 110 to 113 in 1991. Source: Spectrum Computing.
Leftovers
The routine at DivideWordByFour divides HL by four, but nothing calls it. The first entry of the jump table at JumpTable_ParserChecks is unused, as are the first two slots of the room description table at Table_RoomDescriptions, for rooms 0 and 1 (44669 and 44671).
The Interceptor Engine
After Shock is built on the same engine as the earlier Interceptor games. Its routines are cross-referenced to Warlord, The Jewels Of Babylon, Heroes Of Karn, Forest At World's End and Message From Andromeda throughout this disassembly.
A Rude Word
Token 39 (39) in the vocabulary, at 45554, is the single word "FUCK". The game does recognise it as a verb: it is listed in the verb table at 46151, which leads to the script at 51326. Swear at your body or at a woman and the game says "You are a sick person." (Messaging_YouAreASickPerson); swear at anything else and it says "That is not advisable." (Messaging_ThatIsNotAdvisable). Leave out what you are swearing at and it says "Please be more specific." (Messaging_PleaseBeMoreSpecific), and if it doesn't know the word it says "Please rephrase that." (Messaging_PleaseRephraseThat).